When Tiger Woods won the 1997 Masters, it was the beginning of a new era in professional golf. Grand Slam Ventures produced a card set honoring Tiger and all previous Masters winners dating back to the beginning. This 63-card set (including Mark O'Meara who was added to the 1998 set) is one of the most popular among golf card collectors since it's linked to the most prestigious of the major tournaments.
Golf autograph collectors—including me—have been chasing down past champions to sign these cards ever since. After 28 years, I'm now auctioning the closest thing to a complete set of 1997-98 Grand Slam Masters Champion autographed golf cards in existence.
What Makes This Set Extraordinary
This collection contains 48 cards authenticated and slabbed by Beckett Authentication Services, spanning from Byron Nelson (1937) to Mark O'Meara (1998). It includes almost every champion in between, featuring:
- All 6 Jack Nicklaus cards
- All 4 Arnold Palmer cards
- Tiger Woods with a rare inscribed signature
The Tiger Woods Story
Tiger inscribed his autograph to me, which is fairly common for his signing behavior for his early cards. This rare early Tiger signature was obtained in person by me after a practice round at the 1999 Byron Nelson PGA Tour event outside Dallas. It is the only card in the set that is inscribed.
A Set That Can Never Be Replicated
With the recent passing of Fuzzy Zoeller (1979), the set now includes 19 cards of deceased champions, making this collection increasingly valuable and impossible to assemble. The only missing autographed cards are:
- Champions who died before the set was issued
- Gene Sarazen, who last attended the Masters Champions dinner in 1995 and passed in 1999
- Cary Middlecoff, who left public life in 1993 and passed in 1998
- Ray Floyd, who has consistently refused to sign his card (even for payment) for 25+ years
Condition and Quality
These black-bordered oversized cards range in grade from Ex to NrMt-Mt, with most grading ExMt to NrMt. There are no creases or other significant flaws on any of the cards.
A Once-in-a-Lifetime Opportunity
After nearly three decades of dedication to assembling this collection, I'm offering collectors the chance to own what may be the most complete authenticated set of 1997-98 Grand Slam Masters Champions autographs ever assembled. This is truly the holy grail for serious golf memorabilia collectors.
View and bid on this historic collection at Goldin Auctions →
