2026 Upper Deck Golf To Tiger Woods RC Buyback Autos, Young Guns & more
With a quarter century of golf cards behind them, Upper Deck is honoring its golf past with an epic 2026 release. Numerous throwbacks to the original 2001 UD golf set will be included and many will focus on the 25th anniversary of the Tiger Woods rookie in that initial set. Woods remains unparalleled as the most collectible golfer of all-time and his initial Upper Deck rookie is perhaps the sport's greatest card.
"This year's Upper Deck Golf is a celebration of 25 years of premium golf products and our long-standing relationship with one of the greatest players ever to pick up a golf club," said Paul Zickler, Upper Deck's Director of Sports Brands.
Tiger's Triumphs Revisited
Included in the packs will be 25 Tiger Woods rookie cards, each signed, numbered, and stamped with a special commemorative 25th Anniversary stamp. That's not the company's only shoutout to a golfing icon.
Upper Deck will also manufacture 25 sets each of the "Tiger's Tales" inserts originally included in the 2001 set and that entire 200-card base set that will be numbered to 25 and stamped with the 25th Anniversary stamp.
That said, while nostalgia will play a strong role in the new Upper Deck set, the company's commitment to keeping up with the ongoing stars of golf will remain evident.
"We're inspired and passionate about continuing to innovate and produce premium golf collectibles," said Zickler.
Upper Deck takes on the Young Guns
Rookie-card standouts like Nelly Korda, Hideki Matsuyama, Lydia Ko, Jackson Kuivun, and Miles Russell will all be featured, with each having Young Guns cards, with outburst parallels with gold 1-of-1 varations of the cards. Upper Deck is even bridging present and past with its Retrospective Rookies set that will feature golfers who hadn't previously had a Young Guns card like Tiger Woods, Jim Furyk, Collin Morikawa, Annika Sorenstam, Michelle Wie West, and Lexi Thompson. Those card designs will utilize the Young Guns design from each golfer's debut year.
Upper Deck will also retain inserts like Dazzlers and UD Canvas. The Upper Deck Golf release is slated for February 18, 2026. Later in the year, Upper Deck plans to release Allure Golf, Fleer Ultra Gold, and Artifacts Golf sets.
Joe is a journalist and writer who covers college and professional sports. He has written or co-written over a dozen sports books, including several regional best sellers. His last book, A Fine Team Man, is about Jackie Robinson and the lives he changed. Joe has been a guest on MLB Network, the Paul Finebaum show and numerous other television and radio shows. He has been inside MLB dugouts, covered bowl games and conference tournaments with Saturday Down South and still loves telling the stories of sports past and present.