PGA Tour Logo PNG
The PGA Tour logo reflects the organization’s core values, professionalism, dedication, and unity. It underscores the drive to achieve outstanding results and to perfect one’s skills. The emblem conveys golf’s beauty and elegance, as well as solidarity among golfers worldwide. It has become a symbol of inspiration for millions of fans of this captivating game.
PGA Tour grew out of a conflict inside the PGA of America, founded in 1916. For decades, the same organization represented club instructors and touring professionals, but their interests were diverging. By the mid-1960s, about 225 tournament players made up less than four percent of the membership, while television money and prize funds were rising fast.
The break came in 1968, after PGA leaders made TV deals with Shell’s Wonderful World of Golf and World Series of Golf without consulting the touring players. Gardner Dickinson, backed by Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer, helped form American Professional Golfers, Inc. Nicklaus explained the case for independence in Sports Illustrated, while the PGA of America threatened to ban members of the new group from its events.
In December 1968, both sides reached a compromise. The players dissolved APG, and a separate PGA Tournament Players Division was created with its own policy board. In January 1969, Joseph Dey, former head of the USGA, became the first commissioner. In 1974, Dean Beman replaced him, and in 1975 the organization adopted the name PGA Tour, separating its identity from the PGA of America.
Beman strengthened the tour commercially by improving TV deals, creating a player pension plan, and laying the groundwork for the Korn Ferry Tour and PGA Tour Champions. Tiger Woods changed the business again after winning the 1997 Masters, raising ratings and sponsor interest. The FedEx Cup began in 2007, with Woods as its first winner. In 2018, the PGA Tour signed a $2 billion deal with Discovery, while LIV Golf emerged in 2021 as its biggest modern rival.
Meaning and History
The PGA Tour Players Division was founded in 1968 as part of the Professional Golfers’ Association of America. The logo at the time featured its name split into three lines inside a shield. In 1974, Deane R. Beman became the organization’s commissioner. He changed the name to the PGA Tour, so the emblem with the new inscription began to be used in the 1976 season. But it was still a heraldic shield, stylized as the U.S. flag with blue, red, and white elements.
Beman was dissatisfied that the symbol wasn’t associated with golf and that it strikingly resembled the Amateur Athletic Union and Union Pacific Railroad logos. He believed the PGA Tour lacked a clear brand, hindering its development. The commissioner wanted the emblem to show dynamism and tell a story. Art West, the marketing director, shared that view and insisted on changing the organization’s visual identity.
In 1979, they began working together and even made preliminary sketches, but they didn’t achieve the desired result. Ultimately, Beman sought help from his acquaintance, Esmond Cardon Walker. As head of The Walt Disney Company, he led a team of professional artists. Esmond tasked a creative group based in Orlando with creating the PGA Tour emblem, which was located in Disney World’s basement. At the same time, West hired the advertising company J. Walter Thompson to develop a concept.
As a result, Disney and Thompson received more than 20 logo options, which they narrowed to 12. The Guideline Research Corporation was hired to conduct market research to determine golf fans’ preferences. The Walt Disney Company employees created the favorite: a white silhouette of a man swinging a club against a blue rectangle. But Beman disliked that the lower corners weren’t rounded and that the athlete’s legs extended beyond the base. He commissioned Floyd Benton to correct these details. As a result, the iconic PGA Tour logo appeared.
What is PGA Tour?
The PGA Tour organizes golf competitions year-round. The most famous are the Presidents Cup, FedEx Cup, and Players Championship. Most tournaments take place in the United States, but some are held in Latin America, Canada, and China.
2000 – today
The logo features the organization’s name in a bold, rectangular-serif font. The white abbreviation “PGA” appears in the upper corner, and below it, the red word “TOUR” appears, with its letters aligned in a column. Next to it is the silhouette of a golfer: he elegantly bends his knee, leans forward, and raises the club above his head. According to Beman, this is not a movement process but the moment the athlete pauses before hitting the ball. The text and drawing are placed in a blue vertical rectangle with rounded corners.
Since the emblem appeared, many have asked who is depicted on it. Different assumptions were made, including those of Jack Nicklaus, Tom Weiskopf, Johnny Miller, Ben Hogan, and Jerry Pate. But Art West revealed the secret, and the answer disappointed everyone. The logo features a collective image: a fictional, anonymous golfer. However, it should be admitted that Ben Hogan was chosen as a model for the pose. Beman used his photo as a template to sketch the logo and show it to the Disney artists to finish the job.
For decades, minimal changes have been made to the PGA Tour graphic sign. This timeless symbol represents athletes’ professionalism and skill and expresses a love for golf.
Font and Colors
The sports organization’s name is set in a font resembling Clarendon Bold. This high-contrast font with rectangular serifs is an excellent choice for accent elements and is highly readable. It has historical value and ties to typographic traditions, as it was developed in the 19th century.
The current PGA Tour logo is painted in the same colors as the old shield-shaped logo: red, white, and blue. This combination was originally chosen to display patriotism and to reflect the U.S. flag.