Golf eLife

1950

The LPGA is founded, replacing the ailing Women’s Professional Golf Association.

Ben Hogan, only weeks after returning to the PGA TOUR following a near-fatal auto accident, wins the U.S. Open at Oakland Hills

1951

Francis Ouimet becomes the first American Captain of the R & A.

The USGA and the R & A, in a conference, complete a newly revised Rules of Golf. Although in1951 the R & A and the USGA continue to differ over the size of the golf ball, all other conflicts are resolved in this momentous conference. The center-shafted putter is legalized world-wide. The out-of-bounds penalty is standardized at stroke-and-distance, and the stymie is finally and forever abolished.

Golf Digest is founded, with Bill Davis as editor.

Al Brosch shoots 60 in the Texas Open to set an 18-hole PGA TOUR record.

1952

Marlene Hagge wins the Sarasota Open when she is 18 years 14 days old-an LPGA record.

Patty Berg shoots an LPGA-record of 64 for an 18-hole round.

The National Hole-in-One Clearing House is established by Golf Digest.

1953

Tommy Armour’s How to Play Your Best Golf All the Time is published and becomes the first golf book ever to hit the best-seller lists.

Ben Hogan wins the first three legs of the modern “Grand Slam” (The Masters, U.S. Open, and British Open), but fails to win the final leg, the PGA Championship.

The Tam O’Shanter World Championship becomes the first tournament to be nationally televised. Lew Worsham holes a 104-yard wedge shot on the final hole for eagle and victory in one of the most dramatic finishes ever.

The Canada Cup is instituted, the first event that brings together teams from all over the world. After 1966 the tournament is known as the World Cup.

1954

Peter Thomson becomes the first Australian to win a major tournament with a victory in the British Open.

Architect Robert Trent Jones, upon receiving complaints that he has made the par-3 fourth hole at Baltusrol too hard for the upcoming U.S. Open, plays the hole to see for himself and records a hole-in-one.

The U.S. Open is nationally televised for the first time.

The Tam O’Shanter World Championship offers the first $100,000 purse for a golf tournament.

“All-Star Golf,” a filmed series of matches, debuts on network television.

Babe Zaharias returns to the LPGA Tour following cancer surgery and wins the U.S. Women’s Open.

The first PGA Merchandise Show is held in a parking lot in Dunedin, Florida, outside the PGA National Golf Club. Salesmen work the show out of the trunks of their cars. The Show goes on to become one of the main events on the golfing calendar-by 1994 it grows to over 30,000 attendees, four days, and has become the single-largest tenant of the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, spilling over 220,000 square feet of exhibit space.

1955

Mike Souchak shoots 60-68-64-65 for a PGA TOUR record 27-under-par 257 for 72 holes, at Brackenridge Park GC in the Texas Open. The record still stands.

1956

The current yardage guides for par are adopted by the USGA.

1957

Great Britain wins the Ryder Cup matches at Lindrick-ending a drought that dates back to 1935.

E. Harvie Ward loses his amateur status for accepting expenses from sponsors for golf tournaments. The ruling is reversed in 1958.

Ben Hogan’s Five Lessons is published.

1958

Arnold Palmer is allowed a controversial free drop to save par in the final round of the Masters, and he goes on to defeat Ken Venturi.

1959

Bill Wright, in winning the U.S. Amateur Public Links, becomes the first African-American to win a national championship.

Golf Magazine is founded, with Charles Price as the first editor.

Golfelife

1930

Bobby Jones completes the original Grand Slam, winning the U.S. and British Amateurs and the U.S. and British Opens in the same year. Since Jones is an amateur, however, the financial windfall belongs to professional Bobby Cruickshank, who bets on Jones to complete the Slam, at 120-1 odds, and pockets $60,000.

The Minehead Club makes Captaincy elective. They had been the last club to award the Captaincy to the winner of the annual competition.

The Duke of York (later King George VI) is elected Captain of the R & A.

Shinnecock Hill Golf Club opens its modern course on Long Island, NY.

Bob Harlow is hired as manager of the PGA’s Tournament Bureau, and he first proposes the idea of expanding “The Circuit,” as the TOUR is then known, from a series of winter events leading up to the season ending North & South Open in spring, into a year-round TOUR.

1931

Billy Burke defeats George Von Elm in a 72- hole playoff at Inverness to win the 1931 U.S. Open, in the longest playoff ever played. They were tied at 292 after regulation play, and both scored 149 in the first 36-hole playoff. Burke is the first golfer to win a major championship using steel-shafted golf clubs.

The USGA increases the minimum size of the golf ball from 1.62 inches to 1.68 inches, and decreases the maximum weight from 1.62 ounces to 1.55. The R&A does not follow suit. The lighter, larger “balloon ball” is universally despised and eventually the USGA raises the weight back to 1.62 ounces.

1932

The first Curtis Cup Matches are held at Wentworth in England.

The concave-faced wedge is banned.

Gene Sarazen introduces the sand-wedge.

1933

The Prince of Wales reaches the final of the Parliamentary Handicap Tournament.

Augusta National Golf Club, designed by Alister Mackenzie with advice from Bobby Jones, opens for play.

Craig Wood hits a 430-yard drive at the Old Course’s fifth hole in the British Open, this is still the longest drive in a major championship.

Hershey Chocolate Company, in sponsoring the Hershey Open, becomes the first corporate title sponsor of a professional tournament.

1934

The first Masters is played. Horton Smith is the first champion. In this inaugural event, the present-day back and front nines were reversed.

1935

Glynna Collett Vare wins the U.S. Women’s Amateur a record sixth time.

Pinehurst #2 is completed by Donald Ross, generally described as his masterpiece.

Gene Sarazen double-eagles the par-5 15th hole to catch the leaders at the Masters. His “Shot Heard Round the World” propels him to victory, and due to the coverage of his feat, propels both the game of golf and Augusta National to new heights of popularity.

1936

Henry Cotton wins his third consecutive British Open.

Johnny Fisher becomes the last golfer to win a major championship (the U.S. Amateur) with hickory-shafted clubs.

1937

The Bing Crosby Pro-Am is inaugurated in San Diego. A few years later it moves to the Monterey Peninsula.

1938

The British amateurs score their first victory over the United States in the Walker Cup Matches at the Old Course.

The Palm Beach Invitational becomes the first tournament to make a contribution to charity-$10,000.

The 14-club rule is instituted by the USGA.

1940

The British Open and Amateur are discontinued for the duration of the Second World War.

1942

The U.S. Open is discontinued for the duration of the war. A world-wide shortage of rubber, a vital military supply, creates a shortage and huge price increase in golf balls. Sam Snead manages to complete an entire four-day tournament playing one ball, but the professional circuit is severely curtailed.

The U.S. government halts the manufacture of golf equipment for the duration of the war.

1943

The PGA Championship is cancelled for the year, and the Masters is discontinued for the duration of the war.

1944

The PGA expands the TOUR to 22 events despite the absence of many of its star players due to military service.

1945

Byron Nelson wins 18 tournaments in a calendar year to set an all-time PGA TOUR record-including a record 11 in a row and a record 19 consecutive rounds under 70. His total prize earnings during his 11-win streak, $30,000, is less than last place money for the PGA TOUR Championship by 1992.

The Tam O’Shanter Open offers a then-record purse of $60,000.

1946

The U.S. Women’s Open is instituted. Petty Berg is the first winner.

1947

Mildred “Babe” Zaharias becomes the first American to win the British Women’s Open, at Gullane.

Golf is televised for the first time, in a local St. Louis telecast of the U.S. Open.

Golf World magazine is founded.

1948

Bobby Locke becomes the first South African to win the British Open.

Bobby Locke sets a PGA TOUR record with a 16-stroke winning margin in the Chicago Victory National Championship.

Herbert Warren Wind’s authoritative The Story of American Golf is published.

The U.S. Junior Amateur is instituted. Ken Venturi loses to Dean Lind in the first final.

The USGA Golf Journal is founded.

1949

Louise Suggs wins the U.S. Women’s Open by a record margin of 14 strokes.

Marie Roke of Wollaston, MA aces a 393-yard hole-the longest ace ever recorded by a woman.

1900

Harry Vardon wins the U.S. Open, the first golfer to win both the British and U.S. Opens.

Golf is placed on the Olympic calendar for the 2nd Games at Paris.

1901

Walter Travis becomes the first golfer, in the U.S. Amateur, to win a major title with the Haskell ball. When Sandy Herd wins the British Open and Laurie Auchterlonie the U.S. Open the next year with the Haskell, virtually all competitors switch to the new ball.

Sunningdale, a course built amidst a cleared forest, opens for play. It is the first course with grass grown completely from seed. Previously, golf courses were routed through meadows, which frequently created drainage problems as the meadows were typically atop clay soil.

The first course at the Carolina Hotel (later the Pinehurst Resort & CC) in Pinehurst, N.C., is completed by Donald Ross. Ross will go on to design 600 courses in his storied career as a golf course architect.

1902

England and Scotland inaugurate an Amateur Team competition, with Scotland winning at Hoylake.

The first grooved-faced irons are invented.

1903

Oakmont C.C. is founded in Oakmont, Pennsylvania, designed by Henry Fownes. It is widely regarded as one of the finest examples of penal-style golf architecture.

1904

Walter J. Travis becomes the first American to win the British Amateur.

1905

Women golfers from Great Britain and the United States play an international match, with the British winning 6 matches to 1.

The first dimple-pattern for golf balls is patented by William Taylor in England.

The Complete Golfer by Harry Vardon is published. It promotes and demonstrates the Vardon or overlapping grip.

1906

Goodrich introduces a golf ball with a rubber core filled with compressed air. The “Pneu-matic” proves quite lively, but also prone to explode in warm weather, often in a golfer’s pocket. The ball is eventually discontinued; at this time the Haskell ball achieves a dominance of the golf ball market.

1907

Arnaud Massey becomes the first golfer from the Continent to win the British Open.

1908

Mrs. Gordon Robertson, at Princes Ladies GC, becomes the first female professional.

The Mystery of Golf by Arnold Haultain is published.

1909

The USGA rules that caddies, caddymasters and greenkeepers over the age of sixteen are professional golfers. The ruling is later modified and eventually reversed in 1963.

1910

The R & A bans the center-shafted putter while the USGA keeps it legal — marking the beginning of a 42-year period with two official versions of The Rules of Golf.

Steel shafts are patented by Arthur F. Knight.

1911

J.J. McDermott becomes the first native-born American to win the U.S. Open. At 17 years of age, he is also the youngest winner to date.

1912

John Ball wins his eighth British Amateur championship, a record not yet equalled.

1913

Francis Ouimet, age 20, becomes the first amateur to win the U.S. Open, defeating favorites Harry Vardon and Ted Ray in a play-off.

The first professional international match is played between France and the United States at La Boulie, France.

1914

Formation of The Tokyo Club at Komozawa kicks off the Japanese golf boom.

Harry Vardon wins his sixth British Open, a record to this day (Peter Thomson and Tom Watson have since won five Opens each).

1915

The British Open is discontinued for the duration of the First World War.

1916

The PGA of America is founded by 82 charter members and the PGA Championship is inaugurated. James Barnes is the first champion.

The first miniature golf course opens in Pinehurst, North Carolina.

Francis Ouimet is banned from amateur play for his involvement with a sporting goods business. The ruling creates a stir of protest and is reversed in 1918.

1917

The PGA Championship and the U.S. Open are discontinued for the duration of the First World War.

1919

The R & A assumes control over the British Open and the British Amateur.

Pebble Beach Golf Links opens as the Del Monte G.L. in Pebble Beach, California.

1920

The USGA founds its famed Green Section to conduct research on turfgrass.

The first practice range is opened in Pinehurst, North Carolina.

The Professional Golfer of America is first published which, today known as PGA Magazine, is the oldest continually-published golf magazine in the United States.

1921

The R & A limits the size and weight of the ball.

1922

Walter Hagen becomes the first native American to win the British Open. He subsequently becomes the first professional golfer to open a golf equipment company under his own name.

The Walker Cup Matches are instituted. The grandson of Walker Cup founder George Herbert Walker is George H.W. Bush, the 41st President of the United States.

The Prince of Wales is elected Captain of the R & A.

The Texas Open is inaugurated, the second-oldest surviving PGA TOUR event.

Pine Valley Golf Club opens.

1923

The West and East courses at Winged Foot Golf Club open for play, designed by A.W. Tillinghast.

1924

Joyce Wethered wins her record fifth consecutive English Ladies’ Championship.

The Olympic Club in San Francisco opens for play.

The USGA legalizes steel shafted golf clubs. The R & A does not follow suit until 1929, widening the breach in The Rules of Golf.

1925

The first fairway irrigation system is developed in Dallas, Texas.

Deep-grooved irons are banned by both the USGA and the R & A.

1926

Jesse Sweetser becomes the first native-born American to win the British Amateur.

Bobby Jones wins the British Open.

Gate money is instituted at the British Open.

Walter Hagen defeats Bobby Jones 12 and 11 in a privately sponsored 72-hole match in Florida.

The Los Angeles Open is inaugurated, the third-oldest surviving PGA TOUR event. The L.A. Open is also the first tournament to offer a $10,000 purse.

1927

The inaugural Ryder Cup Matches are played between Britain and the United States.

Creeping bentgrass is developed for putting greens by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

1928

Cypress Point Club opens, designed by Alister Mackenzie.

1929

Walter Hagen wins the British Open for the fourth time.

Seminole Golf Club opens in Palm Beach, Fla., from a design by Donald Ross.

Golfelife

1856

The Royal Curragh Golf Club is founded at Kildare, the first golf club in Ireland. Pau Golf Club is founded, the first on the Continent.

A rule change is enacted that, in match play, the ball must be played as it lies or the hole be conceded. It is the last recorded toughening of the rules structure.

1857

The Golfer’s Manual, by “A Keen Hand” (H.B. Farnie), is published. It is the first book on golf instruction.

The Prestwick Club institutes the first Championship Meeting, a foursomes competition at St. Andrews attended by eleven golf clubs. George Glennie and J.C. Stewart win for Blackheath.

1858

The format of the Championship Meeting is changed to individual match play and is won by Robert Chambers of Bruntsfield.

Allan Robertson becomes the first golfer to break 80 at the Old Course, recording a 79.

1859

The first Amateur Championship is won by George Condie of Perth.

Death of Allan Robertson, the first great professional golfer.

1860

The Prestwick Club institutes a Professional Championship played at Prestwick-the first Championship Belt is won by Willie Park.

1861

The Professionals Championship is opened to amateurs, and the British Open is born. The first competition is won by Old Tom Morris.

1864

The North Devon Golf Club is founded at Westward Ho!

1867

The Ladies’ Golf Club at St. Andrews is founded, the first golf club for women.

1869

The Liverpool Golf Club is founded at Hoylake, later Royal Liverpool.

Young Tom Morris, age 17, wins the first of four successive British Open championships. His streak would include an 11-stroke victory in 1869 and a 12-stroke victory in 1870 (in a 36-hole format). His 149 in the 1870 British Open over 36 holes is a stroke average that would not be equalled until the invention of the rubber-cored ball.

1870

Young Tom Morris wins his third consecutive British Open Championship, thus winning permanent possession of the Belt.

The Royal Adelaide Golf Club is founded, the first golf club in Australia.

1872

The British Open Championship is reinstituted when Prestwick, St. Andrews and the Honourable Company offer a new trophy, with the Open Championship to be hosted in rotation by the three clubs.

Young Tom Morris wins his fourth consecutive British Open Championship.

1873

The Royal Montreal Golf Club is formed, the first club in Canada.

The British Open is held for the first time at the Old Course.

1875

The Oxford and Cambridge University Golf Clubs are founded.

1878

The first University Match is played at Wimbledon, won by Oxford.

1880

Royal Belfast is founded.

The use of moulds is instituted to dimple the gutta-percha ball. Golfers had long noticed that the guttie worked in the air much better after it had been hit several times and scuffed up.

1883

Bob Ferguson of Musselburgh, losing the British Open in extra holes, comes one victory shy of equalling Young Tom Morris’ record of four consecutive titles. Ferguson ends up later in life penniless, working out of the Musselburgh caddy-shack.

1884

The Oakhurst Golf Club is founded at White Sulphur Springs. The first hole at The Homestead survives from this course and is the oldest surviving golf hole in America.

1885

The Royal Cape Golf Club is founded at Wynberg, South Africa, the first club in Africa.

1886

A.J. Balfour is appointed Chief Secretary (Cabinet Minister) for Ireland-his rise to political and social prominence has an incalculable effect on the popularity of golf, as he is an indefatigable player and catalyzes great interest in the game through his writing and public speaking.

1887

The Art of Golf by Sir Walter Simpson is published.

1888

The St. Andrews Golf Club is founded in Yonkers, N.Y., the oldest surviving golf club in America.

1890

John Ball, an English amateur, becomes the first non-Scotsman and first amateur to win the British Open.

Bogey is invented by Hugh Rotherham, as the score of the hypothetical golfer playing perfect golf at every hole. Rotherham calls this a “Ground Score,” but Dr. Thomas Brown, honorary Secretary of the Great Yarmouth Club, christens this hypothetical man a “Bogey Man,” after a popular song of the day, and christens his score a “Bogey.” With the invention of the rubber-cored ball golfers are able to reach the greens in fewer strokes, and so bogey has come to represent one over the par score for the hole.

1891

Shinnecock Hills Golf Club is founded.

1892

Gate money is charged for the first time, at a match between Douglas Rollard and Jack White at Cambridge. The practice of paying for matches through private betting, rather than gate receipts and sponsorships, survives well into the 20th Century as a “Calcutta,” but increasingly gate receipts are the source of legitimate prize-purses.

The Amateur Golf Championship of India and the East is instituted, the first international championship event.

1893

The [British] Ladies’ Golf Union is founded and the first Open Championship won by Lady Margaret Scott, at St. Anne’s.

1894

The Open is played on an English course for the first time and is won for the first time by an Englishman, J.H. Taylor.

The United States Golf Association is founded as the Amateur Golf Association of the United States. Charter members are the Chicago Golf Club, The Country Club, Newport Golf Club, St. Andrews Golf Club, and Shinnecock Hills Golf Club.

Tacoma Golf Club is founded, the first golf club on the Pacific Coast.

1895

The United States Open is instituted. Willie Anderson is the first winner.

Chicago Golf Club opens the United States’ first 18-hole golf course.

The pool cue is banned as a putter by the USGA.

The U.S. Women’s Amateur is instituted. Mrs. Charles S. Brown is the first winner.

1896

Harry Vardon wins his first British Open.

1897

The first NCAA championship is held. Louis Bayard Jr. is the champion.

Golf, America’s first golfing magazine, is published for the first time.

1898

Freddie Tait, betting he could reach the Royal Cinque Ports G.C. clubhouse from the clubhouse at Royal St. George’s — a three mile distance — in forty shots or less, puts his 32nd stroke through a window at the Cinque Ports club.

The Haskell ball is designed and patented by Coburn Haskell. It is the first rubber-cored ball.

The term “birdie” is coined at Atlantic C.C. from “a bird of a hole.”

1899

The Western Open is first played at Glenview G.C., the first tournament in what would evolve into the PGA TOUR.