Table of Content
What defines a great golf logo? According to a new book titled The Best Logos in Golf by George Peper, published by Back Nine Press, greatness is shaped by several key qualities: distinctiveness, rich heritage, strong design quality, timelessness, simplicity, meaningful symbolism, and versatility.
Criteria for Iconic Golf Marks
Developed with contributions from Clay Jackson, Lou DiLorenzo, and Gee Aldridge, the book examines how an effective golf logo must function across multiple mediums, whether embroidered on apparel or tiled into a swimming pool. Furthermore, the backstory behind each emblem often reveals how a club’s identity connects with its geography, culture, and history, serving as a personal passport for golfers around the world.
Ohoopee Match Club
Located in Cobbtown, Georgia, Ohoopee Match Club sits on a 3,400-acre onion farm. Tech magnate Michael Walrath founded the club following a 40th birthday golf trip with friends that eventually turned into a 20-page manifesto for an ideal match-play venue. Opened in 2018, the course was designed by architects Gil Hanse and Wagner to offer 22 holes, featuring a main layout alongside an alternate loop known as the Whiskey Routing.
The club’s distinct indigo blue logo features an onion as a nod to the property’s agricultural roots, designed by Walrath alongside Greyson Clothing CEO and member Charlie Schaefer. Closer inspection reveals three snake heads at the bottom of the onion and three snake tails poking out from the top, honoring the Indigo Snake, a docile resident of the region.
Myopia Hunt Club
Based in South Hamilton, Massachusetts, Myopia Hunt Club derives its unusual name from the medical term for nearsightedness. In 1875, four brothers with poor eyesight formed a neighborhood baseball team called the Myopia Nine. Over time, their sporting interests expanded to tennis, horse racing, and fox hunting, leading them to incorporate as the Myopia Club and eventually acquire a farm in South Hamilton in 1882.
The club later added a nine-hole golf course designed by member R.M. Appleton, which was subsequently expanded by Herbert Leeds. Myopia notably hosted four U.S. Opens between 1898 and 1908, won by champions such as Willie Anderson. Despite the rise of golf, the club maintained its equestrian traditions, continuing to host polo matches and drag hunts.
Reflecting its founding members, Myopia’s emblem features a fox and a horn. The Best Logos in Golf is available at www.back9press.com, with a standard edition priced at $90 and a limited edition at $150.
