Golfer Ryder Cup Member Johnny Palmer Golf Original Photo Pga Vintage
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GOLFER RYDER CUP MEMBER JOHNNY PALMER GOLF ORIGINAL PHOTO PGA VINTAGE . A VINTAGE ORIGINAL PHOTO OF PGA GOLFER JOHNNY PALMER FROM 1955 MEASURING APPROXIMATELY 8 1/8 X 10 INCHES John C. Palmer was an American professional golfer. Born in Eldorado, North Carolina, Palmer won seven times on the PGA Tour in the 1940s and 1950s, and was a member of the Ryder Cup team 1949. Palmer died in Albemarle, North Carolina, at age 88 from undisclosed causes.
John C. Palmer (July 3, 1918 – September 14, 2006) was an American professional golfer. Born in Eldorado, North Carolina, Palmer won seven times on the PGA Tour in the 1940s and 1950s, and was a member of the Ryder Cup team 1949. Palmer died in Albemarle, North Carolina, at age 88 from undisclosed causes.[1] Contents 1 Professional wins 1.1 PGA Tour wins (7) 1.2 Other wins 2 Results in major championships 2.1 Summary 3 See also 4 References Professional wins PGA Tour wins (7) 1946 (1) Nashville Invitational 1947 (1) Western Open 1948 (1) Philadelphia Inquirer Open 1949 (2) Houston Open, World Championship of Golf 1952 (1) Canadian Open 1954 (1) Colonial National Invitation Other wins this list may be incomplete 1941 Carolinas Open 1947 Utah Open 1948 Carolinas PGA Championship 1949 Carolinas Open, Carolinas PGA Championship 1950 Carolinas Open 1951 Carolinas PGA Championship 1952 Carolinas PGA Championship 1954 Mexican Open, Carolinas PGA Championship 1957 Oklahoma Open Results in major championships Tournament 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 Masters Tournament T26 NT NT NT T32 T17 T28 T4 U.S. Open T21 NT NT NT NT T35 T6 T35 T8 PGA Championship NT R32 2 Tournament 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 Masters Tournament T24 T30 12 13 T33 T18 11 T24 U.S. Open T10 T24 T34 CUT CUT PGA Championship QF R64 R64 R64 R32 QF R64 R64 CUT Note: Palmer never played in The Open Championship. Top 10 Did not play NT = no tournament CUT = missed the half-way cut (3rd round cut in 1958 PGA Championship) R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = round in which player lost in PGA Championship match play "T" indicates a tie for a place Summary Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts made Masters Tournament 0 0 0 1 1 8 13 13 U.S. Open 0 0 0 0 3 5 10 8 The Open Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 PGA Championship 0 1 0 3 3 5 11 10 Totals 0 1 0 4 7 18 34 31 Most consecutive cuts made – 31 (1941 U.S. Open – 1957 Masters) Longest streak of top-10s – 3 (1949 Masters – 1949 PGA) The Professional Golfers' Association of America (PGA of America) is an American organization of golf professionals that was founded in 1916. Consisting of nearly 29,000 men and women members, the PGA of America's undertaking is to establish and elevate the standards of the profession and to grow interest and participation in the game of golf. On December 4, 2018, it was announced that the PGA plans to relocate its headquarters by the summer of 2022 from Palm Beach Gardens, Florida to a planned 600 acre mixed-use development in Frisco, Texas.[1] Contents 1 History 2 Championships 3 Growth of the game 4 Organization 4.1 PGA professionals 4.2 PGA Reach 4.3 PGA presidents 5 PGA properties 6 See also 7 References 8 External links History The Professional Golfers' Association of America was established on April 10, 1916, but the genesis of the first all-professional golf body in the United States was sparked by a luncheon on January 17, 1916, hosted by Rodman Wanamaker at Wanamaker's Store on Ninth Street and Broadway in New York City.[2] Sixty attendees were invited by the Taplow Club, which was a business group within Wanamaker's Store and led by professional Tom McNamara of Brookline, Massachusetts, an outstanding player and talented salesman who was keenly aware of the welfare of the club professional.[3] McNamara pressed upon Wanamaker that it was prime time to bring U.S. professionals together, and that the publicity generated would be advantageous. Locked into a retail battle with rival A.G. Spalding & Bros. for the sale of golf balls, Wanamaker enthusiastically approved the initiative. He asked McNamara to arrange the luncheon inviting prominent amateur and professional golf leaders from throughout the country.[4] Wanamaker's ninth floor restaurant was chosen as the site for the Monday luncheon, which attracted amateur great Francis Ouimet, noted writer, player and budding architect A.W. Tillinghast; and P.C. Pulver, the New York Evening Sun reporter and one of the first newspaper golf "beat" writers who later served as the first editor of The Professional Golfer, today's PGA Magazine. The guest list also included some of America's top professionals: Alex Smith, James Maiden, Robert White, Jack Mackie and Alex Pirie, as well as others who derived their livelihoods from their jobs at private and public golf facilities.[5] The Taplow Club was not an eatery or dining establishment. Instead, it was Wanamaker's nickname for his in-store business group. He had taken the name from a palatial estate he leased on Taplow Court some 25 miles outside London. He would later stamp "Taplow" on his store's lower-end, private-label golf balls. Wanamaker, who was not a golfer, was never reported to have attended the luncheon. He delegated the details to McNamara. With golf becoming more and more popular in the U.S., McNamara believed that his fellow professionals could benefit by working together. Wanamaker also believed consolidating professionals would also improve their social standing, having long been treated by club members as second-class citizens. Toastmaster Joseph H. Appel, vice president of Wanamaker's foundation, presented Wanamaker's offer to conduct a match play championship for professionals, similar to Great Britain's News of the World Tournament. Appel also broached the subject of a national association of professionals. In addition, Wanamaker would donate a cup and $2,580 in prize money, and would ultimately pay the travel expenses of the competitors. That "cup" became the Rodman Wanamaker Trophy, and the tournament the PGA Championship. The inaugural PGA Championship was held October 10–14, 1916, at Siwanoy Country Club in Bronxville, New York, and won by English-born Jim Barnes. Former British PGA Secretary James Hepburn suggested that the 32 lowest finishers in the U.S. Open would be paired for match play, following Robert White's contention that the U.S. was too large for section qualifiers. The all-professional match play concept was in direct contrast to the United States Golf Association's medal (stroke) play format. Wanamaker requested that the proposal for the Championship be contingent upon approval by the USGA or other governing bodies. Tillinghast spoke up and declared that the professionals should be independent of the USGA in handling their own affairs and competitions. Tillinghast's argument held, as a follow-up organizational meeting was planned the following day in Wanamaker's store. Organizers then formed a seven-person group whose primary task was to define tentative bylaws for the new association. They named Hepburn to chair an organizational committee of professionals that included Maiden, White and Mackie, as well as Gilbert Nicholls, John "Jack" Hobens, and Herbert Strong - none of the group was American-born. This group drafted a constitution, turning to the British PGA for assistance. The luncheon agenda addressed giving golf professionals say when it came to the organization and staging of tournaments, among other employment issues. The response to creating such a body was positive, and additional meetings followed. On April 10, 1916, in the second-floor boardroom of the Hotel Martinique on 32nd and Broadway, the Professional Golfers' Association of America was born. There were 78 members elected that day, including 35 PGA Charter Members, of which 28 were born outside the U.S. The Association began with seven PGA Sections: Metropolitan, Middle States, New England, Southeastern, Central, Northwestern and Pacific. Today, there are 41 PGA Sections nationwide. From 1934 through November 1961, the PGA of America maintained a "Caucasian-only" membership clause in its bylaws. The clause was removed by amending its constitution.[6][7] The previous year, it had voted to retain the clause, and had gained the ire of California's attorney general Stanley Mosk, who threatened to shut down the PGA in the state until the clause was removed. The 1962 PGA Championship was scheduled for Brentwood Country Club in Los Angeles, but the PGA moved it to Philadelphia at Aronimink.[6] With an increase of revenue in the late 1960s due to expanded television coverage, a dispute arose between the touring professionals and the PGA of America on how to distribute the windfall. The tour players wanted larger purses, where the PGA desired the money to go to the general fund to help grow the game at the local level.[8] Following the final major in July 1968 at the PGA Championship, several leading tour pros voiced their dissatisfaction with the venue and the abundance of club pros in the field.[9] The increased friction resulted in a new entity in August, what would eventually become the PGA Tour.[10][11][12][13] Tournament players formed their own organization, American Professional Golfers, Inc. (APG), independent of the PGA of America.[14][15][16] After several months,[17] a compromise was reached in December: the tour players agreed to abolish the APG and form the PGA "Tournament Players Division," a fully autonomous division under the supervision of a new 10-member Tournament Policy Board.[18][19][20][21] The board consisted of four tour players, three PGA of America executives, and three outside members, initially business executives.[19][20][22] It hired its own commissioner and was renamed the "PGA Tour" in the mid-1970s. In October 2014, PGA President Ted Bishop responded to Ian Poulter's criticism of the Ryder Cup captaincy of Nick Faldo and Tom Watson by calling Poulter a "lil' girl", which led to Bishop's firing. The PGA called Bishop's statements "unacceptable" and "insensitive gender-based".[23][24] Championships The PGA conducts annual men's, senior, and women's major championships: the PGA Championship, the Senior PGA Championship, and the Women's PGA Championship (which was renamed from the LPGA Championship in 2015 after a partnership between the LPGA and the PGA of America to heighten the event's profile).[25] All three tournaments feature professional golfers, but their fields also contain slots reserved for club professionals. The PGA conducts more than 30 tournaments for its members and apprentices, including the PGA Professional Championship and the Assistant PGA Professional Championship. It also co-organizes the biennial Ryder Cup, PGA Cup and in 2019, the inaugural Women's PGA Cup. Growth of the game In 2003, the PGA of America created the Player Development department within the Association in an endeavor to reach out to new, past and sporadic adult golfers. This is accomplished through the growth, promotion and support of instructional programs and events at PGA Member facilities that support adults and families to play golf. Included in these programs is Play Golf America, instigated in 2004 with the help of the Allied Associations (LPGA, National Golf Course Owners Association, PGA Tour, USGA, and others involved in the annual Golf 20/20 Conference). Organization The PGA is organized into 14 districts and 41 sections. District 1 Northeast New York Connecticut New England District 2 Metropolitan New Jersey Philadelphia District 3 Alabama-Northwest Florida Gulf States Tennessee District 4 Central New York Tri-State Western New York District 5 Michigan Northern Ohio Southern Ohio District 6 Illinois Indiana Wisconsin District 7 Gateway Midwest South Central District 8 Iowa Minnesota Nebraska District 9 Colorado Rocky Mountain Utah District 10 Carolinas Kentucky Mid-Atlantic District 11 Aloha Northern California Southern California District 12 Northern Texas Southern Texas Sun Country District 13 Georgia Northern Florida Southern Florida District 14 Pacific Northwest Southwest PGA professionals To be elected to membership of the PGA, aspirant golf professionals (apprentices) and students go through three levels of education courses, written exams, simulation testing, seminars, and must pass the PGA Playing Ability Test. These men and women have the option to pursue the PGA education through self-study, by the use of accredited PGA Golf Management Universities (currently 18 universities in the United States offer a PGA Golf Management program),[26] or through an accelerated PGA Golf Management Program. PGA Reach PGA Reach is the charitable foundation of the PGA of America. The mission of PGA Reach is to positively impact the lives of youth, military, and diverse populations by enabling access to PGA professionals, PGA Sections and the game of golf. PGA presidents Robert White, Metropolitan PGA Section, 1916–19 Jack Mackie, Metropolitan PGA Section, 1919–20 George Sargent, Southeastern PGA Section, 1921–26 Alex Pirie, Metropolitan PGA Section, 1927–30 Charles Hall, Southeastern PGA Section, 1931–32 George Jacobus, New Jersey PGA Section, 1933–39 Tom Walsh, Illinois PGA Section, 1940–41 Ed Dudley, Philadelphia PGA Section, 1942–48 Joe Novak, Southern California PGA Section, 1949–51 Horton Smith, Michigan PGA Section, 1952–54 Harry Moffitt, Northern Ohio PGA Section, 1955–57 Harold Sargent, Southeastern PGA Section, 1958–60 Lou Strong, Illinois PGA Section, 1961–63 Warren Cantrell, Texas PGA Section, 1964–65 Max Elbin, Middle Atlantic PGA Section, 1966–68 Leo Fraser, Philadelphia PGA Section, 1969–70 Warren Orlick, Michigan PGA Section, 1971–72 William Clarke, Middle Atlantic PGA Section, 1973–74 Henry Poe, Dixie PGA Section, 1975–76 Don Padgett, Indiana PGA Section, 1977–78 Frank Cardi, Metropolitan PGA Section, 1979–80 Joe Black, Northern Texas PGA Section, 1981–82 Mark Kizziar, South Central PGA Section, 1983–84 Mickey Powell, Indiana PGA Section, 1985–86 James Ray Carpenter, Gulf States PGA Section, 1987–88 Patrick J. Rielly, Southern California PGA Section, 1989–90 Dick Smith, Philadelphia PGA Section, 1991–92 Gary Schaal, Carolinas PGA Section, 1993–94 Tom Addis III, Southern California PGA Section, 1995–96 Ken Lindsay, Gulf States PGA Section, 1997–98 Will Mann, Carolinas PGA Section, 1999–2000 Jack Connelly, Philadelphia PGA Section, 2001–02 M.G. Orender, North Florida PGA Section, 2003–04 Roger Warren, Carolinas PGA Section, 2005–06 Brian Whitcomb, Southwest PGA Section, 2007–08 Jim Remy, New England PGA Section, 2009–10 Allen Wronowski, Middle Atlantic Section, 2011–12 Ted Bishop, Indiana PGA Section, 2013–14 Derek Sprague, Northeastern New York PGA Section, 2015–16 Paul K. Levy, Southern California PGA Section, 2017–2018 Suzy Whaley, South Florida PGA Section, 2018–Current PGA properties PGA Golf Club (Port St. Lucie, Florida) — 54 holes of public-access resort golf designed by Tom Fazio and Pete Dye in PGA Village, which is ranked among the "75 Best Golf Resorts in North America" by Golf Digest (No. 51). PGA Center for Golf Learning and Performance (Port St. Lucie, Florida) — 35-acre (140,000 m2) golf park featuring a lighted driving range, short game practice area, and a three-hole teaching course. Ranked among the Top 100 Golf Ranges in America from 1999 to 2011 by Golf Range Magazine. PGA Gallery - located in the halls of the PGA Golf Club clubhouse in Port St. Lucie, Florida. The PGA Gallery showcases the major trophies in golf, and artifacts of PGA Champions and many rare pieces of PGA history to connect visitors to the rich history of the game and the Association. PGA Education Center (Port St. Lucie, Florida) — Provides education programs to serve both PGA members and apprentices. Valhalla Golf Club (Louisville, Kentucky) — Designed by Jack Nicklaus. Site of the 2008 Ryder Cup; 2004 and 2011 Senior PGA Championships; 2002 PGA Professional National Championship; and 1996, 2000 and 2014 PGA Championships. Ranked No. 95 among "America's 100 Greatest Golf Courses" by Golf Digest.[27] See also Dewey Brown Golf in the United States LPGA Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not utilize a standardized playing area, and coping with the varied terrains encountered on different courses is a key part of the game. The game at the usual level is played on a course with an arranged progression of 18 holes, though recreational courses can be smaller, often having nine holes. Each hole on the course must contain a teeing ground to start from, and a putting green containing the actual hole or cup 4+1⁄4 inches (11 cm) in diameter. There are other standard forms of terrain in between, such as the fairway, rough (long grass), bunkers (or "sand traps"), and various hazards (water, rocks) but each hole on a course is unique in its specific layout and arrangement. Golf is played for the lowest number of strokes by an individual, known as stroke play, or the lowest score on the most individual holes in a complete round by an individual or team, known as match play. Stroke play is the most commonly seen format at all levels, but most especially at the elite level. The modern game of golf originated in 15th century Scotland. The 18-hole round was created at the Old Course at St Andrews in 1764. Golf's first major, and the world's oldest tournament in existence, is The Open Championship, also known as the British Open, which was first played in 1860 at the Prestwick Golf Club in Ayrshire, Scotland. This is one of the four major championships in men's professional golf, the other three being played in the United States: The Masters, the U.S. Open, and the PGA Championship. Contents 1 Origin and history 2 Golf course 3 Play of the game 4 Rules and regulations 4.1 Penalties 5 Equipment 6 Stroke mechanics 6.1 Stance 6.2 Strokes 6.3 Musculature 6.4 Types of putting 7 Scoring and handicapping 7.1 Par 7.1.1 Scoring 7.2 Basic forms of golf 7.2.1 Match play 7.2.2 Stroke play 7.3 Other formats of play 7.3.1 Bogey or par competition 7.3.2 Stableford 7.3.3 Basic pairs formats 7.3.4 Team formats 7.4 Handicap systems 8 Popularity 8.1 Golf courses worldwide 9 Professional golf 9.1 Instruction 9.2 Golf tours 9.3 Men's major championships 9.4 Women's major championships 9.5 Senior major championships 9.6 Olympic Games 10 Women 11 International events 12 See also 13 References 14 External links Origin and history Main article: History of golf The Xuande Emperor of the Ming dynasty playing chuiwan While the modern game of golf originated in 15th-century Scotland, the game's ancient origins are unclear and much debated. Some historians[3] trace the sport back to the Roman game of paganica, in which participants used a bent stick to hit a stuffed leather ball. One theory asserts that paganica spread throughout Europe as the Romans conquered most of the continent, during the first century BC, and eventually evolved into the modern game.[4] Others cite chuiwan (捶丸; "chui" means striking and "wan" means small ball)[5] as the progenitor, a Chinese game played between the eighth and fourteenth centuries.[6] A Ming Dynasty scroll by the artist Youqiu dating back to 1368 entitled "The Autumn Banquet" shows a member of the Chinese Imperial court swinging what appears to be a golf club at a small ball with the aim of sinking it into a hole.[5] The game is thought to have been introduced into Europe during the Middle Ages.[7] The MacDonald boys playing golf, attributed to William Mosman. 18th century, National Galleries of Scotland. Another early game that resembled modern golf was known as cambuca in England and chambot in France.[7] The Persian game chowkan is another possible ancient origin, albeit being more polo-like. In addition, kolven (a game involving a ball and curved bats) was played annually in Loenen, Netherlands, beginning in 1297, to commemorate the capture of the assassin of Floris V, a year earlier. The modern game originated in Scotland, where the first written record of golf is James II's banning of the game in 1457, as an unwelcome distraction to learning archery.[8] James IV lifted the ban in 1502 when he became a golfer himself, with golf clubs first recorded in 1503–1504: "For golf clubbes and balles to the King that he playit with".[9] To many golfers, the Old Course at St Andrews, a links course dating to before 1574, is considered to be a site of pilgrimage.[10] In 1764, the standard 18-hole golf course was created at St Andrews when members modified the course from 22 to 18 holes.[11] Golf is documented as being played on Musselburgh Links, East Lothian, Scotland as early as 2 March 1672, which is certified as the oldest golf course in the world by Guinness World Records.[12][13] The oldest surviving rules of golf were compiled in March 1744 for the Company of Gentlemen Golfers, later renamed The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers, which was played at Leith, Scotland.[14] The world's oldest golf tournament in existence, and golf's first major, is The Open Championship, which was first played on 17 October 1860 at Prestwick Golf Club, in Ayrshire, Scotland, with Scottish golfers winning the earliest majors.[15] Two Scotsmen from Dunfermline, John Reid and Robert Lockhart, first demonstrated golf in the U.S. by setting up a hole in an orchard in 1888, with Reid setting up America's first golf club the same year, Saint Andrew's Golf Club in Yonkers, New York.[16] Golf course Aerial view of the Golfplatz Wittenbeck in Mecklenburg, Germany The Tammer Golf Course in the Ruotula district of Tampere, Finland. Main article: Golf course A golf course consists of either 9 or 18 holes, each with a teeing ground or "tee box" that is set off by two markers showing the bounds of the legal tee area, fairway, rough and other hazards, and the putting green surrounded by the fringe with the pin (normally a flagstick) and cup. The levels of grass are varied to increase difficulty, or to allow for putting in the case of the green. While many holes are designed with a direct line-of-sight from the teeing area to the green, some holes may bend either to the left or to the right. This is commonly called a "dogleg", in reference to a dog's knee. The hole is called a "dogleg left" if the hole angles leftwards and "dogleg right" if it bends right. Sometimes, a hole's direction may bend twice; this is called a "double dogleg". A regular golf course consists of 18 holes, but nine-hole courses are common and can be played twice through for a full round of 18 holes.[17][18] Early Scottish golf courses were primarily laid out on links land, soil-covered sand dunes directly inland from beaches. The word "links" derives from the Scots language and the Old English word hlinc ("rising ground, ridge"): traditionally these are coastal sand dunes but sometimes open parkland.[19] This gave rise to the term "golf links", particularly applied to seaside courses and those built on naturally sandy soil inland.[20] The first 18-hole golf course in the United States was on a sheep farm in Downers Grove, Illinois, in 1892. The course is still there today.[21] Play of the game 1=teeing ground, 2=water hazard, 3=rough, 4=out of bounds, 5=sand bunker, 6=water hazard, 7=fairway, 8=putting green, 9=flagstick, 10=hole Every round of golf is based on playing a number of holes in a given order. A "round" typically consists of 18 holes that are played in the order determined by the course layout. Each hole is played once in the round on a standard course of 18 holes. The game can be played by any number of people, although a typical group playing will have 1-4 people playing the round. The typical amount of time required for pace of play for a 9-hole round is two hours and four hours for an 18-hole round. Playing a hole on a golf course is initiated by putting a ball into play by striking it with a club on the teeing ground (also called the tee box, or simply the tee). For this first shot on each hole, it is allowed but not required for the golfer to place the ball on a tee prior to striking it. A tee is a small peg that can be used to elevate the ball slightly above the ground up to a few centimetres high. Tees are commonly made of wood but may be constructed of any material, including plastic. Traditionally, golfers used mounds of sand to elevate the ball, and containers of sand were provided for the purpose. A few courses still require sand to be used instead of peg tees, to reduce litter and reduce damage to the teeing ground. Tees help reduce the interference of the ground or grass on the movement of the club making the ball easier to hit, and also places the ball in the very centre of the striking face of the club (the "sweet spot") for better distance. When the initial shot on a hole is intended to move the ball a long distance, typically more than 225 yards (210 m), the shot is commonly called a "drive" and is generally made with a long-shafted, large-headed wood club called a "driver". Shorter holes may be initiated with other clubs, such as higher-numbered woods or irons. Once the ball comes to rest, the golfer strikes it again as many times as necessary using shots that are variously known as a "lay-up", an "approach", a "pitch", or a "chip", until the ball reaches the green, where he or she then "putts" the ball into the hole (commonly called "sinking the putt" or "holing out"). The goal of getting the ball into the hole ("holing" the ball) in as few strokes as possible may be impeded by obstacles such as areas of longer grass called "rough" (usually found alongside fairways), which both slows any ball that contacts it and makes it harder to advance a ball that has stopped on it; "doglegs", which are changes in the direction of the fairway that often require shorter shots to play around them; bunkers (or sand traps); and water hazards such as ponds or streams.[17] In stroke play competitions played according to strict rules, each player plays their ball until it is holed no matter how many strokes that may take. In match play it is acceptable to simply pick up one's ball and "surrender the hole" after enough strokes have been made by a player that it is mathematically impossible for the player to win the hole. It is also acceptable in informal stroke play to surrender the hole after hitting three strokes more than the "par" rating of the hole (a "triple bogey" - see below); while technically a violation of Rule 3–2, this practice speeds play as a courtesy to others, and avoids "runaway scores", excessive frustration and injuries caused by overexertion. The total distance from the first teeing ground to the 18th green can be quite long; total yardages "through the green" can be in excess of 7,000 yards (6.4 km), and when adding in the travel distance between the green of one hole and the tee of the next, even skilled players may easily travel five miles (8 km) or more during a round. At some courses, electric golf carts are used to travel between shots, which can speed-up play and allows participation by individuals unable to walk a whole round. On other courses players generally walk the course, either carrying their bag using a shoulder strap or using a "golf trolley" for their bag. These trolleys may or may not be battery assisted. At many amateur tournaments including U.S. high school and college play, players are required to walk and to carry their own bags, but at the professional and top amateur level, as well as at high-level private clubs, players may be accompanied by caddies, who carry and manage the players' equipment and who are allowed by the rules to give advice on the play of the course.[22] A caddie's advice can only be given to the player or players for whom the caddie is working, and not to other competing players. Rules and regulations Main article: Rules of golf Arnold Palmer in 1953 The rules of golf are internationally standardised and are jointly governed by The R&A, spun off in 2004 from The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews (founded 1754), and the United States Golf Association (USGA).[23][24] With the aim of simplifying the rules, in 2017 the USGA and R&A undertook a complete rewrite.[25] The new rule book came into effect in January 2019.[26] The underlying principle of the rules is fairness. As stated on the back cover of the official rule book: Play the ball as it lies, play the course as you find it, and if you cannot do either, do what is fair. There are strict regulations regarding the amateur status of golfers.[27] Essentially, anybody who has ever received payment or compensation for giving instruction, or played golf for money, is not considered an amateur and may not participate in competitions limited solely to amateurs. However, amateur golfers may receive expenses that comply with strict guidelines and they may accept non-cash prizes within the limits established by the Rules of Amateur Status. In addition to the officially printed rules, golfers also abide by a set of guidelines called golf etiquette. Etiquette guidelines cover matters such as safety, fairness, pace of play, and a player's obligation to contribute to the care of the course. Though there are no penalties for breach of etiquette rules, players generally follow the rules of golf etiquette in an effort to improve everyone's playing experience. Penalties Main article: Penalty (golf) Penalty strokes are incurred in certain situations and are counted towards a player's score as if there were extra swing(s) at the ball. Either one or two strokes are added for most rule infractions or for taking relief from various situations, with the "general penalty" defined as two-strokes, and disqualification for severe or repeated rule breaches. Examples include: A lost ball or a ball hit out of bounds (OB) results in a penalty of one stroke and distance (Rule 18.2). With the exception of certain circumstances, a one-stroke penalty is assessed if a player causes their ball to move (Rule 9.4). A one-stroke penalty is assessed if a player elects to take relief when their ball comes to rest within a red or yellow penalty area (Rule 17), or from an unplayable lie (Rule 19). A two-stroke penalty is incurred for making a stroke at the wrong ball (Rule 6.3c). A two-stroke penalty is incurred for hitting a fellow player's ball if both balls lay on the green prior to the stroke (Rule 11.1a). Disqualification can result from cheating, signing for a lower score, or failing to adhere to one or more rules that lead to improper play.[28] Equipment Main article: Golf equipment A wood positioned ready to be swung and to strike a golf ball Golf clubs are used to hit the golf ball. Each club is composed of a shaft with a lance (or "grip") on the top end and a club head on the bottom. Long clubs, which have a lower amount of degree loft, are those meant to propel the ball a comparatively longer distance, and short clubs a higher degree of loft and a comparatively shorter distance. The actual physical length of each club is longer or shorter, depending on the distance the club is intended to propel the ball. Golf clubs have traditionally been arranged into three basic types. Woods are large-headed, long-shafted clubs meant to propel the ball a long distance from relatively "open" lies, such as the teeing ground and fairway. Of particular importance is the driver or "1-wood", which is the lowest lofted wood club, and in modern times has become highly specialized for making extremely long-distance tee shots, up to 300 yards (270 m), or more, in a professional golfer's hands. Traditionally these clubs had heads made of a hardwood, hence the name, but virtually all modern woods are now made of metal such as titanium, or of composite materials. Irons are shorter-shafted clubs with a metal head primarily consisting of a flat, angled striking face. Traditionally the clubhead was forged from iron; modern iron clubheads are investment-cast from a steel alloy. Irons of varying loft are used for a variety of shots from virtually anywhere on the course, but most often for shorter-distance shots approaching the green, or to get the ball out of tricky lies such as sand traps. The third class is the putter, which evolved from the irons to create a low-lofted, balanced club designed to roll the ball along the green and into the hole. Putters are virtually always used on the green or in the surrounding rough/fringe. A fourth class, called hybrids, evolved as a cross between woods and irons, and are typically seen replacing the low-lofted irons with a club that provides similar distance, but a higher launch angle and a more forgiving nature. A maximum of 14 clubs is allowed in a player's bag at one time during a stipulated round. The choice of clubs is at the golfer's discretion, although every club must be constructed in accordance with parameters outlined in the rules. (Clubs that meet these parameters are usually called "conforming".) Violation of these rules can result in disqualification. The exact shot hit at any given time on a golf course, and which club is used to accomplish the shot, are always completely at the discretion of the golfer; in other words, there is no restriction whatsoever on which club a golfer may or may not use at any time for any shot. Golf balls are spherical, usually white (although other colours are allowed), and minutely pock-marked by dimples that decrease aerodynamic drag by increasing air turbulence around the ball in motion, which delays "boundary layer" separation and reduces the drag-inducing "wake" behind the ball, thereby allowing the ball to fly farther.[29] The combination of a soft "boundary layer" and a hard "core" enables both distance and spin. A tee is allowed only for the first stroke on each hole, unless the player must hit a provisional tee shot or replay their first shot from the tee. Many golfers wear golf shoes with metal or plastic spikes designed to increase traction, thus allowing for longer and more accurate shots. A golf bag is used to transport golf clubs and the player's other or personal equipment. Golf bags have several pockets designed for carrying equipment and supplies such as tees, balls, and gloves. Golf bags can be carried, pulled on a trolley or harnessed to a motorized golf cart during play. Golf bags usually have both a hand strap and shoulder strap for carrying, others may be carried over both shoulders like a backpack, and often bags have retractable legs that allow the bag to stand upright when at rest. Stroke mechanics A golfer takes an approach shot on the fairway. Main article: Golf swing The golf swing is outwardly similar to many other motions involving swinging a tool or playing implement, such as an axe or a baseball bat. However, unlike many of these motions, the result of the swing is highly dependent on several sub-motions being properly aligned and timed. These ensure that the club travels up to the ball in line with the desired path; that the clubface is in line with the swing path; and that the ball hits the centre or "sweet spot" of the clubface. The ability to do this consistently, across a complete set of clubs with a wide range of shaft lengths and clubface areas, is a key skill for any golfer, and takes a significant effort to achieve. Stance Stance refers to how the golfer positions themselves in order to play a stroke; it is fundamentally important in being able to play a stroke effectively. The stance adopted is determined by what stroke is being played. All stances involve a slight crouch. This allows for a more efficient striking posture whilst also isometrically preloading the muscles of the legs and core; this allows the stroke to be played more dynamically and with a greater level of overall control. When adopting their stance golfers start with the non-dominant side of the body facing the target (for a right-hander, the target is to their left). Setting the stance in regard to the position of the ball, and placing the clubhead behind the ball, is known as being at address; when in this position the player's body and the centerline of the club face are positioned parallel to the desired line of travel, with the feet either perpendicular to that line or slightly splayed outward. The feet are commonly shoulder-width apart for middle irons and putters, narrower for short irons and wider for long irons and woods. The ball is typically positioned more to the "front" of the player's stance (closer to the leading foot) for lower-lofted clubs, with the usual ball position for a drive being just behind the arch of the leading foot. The ball is placed further "back" in the player's stance (toward the trailing foot) as the loft of the club to be used increases. Most iron shots and putts are made with the ball roughly centered in the stance, while a few mid- and short-iron shots are made with the ball slightly behind the centre of the stance to ensure consistent contact between the ball and clubface, so the ball is on its way before the club continues down into the turf. Strokes The golfer chooses a golf club, grip, and stroke appropriate to the distance: The "drive" or "full swing" is used on the teeing ground and fairway, typically with a wood or long iron, to produce the maximum distance capable with the club. In the extreme, the windup can end with the shaft of the club parallel to the ground above the player's shoulders. The "approach" or "3/4 swing" is used in medium- and long-distance situations where an exact distance and good accuracy is preferable to maximum possible distance, such as to place the ball on the green or "lay up" in front of a hazard. The windup or "backswing" of such a shot typically ends up with the shaft of the club pointing straight upwards or slightly towards the player. The "chip" or "half-swing" is used for relatively short-distance shots near the green, with high-lofted irons and wedges. The goal of the chip is to land the ball safely on the green, allowing it to roll out towards the hole. It can also be used from other places to accurately position the ball into a more advantageous lie. The backswing typically ends with the head of the club between hip and head height. The "putt" is used in short-distance shots on or near the green, typically made with the eponymous "putter", although similar strokes can be made with medium to high-numbered irons to carry a short distance in the air and then roll (a "bump and run"). The backswing and follow-through of the putt are both abbreviated compared to other strokes, with the head of the club rarely rising above the knee. The goal of the putt is usually to put the ball in the hole, although a long-distance putt may be called a "lag" and is made with the primary intention of simply closing distance to the hole or otherwise placing the ball advantageously. Having chosen a club and stroke to produce the desired distance, the player addresses the ball by taking their stance to the side of it and (except when the ball lies in a hazard) grounding the club behind the ball. The golfer then takes their backswing, rotating the club, their arms and their upper body away from the ball, and then begins their swing, bringing the clubhead back down and around to hit the ball. A proper golf swing is a complex combination of motions, and slight variations in posture or positioning can make a great deal of difference in how well the ball is hit and how straight it travels. The general goal of a player making a full swing is to propel the clubhead as fast as possible while maintaining a single "plane" of motion of the club and clubhead, to send the clubhead into the ball along the desired path of travel and with the clubhead also pointing that direction. Accuracy and consistency are typically stressed over pure distance. A player with a straight drive that travels only 220 yards (200 m) will nevertheless be able to accurately place the ball into a favourable lie on the fairway, and can make up for the lesser distance of any given club by simply using "more club" (a lower loft) on their tee shot or on subsequent fairway and approach shots. However, a golfer with a drive that may go 280 yards (260 m) but often does not fly straight will be less able to position their ball advantageously; the ball may "hook", "pull", "draw", "fade", "push" or "slice" off the intended line and land out of bounds or in the rough or hazards, and thus the player will require many more strokes to hole out. Musculature A golf stroke uses the muscles of the core (especially erector spinae muscles and latissimus dorsi muscle when turning), hamstring, shoulder, and wrist. Stronger muscles in the wrist can prevent them from being twisted during swings, whilst stronger shoulders increase the turning force. Weak wrists can also transmit the force to elbows and even neck and lead to injury. (When a muscle contracts, it pulls equally from both ends and, to have movement at only one end of the muscle, other muscles must come into play to stabilize the bone to which the other end of the muscle is attached.) Golf is a unilateral exercise that can break body balances, requiring exercises to keep the balance in muscles.[30][31] Types of putting Putting is considered to be the most important component of the game of golf. As the game of golf has evolved, there have been many different putting techniques and grips that have been devised to give golfers the best chance to make putts. When the game originated, golfers would putt with their dominant hand on the bottom of the grip and their weak hand on top of the grip. This grip and putting style is known as "conventional". There are many variations of conventional including overlap, where the golfer overlaps the off hand index finger onto off the dominant pinky; interlock, where the offhand index finger interlocks with the dominant pinky and ring finger; double or triple overlap and so on.[32] Recently, "cross handed" putting has become a popular trend amongst professional golfers and amateurs. Cross handed putting is the idea that the dominant hand is on top of the grip where the weak hand is on the bottom. This grip restricts the motion in your dominant hand and eliminates the possibility of wrist breakdowns through the putting stroke.[33] Other notable putting styles include "the claw", a style that has the grip directly in between the thumb and index finger of the dominant hand while the palm faces the target.[34] The weak hand placed normally on the putter. Anchored putting, a style that requires a longer putter shaft that can be anchored into the player's stomach or below the chin; the idea is to stabilize one end of the putter thus creating a more consistent pendulum stroke. This style has been banned on professional circuits since 2016.[35] Scoring and handicapping Par Main article: Par (score) A par-3 hole in Phoenician Golf Club, Scottsdale, Arizona A marker stone indicating that this hole is a par-5 hole A hole is classified by its par, which gives an indication of the number of strokes a skilled golfer may be expected to need to complete play of the hole.[17] The primary factor for classifying the par of a relatively straight, hazard-free hole is the distance from the tee to the green, and calculates the number of strokes a skilled golfer is expected to require to reach the green with an additional allowance of 2 putts. As such, the minimum par of any hole is 3; one stroke for the tee shot and two putts. Par 3, 4 and 5 holes are commonplace on golf courses; far more rarely, courses may feature par-6 and even par-7 holes. For men, a typical par-3 hole is less than 250 yards (230 m) in length, with a par-4 hole ranging between 251–450 yards (230–411 m), and a par-5 hole being longer than 450 yards (410 m); for women these boundaries are lower, and for professionals they are much increased. The rare par-6s can stretch well over 650 yards (590 m). These distances are based on the typical scratch golfer's drive distance of between 240 and 280 yards (220 and 260 m). Although length is the primary factor in calculating par, other factors are taken into account; however the number of strokes a scratch golfer should take to make the green remains foremost. Factors affecting the calculation include altitude, gradient of the land from the tee to green, and forced "lay-ups" due to dog-legs (sharp bends) or obstacles (e.g. bunkers, water hazards).[36] Getting the ball onto the green in two strokes less than par, and hence meeting the par calculation criteria, is called making "green in regulation" or GIR.[37] Missing a GIR does not necessarily mean a golfer will not make par, but it does make doing so more difficult as it reduces the number of putts available; conversely, making a GIR does not guarantee a par, as the player might require three or more putts to "hole out". Professional golfers typically make between 60% and 70% of greens in regulation.[38] Eighteen-hole courses typically total to an overall par score of 70 to 72 for a complete round; with most holes having a par of 4, and a smaller number of par-3 and par-5 holes. Additionally, courses may be classified according to their play difficulty, which may be used to calculate a golfer's handicap.[39] The two primary difficulty ratings in the U.S. are the Course Rating, which is the expected score for a zero-handicap "scratch golfer", and the Slope Rating, which is a measure of how much worse a "bogey golfer" (handicap around 20) would be expected to play than a "scratch golfer" relative to their handicap. Scoring Golf-themed decorative nest box “Birdies Welcome” The goal is to play as few strokes per round as possible. A golfer's number of strokes in a hole, course, or tournament is compared to its respective par score, and is then reported either as the number that the golfer was "under-" or "over-par", or if it was "equal to par". A hole in one (or an "ace") occurs when a golfer sinks their ball into the cup with their first stroke from the tee. Common scores for a hole also have specific terms.[17] Numeric term Name Definition −4 Condor four strokes under par −3 Albatross (Double eagle) three strokes under par −2 Eagle two strokes under par −1 Birdie one stroke under par E Par equal to par +1 Bogey one stroke over par +2 Double bogey two strokes over par +3 Triple bogey three strokes over par In a typical professional tournament or among "scratch" amateur players, "birdie-bogey" play is common; a player will "lose" a stroke by bogeying a hole, then "gain" one by scoring a birdie. Eagles are uncommon but not rare; however, only 18 players have scored an albatross in a men's major championship. One of the rarest feats in golf is the condor, which has never occurred in a professional tournament. Only five condors have been verified to have ever occurred, although none of the courses involved were professionally accredited.[40] Basic forms of golf There are two basic forms of golf play, match play and stroke play. Stroke play is more popular. Match play Two players (or two teams) play each hole as a separate contest against each other in what is called match play. The party with the lower score wins that hole, or if the scores of both players or teams are equal the hole is "halved" (or tied). The game is won by the party that wins more holes than the other. In the case that one team or player has taken a lead that cannot be overcome in the number of holes remaining to be played, the match is deemed to be won by the party in the lead, and the remainder of the holes are not played. For example, if one party already has a lead of six holes, and only five holes remain to be played on the course, the match is over and the winning party is deemed to have won "6 & 5". At any given point, if the lead is equal to the number of holes remaining, the party leading the match is said to be "dormie", and the match is continued until the party increases the lead by one hole or ties any of the remaining holes, thereby winning the match, or until the match ends in a tie with the lead player's opponent winning all remaining holes. When the game is tied after the predetermined number of holes have been played, it may be continued until one side takes a one-hole lead.[17] Stroke play The score achieved for each and every hole of the round or tournament is added to produce the total score, and the player with the lowest score wins in stroke play. Stroke play is the game most commonly played by professional golfers. If there is a tie after the regulation number of holes in a professional tournament, a playoff takes place between all tied players. Playoffs either are sudden death or employ a pre-determined number of holes, anywhere from three to a full 18. In sudden death, a player who scores lower on a hole than all of their opponents wins the match. If at least two players remain tied after such a playoff using a pre-determined number of holes, then play continues in sudden death format, where the first player to win a hole wins the tournament. Other formats of play Main article: Variations of golf There are many variations in scoring and playing formats in the game of golf, some officially defined in the Rules of Golf. Variations include the popular Stableford scoring system, and various team formats. Some common and popular examples are listed below. There are also variations on the usual starting procedure where everyone begins from the first tee and plays all holes in order, through to the eighteenth. In large field tournaments, especially on professional tours, a two tee start is commonplace, where the field will be split between starting on the first tee and the tenth tee (sometimes the eighth or eleventh depending on proximity to the clubhouse). Shotgun starts are mainly used for amateur tournament or society play. In this variant, each of the groups playing starts their game on a different hole, allowing for all players to start and end their round at roughly the same time. For example, a group starting on hole 5 will play through to the 18th hole and continue with hole 1, ending their round on hole 4. Bogey or par competition Main article: Par (golf scoring format) A bogey or par competition is a scoring format sometimes seen in informal tournaments. Its scoring is similar to match play, except each player compares their hole score to the hole's par rating instead of the score of another player. The player "wins" the hole if they score a birdie or better, they "lose" the hole if they score a bogey or worse, and they "halve" the hole by scoring par. By recording only this simple win–loss–halve score on the sheet, a player can shrug off a very poorly-played hole with a simple "-" mark and move on. As used in competitions, the player or pair with the best win–loss differential wins the competition. Stableford Main article: Stableford The Stableford system is a simplification of stroke play that awards players points based on their score relative to the hole's par; the score for a hole is calculated by taking the par score, adding 2, then subtracting the player's hole score, making the result zero if negative. Alternately stated, a double bogey or worse is zero points, a bogey is worth one point, par is two, a birdie three, an eagle four, and so on. The advantages of this system over stroke play are a more natural "higher is better" scoring, the ability to compare Stableford scores between plays on courses with different total par scores (scoring an "even" in stroke play will always give a Stableford score of 36), discouraging the tendency to abandon the entire game after playing a particularly bad hole (a novice playing by strict rules may score as high as an 8 or 10 on a single difficult hole; their Stableford score for the hole would be zero, which puts them only two points behind par no matter how badly they played), and the ability to simply pick up one's ball once it is impossible to score any points for the hole, which speeds play. The USGA and R&A sanction a "Modified Stableford" system for scratch players, which makes par worth zero, a birdie worth 2, eagle 5 and double-eagle 8, while a bogey is a penalty of −1 and a double-bogey or worse −3. As with the original system, the highest score wins the game, and terrible scores on one or two holes will not ruin a player's overall score, but this system rewards "bogey-birdie" play more than the original, encouraging golfers to try to make riskier birdie putt or eagle chipshots instead of simply parring each hole.[17] Basic pairs formats Junín Golf Club, in Junín, Argentina Foursomes (also known as Alternate Shot): defined in Rule 22, this is played in pairs, in which each team has only one ball and players alternate playing it. For example, if players "A" and "B" form a team, "A" tees off on the first hole, "B" will play the second shot, "A" the third, and so on until the hole is finished. On the second hole, "B" will tee off (regardless who played the last putt on the first hole), then "A" plays the second shot, and so on. Foursomes can be played as match play or stroke play.[41] Greensomes (also known as Scotch Foursomes): also called modified alternate shot, this is played in pairs; both players tee off, and then pick the best shot. The player who did not shoot the best first shot plays the second shot. The play then alternates as in a foursome.[42] A variant of greensome is sometimes played where the opposing team chooses which of their opponent's tee shots the opponents should use. Four-ball: defined in Rules 23, this is also played in pairs, but every each plays their own ball and for each team, the lower score on each hole counts. Four-ball can be played as match play or stroke play.[43] Team formats Scramble: also known as ambrose or best-shot; each player in a team tees off on each hole, and the players decide which shot was best. Every player then plays their second shot from within a clublength of where the best shot has come to rest (and no closer to the hole), and the procedure is repeated until the hole is finished. This system is very common at informal tournaments such as for charity, as it speeds play (due to the reduced number of shots taken from bad lies), allows teams of varying sizes, and allows players of widely varying skill levels to participate without profoundly affecting team score.[44] Best-ball: like four-ball, each player plays the hole as normal, but the lowest score of all the players on the team counts as the team's score for the hole.[45] There are many variations on this format, which count a different number of scores on each hole. Handicap systems Main article: Handicap (golf) A handicap is a numerical measure of a golfer's potential scoring ability over 18 holes. It is used to enable players of widely varying abilities to compete against one another. Better players are those with the lowest handicaps, and someone with a handicap of 0 or less is often referred to as a scratch golfer. Handicap systems vary throughout the world and use different methods to assess courses and calculate handicaps. In order to address difficulties in translating between these systems the USGA and The R&A, working with the various existing handicapping authorities, devised a new World Handicap System which is set to be introduced globally starting in 2020.[46] Golf courses are assessed and rated according to the average good score of a scratch golfer, taking into account a multitude of factors affecting play, such as length, obstacles, undulations, etc. A player's handicap gives an indication of the number of strokes above this course rating that the player will make over the course of an "average best" round of golf, i.e. scoring near their potential, above average.[47] Lower handicap players are generally the most consistent, so can be expected to play to this standard or better more often than higher handicappers. Some handicap systems also account for differences in scoring difficulty between low and high handicap golfer. They do this by means of assessing and rating courses according to the average good score of a "bogey golfer", a player with a handicap of around 20. This is used with the course rating to calculate a slope rating, which is used to adjust golfer's handicap to produce a playing handicap for the course and set of tees being used.[48] Handicap systems have potential for abuse by players who may intentionally play badly to increase their handicap (sandbagging) before playing to their potential at an important event with a valuable prize. For this reason, handicaps are not used in professional golf, but they can still be calculated and used along with other criteria to determine the relative strengths of various professional players. Touring professionals, being the best of the best, have negative handicaps; they can be expected, more often than not, to score lower than the Course Rating on any course. Popularity Part of a golf course in western India An aerial view of a golf course in Italy In 2005 Golf Digest calculated that the countries with most golf courses per capita, in order, were: Scotland, New Zealand, Australia, Ireland, Canada, Wales, United States, Sweden, and England (countries with fewer than 500,000 people were excluded). The number of courses in other territories has increased, an example of this being the expansion of golf in China. The first golf course in China opened in 1984, but by the end of 2009, there were roughly 600 in the country. For much of the 21st century, the development of new golf courses in China has been officially banned (with the exception of the island province of Hainan), but the number of courses had nonetheless tripled from 2004 to 2009; the "ban" has been evaded with the government's tacit approval simply by not mentioning golf in any development plans.[49] In the United States, women made up 25 percent of golfers in 2021, which was up from 19 percent since 2011 and junior female golfers account for 35 percent or 1.1 million golfers.[50] In the United States, the number of people who play golf twenty-five times or more per year decreased from 6.9 million in 2000 to 4.6 million in 2005,[51] according to the National Golf Foundation. The NGF reported that the number who played golf at all decreased from 30 to 26 million over the same period.[51] In February 1971, astronaut Alan Shepard became the first person to golf anywhere other than Earth. He smuggled a golf club and two golf balls on board Apollo 14 with the intent to golf on the Moon. He attempted two drives. He shanked the first attempt, but it is estimated his second went more than 200 yards (180 m).[52] Golf courses worldwide Below are the top 20 countries that have the most golf courses as of 2019.[53] Country Number of courses % USA 16,752 43% Japan 3,169 8% Canada 2,633 7% England 2,270 6% Australia 1,616 4% Germany 1,050 3% France 804 2% South Korea 798 2% Sweden 662 2% Scotland 614 2% China 599 1% Spain 497 1% Ireland 494 1% South Africa 489 1% New Zealand 418 1% Argentina 349 1% Denmark 346 1% Netherlands 330 1% Italy 321 1% Thailand 315 1% Rest of the world 4,338 11% Total 38,864 100% Professional golf Main article: Professional golfer The majority of professional golfers work as club or teaching professionals ("pros"), and only compete in local competitions. A small elite of professional golfers are "tournament pros" who compete full-time on international "tours". Many club and teaching professionals working in the golf industry start as caddies or with a general interest in the game, finding employment at golf courses and eventually moving on to certifications in their chosen profession. These programs include independent institutions and universities, and those that eventually lead to a Class A golf professional certification. Touring professionals typically start as amateur players, who attain their "pro" status after success in major tournaments that win them either prize money and/or notice from corporate sponsors. Jack Nicklaus, for example, gained widespread notice by finishing second in the 1960 U.S. Open to champion Arnold Palmer, with a 72-hole score of 282 (the best score to date in that tournament by an amateur). He played one more amateur year in 1961, winning that year's U.S. Amateur Championship, before turning pro in 1962. Instruction Indoor putting green for practice and instruction Main article: Golf instruction Golf instruction involves the teaching and learning of the game of golf. Proficiency in teaching golf instruction requires not only technical and physical ability but also knowledge of the rules and etiquette of the game. In some countries, golf instruction is best performed by teachers certified by the Professional Golfers Association. Some top instructors who work with professional golfers have become quite well known in their own right. Professional golf instructors can use physical conditioning, mental visualization, classroom sessions, club fitting, driving range instruction, on-course play under real conditions, and review of videotaped swings in slow motion to teach golf to prepare the golfer for the course. Golf tours Main article: Professional golf tours There are at least twenty professional golf tours, each run by a PGA or an independent tour organization, which is responsible for arranging events, finding sponsors, and regulating the tour. Typically a tour has "members" who are entitled to compete in most of its events, and also invites non-members to compete in some of them. Gaining membership of an elite tour is highly competitive, and most professional golfers never achieve it. Gary Player is widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of golf. Perhaps the most widely known tour is the PGA Tour, which tends to attract the strongest fields, outside the four Majors and the four World Golf Championships events. This is due mostly to the fact that most PGA Tour events have a first prize of at least 800,000 USD. The European Tour, which attracts a substantial number of top golfers from outside North America, ranks second to the PGA Tour in worldwide prestige. Some top professionals from outside North America play enough tournaments to maintain membership on both the PGA Tour and European Tour. Since 2010, both tours' money titles have been claimed by the same individual three times, with Luke Donald doing so in 2011 and Rory McIlroy in 2012 and 2014. In 2013, Henrik Stenson won the FedEx Cup points race on the PGA Tour and the European Tour money title, but did not top the PGA Tour money list (that honour going to Tiger Woods). The other leading men's tours include the Japan Golf Tour, the Asian Tour (Asia outside Japan), the PGA Tour of Australasia, and the Sunshine Tour (for southern Africa, primarily South Africa). The Japan, Australasian, Sunshine, PGA, and European Tours are the charter members of the trade body of the world's main tours, the International Federation of PGA Tours, founded in 1996. The Asian Tour became a full member in 1999. The Canadian Tour became an associate member of the Federation in 2000, and the Tour de las Américas (Latin America) became an associate member of the Federation in 2007. The Federation underwent a major expansion in 2009 that saw eleven new tours become full members – the Canadian Tour, Tour de las Américas, China Golf Association, the Korea Professional Golfers' Association, Professional Golf Tour of India, and the operators of all six major women's tours worldwide. The OneAsia Tour, founded in 2009, is not a member of the Federation, but was founded as a joint venture of the Australasia, China, Japan, and Korean tours. In 2011, the Tour de las Américas was effectively taken over by the PGA Tour, and in 2012 was folded into the new PGA Tour Latinoamérica. Also in 2012, the Canadian Tour was renamed PGA Tour Canada after it agreed to be taken over by the PGA Tour. All men's tours that are Federation members, except the India tour, offer points in the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) to players who place sufficiently high in their events. The OneAsia Tour also offers ranking points. Golf is unique in having lucrative competition for older players. There are several senior tours for men aged fifty and over, arguably the best known of which is the U.S.-based PGA Tour Champions. There are six principal tours for women, each based in a different country or continent. The most prestigious of these is the United States-based LPGA Tour. All of the principal tours offer points in the Women's World Golf Rankings for high finishers in their events. All of the leading professional tours for under-50 players have an official developmental tour, in which the leading players at the end of the season will earn a tour card on the main tour for the following season. Examples include the Korn Ferry Tour, which feeds to the PGA Tour, and the Challenge Tour, which is the developmental tour of the European Tour. The Korn Ferry and Challenge Tours also offer OWGR points. Men's major championships Lee Westwood pictured making a bunker shot at the 2008 Open Main article: Men's major golf championships The major championships are the four most prestigious men's tournaments of the year. In chronological order they are: The Masters, the U.S. Open, The Open Championship (referred to in North America as the British Open) and the PGA Championship.[54] The fields for these events include the top several dozen golfers from all over the world. The Masters has been played at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia, since its inception in 1934. It is the only major championship that is played at the same course each year.[55] The U.S. Open and PGA Championship are played at courses around the United States, while the Open Championship is played at courses around the United Kingdom.[56] Prior to the advent of the PGA Championship and The Masters, the four Majors were the U.S. Open, the U.S. Amateur, the Open Championship, and the British Amateur. Women's major championships Lorena Ochoa, a retired number one female golfer, pictured here in 2007 Main article: Women's major golf championships Women's golf does not have a globally agreed set of majors. The list of majors recognised by the dominant women's tour, the LPGA Tour in the U.S., has changed several times over the years, with the most recent changes occurring in 2001 and 2013. Like the PGA Tour, the (U.S.) LPGA[57] tour long had four majors, but now has five: the Chevron Championship (previously known by several other names, most recently the ANA Inspiration), the Women's PGA Championship (previously known as the LPGA Championship),[58] the U.S. Women's Open, the Women's British Open (which replaced the du Maurier Classic as a major in 2001) and The Evian Championship (added as the fifth major in 2013). Only the last two are also recognised as majors by the Ladies European Tour. However, the significance of this is limited, as the LPGA is far more dominant in women's golf than the PGA Tour is in mainstream men's golf. For example, the BBC has been known to use the U.S. definition of "women's majors" without qualifying it. Also, the Ladies' Golf Union, the governing body for women's golf in Great Britain and Ireland, stated on its official website that the Women's British Open was "the only Women's Major to be played outside the U.S."[59] (this was before the elevation of The Evian Championship to major status). For many years, the Ladies European Tour tacitly acknowledged the dominance of the LPGA Tour by not scheduling any of its own events to conflict with the three LPGA majors played in the U.S., but that changed beginning in 2008, when the LET scheduled an event opposite the LPGA Championship. The second-richest women's tour, the LPGA of Japan Tour, does not recognise any of the U.S. LPGA or European majors as it has its own set of majors (historically three, since 2008 four). However, these events attract little notice outside Japan. Senior major championships Main article: Senior major golf championships Senior (aged fifty and over) men's golf does not have a globally agreed set of majors. The list of senior majors on the U.S.-based PGA Tour Champions has changed over the years, but always by expansion. PGA Tour Champions now recognises five majors: the Senior PGA Championship, The Tradition, the Senior Players Championship, the United States Senior Open, and The Senior (British) Open Championship. Of the five events, the Senior PGA is by far the oldest, having been founded in 1937. The other events all date from the 1980s, when senior golf became a commercial success as the first golf stars of the television era, such as Arnold Palmer and Gary Player, reached the relevant age. The Senior Open Championship was not recognised as a major by PGA Tour Champions until 2003. The European Senior Tour recognises only the Senior PGA and the two Senior Opens as majors. However, PGA Tour Champions is arguably more dominant in global senior golf than the U.S. LPGA is in global women's golf. Olympic Games Main article: Golf at the Summer Olympics Golf was featured in the Summer Olympic Games official programme in 1900 and 1904. After a 112-year absence, golf returned for the 2016 Rio Games.[60] Women It was not until 1552 that the first woman golfer played the game. Mary Queen of Scots commissioned St. Andrew's Links.[61] However, it was not until the 20th century that women were taken seriously and eventually broke the "Gentlemen Only, Ladies Forbidden" rule. Many men saw women as unfit to play the sport due to their supposed lack of strength and ability. In 1891 the newly built Shinnecock Hills nine-hole course in Southampton, New York became the first club to offer membership to women golfers. Four years later, in 1895, The U.S. Golf Association held the first Women's Amateur Championship tournament.[61][62] Just like professional golfer Bobby Jones, Joyce Wethered was considered to be a star in the 1920s.[63] Jones praised Wethered in 1930 after they had played an exhibition against each other. He doubted that there had ever been a better golfer, man or woman.[64] However, Bobby Jones' comment was not enough for others to change their views on women golfers. The Royal Liverpool's club refused entry of Sir Henry Cotton's wife into the clubhouse in the late 1940s. The secretary of the club released a statement saying, "No woman ever has entered the clubhouse and, praise God, no woman ever will."[63] However, American golfer and all-around athlete Babe Zaharias did not have to enter the clubhouse. She was able to prove herself on the course, going on to become the first American to win the British Women's Amateur title in 1947. The following year she became the first woman to attempt to qualify for the U.S. Open, but her application was rejected by the USGA. They stated that the event was intended to be open to men only.[65] The Ladies Professional Golf Association was formed in 1950 as a way to popularize the sport and provide competitive opportunities for golfers.[63] The competitions were not the same for the men and women. It was not until 1972 that U.S. Congress passed the Title IX of the Education Amendments. "No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subject to discrimination under any education program or activities receiving Federal financial assistance."[66] American Renee Powell moved to the UK in the 1970s to further her career, and became the first woman to play in a British men's tournament in 1977.[67] As of 2016,[needs update] women golfers were still fighting to have the same opportunities as male golfers. There is still a significant pay gap in the USGA. The USGA has a long history of writing bigger checks to winners of the men's U.S. Open than the U.S. Women's Open.[68] International events Golf at the Asian Games Curtis Cup EurAsia Cup International Crown Golf at the Summer Olympics Golf at the Pan American Games Presidents Cup Ryder Cup Seve Trophy Solheim Cup Golf at the Summer Universiade Walker Cup The Ryder Cup is a biennial men's golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States. The competition is contested every two years with the venue alternating between courses in the United States and Europe. The Ryder Cup is named after the English businessman Samuel Ryder who donated the trophy. The event is jointly administered by the PGA of America and Ryder Cup Europe, the latter a joint venture of the PGA European Tour (60%), the PGA of Great Britain and Ireland (20%), and the PGAs of Europe (20%).[1][2] Originally contested between Great Britain and the United States, the first official Ryder Cup took place in the United States in 1927 at Worcester Country Club in Worcester, Massachusetts. The home team won the first five contests, but with the competition's resumption after the Second World War, repeated American dominance eventually led to a decision to extend the representation of "Great Britain and Ireland" to include continental Europe from 1979. The inclusion of continental European golfers was partly prompted by the success of a new generation of Spanish golfers, led by Seve Ballesteros and Antonio Garrido. In 1973 the official title of the British Team had been changed from "Great Britain" to "Great Britain and Ireland", but this was simply a change of name to reflect the fact that golfers from the Republic of Ireland had been playing in the Great Britain Ryder Cup team since 1953, while Northern Irish players had competed since 1947. In addition to players from Great Britain and Ireland, the European team has since included players from Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Spain and Sweden. Since 1979, Europe has won eleven times outright and retained the Cup once in a tied match, whilst the United States won nine times over the same period. Since 1979, Europe has won four times away on foreign soil (in 1987, 1995, 2004 and 2012),[3] whilst the United States has won twice away on foreign soil (in 1981 and 1993).[4][5][6][7] From 1995 to 2014, Europe won eight out of ten Ryder Cups.[8][9][10] The Ryder Cup, its alternate-year non-European counterpart (the Presidents Cup), and its women's equivalent (the Solheim Cup) remain exceptions within the world of professional sports because the competing professionals receive no prize money, despite the contests being high-profile events that bring in large amounts of money in television, sponsorship, ticketing and merchandise revenue.[11][12] The 2021 Ryder Cup was held on the Straits course at Whistling Straits, Haven, Wisconsin, from 24 to 26 September 2021. The United States defeated Europe 19–9, to clinch the largest margin of victory in the modern history of the event (since the inclusion of Continental Europe in 1979).[13][14][15] Contents 1 Founding of the Cup 1.1 Gleneagles 1921 1.2 Wentworth 1926 1.3 Worcester 1927 2 Inclusion of continental European golfers 3 Format 4 Team composition 4.1 Captains 4.2 Qualification and selection 5 Preliminary events 6 Notable Ryder Cups 6.1 1969: Nicklaus vs Jacklin 6.2 1989: Azinger and Ballesteros 6.3 1991: "The War on the Shore" 6.4 1999: Battle of Brookline 6.5 2012: Medinah 6.6 Cancellations and postponements 6.6.1 1939 Ryder Cup 6.6.2 1941, 1943, and 1945 Ryder Cups 6.6.3 2001 Ryder Cup 6.6.4 2020 Ryder Cup 7 Results 7.1 Summary 7.2 Editions 8 Future venues 8.1 Future European venues 9 Television 10 Records 11 Traditions 12 Similar golf events 13 See also 14 Notes and references 15 External links Founding of the Cup The Ryder Cup on display in 2008. An event sponsored by English businessman Samuel Ryder, the figure on top is modeled after professional golfer Abe Mitchell, Ryder's private coach.[17] Gleneagles 1921 On 27 September 1920 Golf Illustrated wrote a letter to the Professional Golfers' Association of America with a suggestion that a team of 12 to 20 American professionals be chosen to play in the 1921 British Open, to be financed by popular subscription.[18] At that time no American golfer had won the British Open. The idea was that of James D. Harnett, who worked for the magazine. The PGA of America made a positive reply and the idea was announced in the November 1920 issue. The fund was called the British Open Championship Fund. By the next spring the idea had been firmed-up.[19] A team of 12 would be chosen, who would sail in time to play in a warm-up tournament at Gleneagles (the Glasgow Herald 1000 Guinea Tournament) prior to the British Open at St. Andrews, two weeks later. The team of 12 was chosen by PGA President George Sargent and PGA Secretary Alec Pirie, with the assistance of USGA Vice-president Robert Gardner.[20] A team of 11 sailed from New York on the RMS Aquitania on 24 May 1921 together with James Harnett, Harry Hampton deciding at the last minute that he could not travel.[21] The idea for a 12-a-side International Match between the American and Great Britain professionals was reported in The Times on 17 May, with James Douglas Edgar being reported as the probable 12th player.[22] Edgar was already in the United Kingdom. The match would be played at Gleneagles on Monday 6 June, the day before the start of the 1000 Guinea Tournament. With Jim Barnes indisposed, the match eventually became a 10-a-side contest, Edgar not being required for the American team. The match consisted of 5 foursomes in the morning and 10 singles in the afternoon, played on the King's Course. The match was won by Great Britain by 9 matches to 3, 3 matches being halved.[23] The British team was: George Duncan (captain), James Braid, Arthur Havers, Abe Mitchell, James Ockenden, Ted Ray, James Sherlock, J.H. Taylor, Josh Taylor, and Harry Vardon. The American team was: Emmet French (captain), Clarence Hackney, Walter Hagen, Charles Hoffner, Jock Hutchison, Tom Kerrigan, George McLean, Fred McLeod, Bill Mehlhorn and Wilfrid Reid. Gold medals were presented by Katharine Stewart-Murray, Duchess of Atholl, to each member of the teams at the conclusion of the Glasgow Herald tournament on Saturday afternoon. The medals "had on one side crossed flags, The Union Jack and Stars and Stripes surmounted by the inscription "For Britain" or "For America" as the case may be, and on the other side "America v Britain. First international golf match at "The Glasgow Herald" tournament, Gleneagles, 6 June 1921"[24] After the Glasgow Herald Tournament most of the American team travelled to St Andrews to practice for the British Open, for which qualifying began on 20 June. However, Walter Hagen and Jock Hutchison played in a tournament at Kinghorn on 14 and 15 June. Hagen had a poor first round and didn't turn up for the second day. Hutchison scored 74 and 64 and took the £50 first prize.[25] At St Andrews, Hutchison led the qualifying and then won the Open itself. So, despite losing the International Match, the American team achieved its main objective, winning the British Open. A match between American and British amateur golfers was played at Royal Liverpool Golf Club (Hoylake) in 1921, immediately before The Amateur Championship. This match was followed by the creation of the Walker Cup, which was first played in 1922.[26] However the 1921 Gleneagles match did not immediately lead to a corresponding match between the professionals. Wentworth 1926 It was common at this time for a small number of professionals to travel to compete in each other's national championship. In 1926, a larger than usual contingent of American professionals were travelling to Britain to compete in the Open Championship, two weeks before their own Championship. In February it was announced that Walter Hagen would select a team of four American professionals (including himself) to play four British professionals in a match before the Open Championship.[27] The match would be a stroke play competition with each playing the four opposing golfers over 18 holes.[28] In mid-April, it was announced that "A golf enthusiast, who name has not yet been made public" was ready to donate a cup for an annual competition.[29] Later in April it was announced that Samuel Ryder would be presenting a trophy "for annual competition between British and American professionals." with the first match to be played on 4 and 5 June "but the details are not yet decided",[30] and then in May it was announced that the match would be a match-play competition, 8-a-side, foursomes on the first day, singles on the second.[31] Eventually, at Hagen's request, 10 players competed for each team.[32] Samuel Ryder (together with his brother James) had sponsored a number of British professional events starting in 1923.[28] The match resulted in 13–1 victory for the British team (1 match was halved). The American point was won by Bill Mehlhorn with Emmet French being all square. Medals were presented to the players by the American ambassador Alanson B. Houghton. The match was widely reported as being for the "Ryder Cup". However Golf Illustrated for 11 June states that because of uncertainty following the general strike in May, which led to uncertainty about how many Americans would be visiting Britain, Samuel Ryder had decided to withhold the cup for a year. It has also been suggested that because Walter Hagen chose the American team rather than the American PGA, that only those Americans who had travelled to Britain to play in the Open were available for selection and that it contained a number of players born outside the United States, also contributed to the feeling that the match ought to be regarded as unofficial.[28] In addition the Americans "had only just landed in England and were not yet in full practice."[33] The British team was: Ted Ray (Captain), Aubrey Boomer, Archie Compston, George Duncan, George Gadd, Arthur Havers, Herbert Jolly, Abe Mitchell, Fred Robson and Ernest Whitcombe. The American team was: Walter Hagen (Captain), Tommy Armour, Jim Barnes, Emmet French, Joe Kirkwood, Fred McLeod, Bill Mehlhorn, Joe Stein, Cyril Walker and Al Watrous. While all ten of the British players subsequently played in the Ryder Cup only three of the Americans did (Hagen, Mehlhorn and Watrous). Armour, Barnes, Kirkwood, McLeod and Walker were excluded by the policy of requiring players to be born in the USA while French and Stein were never selected. Worcester 1927 Main article: 1927 Ryder Cup The 1927 competition was organized on a much more formal basis. A Ryder Cup "Deed of Trust" was drawn up formalising the rules of the contest, while each of the PGA organisations had a selection process. In Britain, Golf Illustrated launched a fund to raise £3,000 to fund professional golfers to play in the U.S. Open and the Ryder Cup. Ryder contributed £100 and, when the fund closed with a shortfall of £300, he made up the outstanding balance himself. Although not in the rules at that time, the American PGA restricted their team to those born in the United States.[34] In early 1928 it became clear that an annual contest was not practical and so it was decided that the second contest should be in 1929 and then every two years thereafter.[28] For the 1929 UK contest at Moortown GC, Leeds, the American PGA again restricted their team to those born in the USA but in late 1929 the Deed of Trust was revised requiring all players to be born in[36] and resident in their respective countries, as well as being members of their respective Professional Golfers' Association.[28] Inclusion of continental European golfers The most significant change to the Ryder Cup has been the inclusion of continental European golfers since 1979. Up until 1977, the matches featured teams representing the United States and Great Britain and Ireland. From 1979 players from continental Europe have been eligible to join what is now known as Team Europe. The change to include continental Europeans arose from discussion in 1977 between Jack Nicklaus and Edward Stanley, 18th Earl of Derby, who was serving as the President of the Professional Golfers' Association; it was suggested by Nicklaus as a means to make the matches more competitive, since the Americans almost always won, often by lopsided margins.[37] The change worked, as the contests soon became much more competitive, with talented young Europeans such as Seve Ballesteros and Bernhard Langer bolstering the European side. The present-day popularity of the Ryder Cup, which now generates enormous media attention, can be said to date from that change in eligibility. Format The Ryder Cup involves various match play competitions between players selected from two teams of twelve. It takes place from a Friday to a Sunday with a total of 28 matches being played, all matches being over 18 holes. On Friday and Saturday there are four fourball matches and four foursomes matches each day; a session of four matches in the morning and a session of four matches in the afternoon. On Sunday, there are 12 singles matches, when all team members play. Not all players must play on Friday and Saturday; the captain can select any eight players for each of the sessions over these two days. The winner of each match scores a point for his team, with half a point each for any match that is tied after the 18 holes. The winning team is determined by cumulative total points. In the event of a tie (14 points each) the Ryder Cup is retained by the team who held it before the contest. A foursomes match is a competition between two teams of two golfers. On a particular hole the golfers on the same team take alternate shots playing the same ball. One team member tees off on all the odd-numbered holes, and the other on all the even-numbered holes. Each hole is won by the team that completes the hole in the fewest shots. A fourball match is also a competition between two teams of two golfers, but all four golfers play their own ball throughout the round rather than alternating shots. The better score of the two golfers in a team determines the team's score on a particular hole; the score of the other member of the team is not counted. Each hole is won by the team whose individual golfer has the lowest score. A singles match is a standard match play competition between two golfers. The format of the Ryder Cup has changed over the years. From the inaugural event until 1959, the Ryder Cup was a two-day competition with 36-hole matches. In 1961 the matches were changed to 18 holes each and the number of matches doubled. In 1963 the event was expanded to three days, with fourball matches being played for the first time. This format remained until 1977, when the number of matches was reduced to 20, but, in 1979, the first year continental European players participated, the format was changed to the 28-match version in use today, with 8 foursomes/four-ball matches on the first two days and 12 singles matches on the last day.[38] Because of weather disruption the format of the 2010 contest was altered and it was extended to a fourth day. Year Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Total points Morning Afternoon Morning Afternoon Morning Afternoon 1927–59 4 36-hole foursomes 8 36-hole singles – 12 1961 4 foursomes 4 foursomes 8 singles 8 singles – 24 1963–71 4 foursomes 4 foursomes 4 fourballs 4 fourballs 8 singles 8 singles 32 1973 4 foursomes 4 fourballs 4 foursomes 4 fourballs 8 singles 8 singles 32 1975 4 foursomes 4 fourballs 4 fourballs 4 foursomes 8 singles 8 singles 32 1977 5 foursomes 5 fourballs 10 singles 20 1979– present 4 foursomes 4 fourballs 4 foursomes 4 fourballs 12 singles 28 or or 4 fourballs 4 foursomes 4 fourballs 4 foursomes The team size was increased from 10 to 12 in 1969. There were two singles sessions (morning and afternoon) in 1979, but no player played in both sessions. Since 1979, there have been 4 foursomes and 4 fourballs on each of the first two days. Currently the home captain decides before the contest starts whether the fourball or foursomes matches are played in the morning. He may choose a different order for the two days. Since 1979, a player can play a maximum of 5 matches (2 foursomes, 2 fourballs and a singles match), however from 1963 to 1975 it was possible to play 6 matches (2 foursomes, 2 fourballs and 2 singles matches). 1993 scorecard of Valderrama, continental Europe's most renowned course. It was the first club outside the United Kingdom and United States to host the competition, in 1997 Team composition Captains The captains have always selected the players and chosen the playing order in each group of matches. When the contest involved 36-hole matches, it was usual for the captain to be one of the players. The USA only had two non-playing captains in this period: Walter Hagen in 1937 and Ben Hogan in 1949 while Great Britain had non-playing captains in 1933, 1949, 1951 and 1953. With the change to 18-hole matches and the extension to three days, it became more difficult to combine the roles of captain and player and Arnold Palmer in 1963 was the last playing captain. The captains have always been professional golfers and the only captain who never played in the Ryder Cup was J. H. Taylor, the 1933 British captain. Qualification and selection The selection process for the Ryder Cup players has varied over the years. In the early contests the teams were generally decided by a selection committee but later qualification based on performances was introduced. The current system by which most of the team is determined by performances with a small number of players selected by the captain (known as "wild cards" or "captain's picks") gradually evolved and has been used by both sides since 1989.[39] For the 2014 Ryder Cup both teams had 9 players qualifying based on performances with the remaining 3 players selected by the captain. For those players gaining automatic qualification the Europeans used a system, introduced in 2004, using two tables; one using prize money won in official European Tour events and a second based on World Ranking points gained anywhere in the world. Both tables used a 12-month qualifying period finishing at the end of August. The American system, introduced in 2008, was based on prize money earned in official PGA Tour events during the current season and prize money earned in the major championships in the previous season. The qualifying period ended after the PGA Championship. For the 2016 Ryder Cup there were a number of changes from 2014 in the American system. The number of captain's picks was increased from three to four with the selections being made later than previously, especially moving the fourth and last pick to less than a week before the Ryder Cup, right after the completion of the Tour Championship. The qualifying events now included both the 2015 World Golf Championships events and The Players Championship, on top of the four major championships, but only included 2016 PGA Tour events actually played in 2016, thus excluded any other event played in 2015. The qualifying period was also extended because the Olympic Games had moved the timeslot for the 2016 PGA Championship which took place already at the end of July. Team Europe retained its old system of qualification and wild cards. Preliminary events An opening ceremony takes place on the afternoon before play begins. Since 2012, there has been a celebrity match played before the Ryder Cup contest. Celebrities were paired with former Ryder Cup captains in 2012 and 2014. Since 2016 there have been separate matches for celebrities and past captains. Celebrities have included sportspeople Michael Phelps, Scottie Pippen, Martina Navratilova, Alessandro Del Piero, A. J. Hawk and Andriy Shevchenko, and actors Bill Murray and Justin Timberlake. Notable Ryder Cups 1969: Nicklaus vs Jacklin Main article: 1969 Ryder Cup Tony Jacklin's golf ball used in the 1969 Ryder Cup held at Royal Birkdale Golf Club The 1969 Cup held at Royal Birkdale was perhaps one of the best and most competitive contests in terms of play (18 of the 32 matches went to the last green). It was decided in its very last match, of which United States Captain Sam Snead later said "This is the greatest golf match you have ever seen in England".[40] With the United States and Great Britain tied at 15+1⁄2 each, Jack Nicklaus led Tony Jacklin by the score of 1 up as they played the 17th hole. Jacklin made a 35-foot eagle putt and when Nicklaus missed his own eagle try from 12 feet, the match was all square. At the par-5 finishing hole, both Jacklin and Nicklaus got on the green in two. Nicklaus ran his eagle putt five feet past the hole, while Jacklin left his two-foot short. Nicklaus then sank his birdie putt, and with a crowd of 8,000 people watching, picked up Jacklin's marker, conceding the putt Jacklin needed to tie the matches. As the current holders, the rules meant that the United States retained the trophy.[41][42] "I don't think you would have missed that putt", Nicklaus said to Jacklin afterwards, "but in these circumstances I would never give you the opportunity." This gesture of sportsmanship by Nicklaus caused controversy on the American side, some of whom would have preferred to force Jacklin to attempt the putt for the small chance that he might miss, which would have given the United States team an outright win. "All the boys thought it was ridiculous to give him that putt", said Sam Snead. "We went over there to win, not to be good ol' boys." 1989: Azinger and Ballesteros Main article: 1989 Ryder Cup Held at The Belfry in England, the 1989 Ryder Cup saw the rising of tensions in the series. After holding the cup for more than two decades, the United States team lost both the 1985 and 1987 matches. At the 1989 matches, the pressure was on the United States team and its captain, Raymond Floyd. At a pre-match opening celebration, Floyd slighted the European team by introducing his United States team as "the 12 greatest players in the world." The competition saw the beginnings of a feud between Seve Ballesteros and Paul Azinger. Early in their singles match, Ballesteros sought to change a scuffed ball for a new ball under Rule of Golf 5–3. Somewhat unusually, Azinger disputed whether the ball was unfit for play. A referee was called, and sided with Azinger in ruling the ball fit for play. Ballesteros reportedly said to Azinger, "Is this the way you want to play today?" The match continued in a contentious fashion, culminating in Ballesteros unusually contesting whether Azinger took a proper drop after hitting into the water on the 18th hole. The American team's frustration grew as the matches ended in a tie, with the European team retaining the cup. 1991: "The War on the Shore" Main article: 1991 Ryder Cup The overall tension between the teams and the feud between Ballesteros and Azinger escalated at the Kiawah Island Golf Resort in 1991. At the ceremonial opening dinner, the PGA of America played two videos that were seen as less than hospitable by the European team. The first video was presented as a highlight reel of past Ryder Cups, but reportedly showed only Americans. The second video was a welcoming address by then-United States President George H. W. Bush in which he closed by cheering on the American side. On the first morning of the competition, Azinger and Chip Beck were paired against Ballesteros and José María Olazábal in a foursomes match, an alternate shot event. Azinger and Beck accused Ballesteros of gamesmanship on account of his throat clearing during Beck's shots. Later in the same match, Azinger and Beck, who were playing the same brand and make of ball but each with a slightly different model, switched their balls. While this switching was unlikely to have resulted in an advantage or to have been intentional, it was in violation of the "one ball rule" which was in effect for the competition. Under that rule, a player is prohibited from changing the type of ball he uses during the course of a match. A few holes after the switch had occurred, Ballesteros called the Americans for the violation. Azinger, seeming to feel that his integrity was being questioned, said "I can tell you we're not trying to cheat." Ballesteros responded, "Oh no. Breaking the rules and cheating are two different things." As the violation was called too long after it had occurred, no penalty was assessed against the American pair. The constant goading between Ballesteros and Azinger intensified their respective desires to win. Out of that intensity, they and their playing partners produced what may be regarded as one of the best pairs matches in history, with the Spaniards winning 2 & 1. After the matches concluded, Ballesteros reportedly said, "The American team has 11 nice guys. And Paul Azinger." The 1991 matches received the sobriquet "the War on the Shore" after some excitable advertising in the American media, and intense home-team cheering by the American home crowds. For his part, Corey Pavin caused controversy by sporting a Desert Storm baseball cap during the event in support of the U.S. and coalition war effort in Iraq. The matches culminated in one of the single most dramatic putts in the history of golf. With only one match remaining to be completed, between Hale Irwin for the United States and Bernhard Langer for the Europeans, the United States team led by one point. Irwin and Langer came to the last hole tied. To win the cup, the American team needed Irwin to win or tie the match by winning or tying the hole. The Europeans could keep the cup with a win by Langer. Both players struggled on the hole, and found themselves facing a pair of putts; Langer had a six-foot, side-hill par putt, and Irwin had a generally uphill, 18-inch putt for bogey. To the surprise of his teammates, Langer conceded Irwin's bogey putt, leaving himself in a must-make position. Langer missed his putt, the match was halved, and the U.S. team took back the cup. Players on both sides were driven to public tears by the pressure of the matches on the final day. The intense competition of the 1991 Ryder Cup is widely regarded as having elevated public interest in the series. 1999: Battle of Brookline Main article: 1999 Ryder Cup The 1999 Ryder Cup held at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts, caused great controversy. A remarkable comeback by the American team helped propel the U.S. to a 141⁄2–131⁄2 victory after trailing 10–6 at the start of the final day. The U.S. defeated Europe 81⁄2–31⁄2 in the singles matches to seal the first American victory since 1993. The competition turned on the 17th hole of a match between American Justin Leonard and Spaniard José María Olazábal. With the match all square, Leonard needed to earn at least a half-point to seal an American victory. After Olazábal's second shot left him with a 22-foot putt on the par-4, Leonard hit his shot within 10 feet of the hole and then watched it roll away from the cup, leaving him with a 45-foot putt for birdie. Leonard had made putts of 25 and 35 feet earlier in the round. Leonard holed the putt, and a wild celebration followed with other U.S. players, their wives, and a few fans running onto the green. The putt did not guarantee a half-point for Leonard since Olazábal could still hole his putt and win the last hole. However, Olazábal missed his putt, and the American team celebrated once again, although the second celebration was more reserved than the first one. There was considerable bad blood after the event, with some of the European players complaining about the behavior of the American galleries throughout the match. Sam Torrance branded it "disgusting", while European captain Mark James referred to it as a "bear pit" in a book recounting the event.[43] There were also reports that a spectator spat at James' wife.[44] Payne Stewart had conceded his singles match to Colin Montgomerie with both players level and on the last green in 2 shots as a response to the abuse Montgomerie had received throughout the match.[45] Following the 1999 Ryder Cup, many members of the U.S. team apologised for their behavior, and there were numerous attempts by both teams to calm the increasing nationalism of the event.[46][47] 2012: Medinah Main article: 2012 Ryder Cup The 39th Ryder Cup was held at the Medinah Country Club in Medinah, Illinois. Under captain José María Olazábal of Spain; the Europeans were down 10–4 after 14 matches, with two four-ball matches still on the course and 12 singles matches to be played the next day. At the end of day two, Ian Poulter made five birdies on the final five holes to give him and Rory McIlroy the point over Jason Dufner and Zach Johnson. Despite being down 10–6 going into the final day Europe came back to win by 14+1⁄2 points to 13+1⁄2.[48] Out of the 12 points available on the final day Europe won 8+1⁄2 points with the U.S. winning only 3+1⁄2 points. In terms of points this feat matched the Americans' 1999 comeback at Brookline Country Club. Martin Kaymer struck the putt that retained the cup for Europe. The putt was almost identical in length to the one that fellow German Bernhard Langer missed at the 1991 Ryder Cup. Francesco Molinari secured the final half-point to win the Ryder Cup outright by winning the 18th hole to halve his match against Tiger Woods. Ian Poulter of the European team finished this Ryder Cup with a perfect 4–0 record. The event is often referred to as the "Meltdown at Medinah" in the United States or the "Miracle at Medinah" in Europe. Cancellations and postponements 1939 Ryder Cup The 1939 Ryder Cup was planned for 18–19 November at Ponte Vedra Country Club in Jacksonville, Florida; Walter Hagen was chosen as non-playing captain of the U.S. team. The competition was cancelled shortly after the outbreak of World War II in Europe in September. It would have been the first Ryder Cup to be held in Florida; the competition was not held there until 1983. In early April 1939, the British P.G.A. chose a selection committee of six and selected Henry Cotton as captain.[49] In August, eight players were named in the team: Cotton, Jimmy Adams, Dick Burton, Sam King, Alf Padgham, Dai Rees, Charles Whitcombe, and Reg Whitcombe.[50] Charles Whitcombe immediately withdrew from the team,[51] not wishing to travel to the United States. With seven selected, three places were left to be filled. War was declared on 3 September and the British P.G.A. immediately cancelled the match: "The P.G.A. announce that the Ryder Cup match for this year has been cancelled by the state of war prevailing in this country. The P.G.A. of the United States is being informed."[52][53] 1941, 1943, and 1945 Ryder Cups The Ryder Cup was not played in these scheduled years due to World War II; by the fall of 1945, many members of the British team were still in the military.[54] After a decade-long absence, it resumed in November 1947 at the Portland Golf Club in Portland, Oregon. 2001 Ryder Cup Main article: 2002 Ryder Cup The competition, scheduled for 28–30 September at The Belfry's Brabazon Course, was postponed a year because of the September 11 terrorist attacks. "The PGA of America has informed the European Ryder Cup Board that the scope of the last Tuesday's tragedy is so overwhelming that it would not be possible for the United States Ryder Cup team and officials to attend the match this month."[55] The manager of Phil Mickelson and Mark Calcavecchia had earlier announced that the two players would not travel to Europe. Other American players were said to be concerned about attending the event. It was played in 2002 at the original venue with the same teams that had been selected to play a year earlier. The display boards at The Belfry still read "The 2001 Ryder Cup", and U.S. captain Curtis Strange deliberately referred to his team as "The 2001 Ryder Cup Team" in his speech at the closing ceremony. It was later decided to hold the subsequent Ryder Cup in 2004 (rather than 2003) and thereafter in even-numbered years. This change also affected the men's Presidents Cup and Seve Trophy and women's Solheim Cup competitions, as each switched from even to odd years. 2020 Ryder Cup Main article: 2021 Ryder Cup Results Main article: List of Ryder Cup matches Summary Team From To Matches Wins Losses Ties United States 1927 2021 43 27 14 2 Great Britain/ Great Britain & Ireland 1927 1977 22 3 18 1 Europe 1979 2021 21 11 9[58] 1 Although the team was referred to as "Great Britain" up to 1971, a number of golfers from the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, Guernsey and Jersey had played for Great Britain before that date. In 1973, the official team name was changed to "Great Britain and Ireland,” but this was simply a change of name to reflect the fact that golfers from the Republic of Ireland had played in the "Great Britain" Ryder Cup team since Harry Bradshaw in 1953, while Northern Irish players had competed since Fred Daly in 1947. The team in place of the original "Great Britain" team has been referred to as "Europe" since 1979, when players from continental Europe were included. Since then, the "United States" team has won 9 matches and the "Europe" team has won 11 matches, while retaining the Ryder Cup once with a tie. Editions # Year Dates [a] Winners Score Host location Course U.S. captain European captain U.S. top point scorer[b] European top point scorer[b] United States v Europe (1979 to present) 44th 2023 29 Sep– 1 Oct Italy Europe Marco Simone Golf and Country Club, Guidonia Montecelio Zach Johnson Henrik Stenson 43rd 2020[c] 2021 24– 26 Sep United States 19– 9 Wisconsin United States Whistling Straits, Haven Steve Stricker Pádraig Harrington Johnson 5 / 5 Rahm 3.5 / 5 42nd 2018 28– 30 Sep Europe 171⁄2– 101⁄2 France Europe Le Golf National, Île-de-France Jim Furyk Thomas Bjørn Thomas 4 / 5 Molinari 5 / 5 41st 2016 30 Sep– 2 Oct United States 17– 11 Minnesota United States Hazeltine National Golf Club, Carver County Davis Love III Darren Clarke Reed 3.5 / 5 Pieters 4 / 5 40th 2014 26– 28 Sep Europe 161⁄2– 111⁄2 Scotland Europe Gleneagles Hotel, Perthshire Tom Watson Paul McGinley Reed 3.5 / 4 Rose 4 / 5 39th 2012 28– 30 Sep Europe 141⁄2– 131⁄2 Illinois United States Medinah Country Club (No. 3), DuPage County Davis Love III José María Olazábal Johnson 3 / 3 Poulter 4 / 4 38th 2010 1– 4 Oct Europe 141⁄2– 131⁄2 Wales Europe Celtic Manor Resort, Newport Corey Pavin Colin Montgomerie Stricker; Woods 3 / 4 Donald; Poulter 3 / 4 37th 2008 19– 21 Sep United States 161⁄2– 111⁄2 Kentucky United States Valhalla Golf Club, Louisville Paul Azinger Nick Faldo Mahan 3.5 / 5 Poulter 4 / 5 36th 2006 22– 24 Sep Europe 181⁄2– 91⁄2 Ireland Europe K Club, County Kildare Tom Lehman Ian Woosnam Woods 3 / 5 García; Westwood 4 / 5 35th 2004 17– 19 Sep Europe 181⁄2– 91⁄2 Michigan United States Oakland Hills Country Club, Birmingham, MI Hal Sutton Bernhard Langer DiMarco 2.5 / 4 García; Westwood 4.5 / 5 34th 2001[d] 2002 27– 29 Sep Europe 151⁄2– 121⁄2 England Europe The Belfry, Warwickshire Curtis Strange Sam Torrance Toms 3.5 / 5 Montgomerie 4.5 / 5 33rd 1999 24– 26 Sep United States 141⁄2– 131⁄2 Massachusetts United States The Country Club (Brookline), Norfolk County Ben Crenshaw Mark James Sutton 3.5 / 5 García; Lawrie; Montgomerie; Parnevik 3.5 / 5 32nd 1997 26– 28 Sep Europe 141⁄2– 131⁄2 Spain Europe Valderrama Golf Club, Andalusia Tom Kite Seve Ballesteros Hoch 2.5 / 3 Montgomerie 3.5 / 5 31st 1995 22– 24 Sep Europe 141⁄2– 131⁄2 New York United States Oak Hill Country Club, Monroe County Lanny Wadkins Bernard Gallacher Pavin 4 / 5 Gilford 3 / 4 30th 1993 24– 26 Sep United States 15– 13 England Europe The Belfry, Warwickshire Tom Watson Bernard Gallacher Floyd; Stewart 3 / 4 Woosnam 4.5 / 5 29th 1991 27– 29 Sep United States 141⁄2– 131⁄2 South Carolina United States Kiawah Island Golf Resort, Charleston County Dave Stockton Bernard Gallacher Couples; Wadkins 3.5 / 5 Ballesteros 4.5 / 5 28th 1989 22– 24 Sep Tied Europe retains 14– 14 England Europe The Belfry, Warwickshire Raymond Floyd Tony Jacklin Beck 3.5 / 4 Olazábal 4.5 / 5 27th 1987 25– 27 Sep Europe 15– 13 Ohio United States Muirfield Village, Franklin County Jack Nicklaus Tony Jacklin Kite; Sutton 3 / 5 Ballesteros 4 / 5 26th 1985 13– 15 Sep Europe 161⁄2– 111⁄2 England Europe The Belfry, Warwickshire Lee Trevino Tony Jacklin Stadler; Wadkins 3 / 5 Piñero 4 / 5 25th 1983 14– 16 Oct United States 141⁄2– 131⁄2 Florida United States PGA National Golf Club, Palm Beach County Jack Nicklaus Tony Jacklin Watson 4 / 5 Faldo; Langer 4 / 5 24th 1981 18– 20 Sep United States 181⁄2– 91⁄2 England Europe Walton Heath Golf Club, Surrey Dave Marr John Jacobs Nelson; Nicklaus; Trevino 4 / 4 Piñero 2 / 4 23rd 1979 14– 16 Sep United States 17– 11 West Virginia United States The Greenbrier, Greenbrier County Billy Casper John Jacobs Nelson 5 / 5 Gallacher 4 / 5 United States v Great Britain & Ireland (1973 to 1977) 22nd 1977 15– 17 Sep United States 121⁄2– 71⁄2 England GB & Ireland Royal Lytham & St Annes, Lancashire Dow Finsterwald Brian Huggett Wadkins 3 / 3 Faldo 3 / 3 21st 1975 19– 21 Sep United States 21– 11 Pennsylvania United States Laurel Valley Golf Club, Westmoreland County Arnold Palmer Bernard Hunt Irwin 4.5 / 5 Oosterhuis 3.5 / 6 20th 1973 20– 22 Sep United States 19– 13 Scotland GB & Ireland Muirfield, East Lothian Jack Burke Jr. Bernard Hunt Nicklaus 4.5 / 6 Oosterhuis 4 / 6 United States v Great Britain (1923 to 1971) 19th 1971 16– 18 Sep United States 181⁄2– 131⁄2 Missouri United States Old Warson Country Club, St. Louis Jay Hebert Eric Brown Palmer 4.5 / 6 Gallacher 3.5 / 5 18th 1969 18– 20 Sep Tied United States retains 16– 16 England Great Britain Royal Birkdale Golf Club, Merseyside Sam Snead Eric Brown Hill 4 / 6 Jacklin 5 / 6 17th 1967 20– 22 Oct United States 231⁄2– 81⁄2 Texas United States Champions Golf Club, Houston Ben Hogan Dai Rees Palmer; Dickinson 5 / 5 Thomas 3 / 5 16th 1965 7– 9 Oct United States 191⁄2– 121⁄2 England Great Britain Royal Birkdale Golf Club, Merseyside Byron Nelson Harry Weetman Lema 5 / 6 Alliss 5 / 6 15th 1963 11– 13 Oct United States 23– 9 Georgia United States Atlanta Athletic Club, Atlanta Arnold Palmer John Fallon Casper 4.5 / 5 Huggett 2.5 / 5 14th 1961 13– 14 Oct United States 141⁄2– 91⁄2 England Great Britain Royal Lytham & St Annes, Lancashire Jerry Barber Dai Rees Palmer 3.5 / 4 Rees 3 / 4 13th 1959 6– 7 Nov United States 81⁄2– 31⁄2 California United States Eldorado Country Club Indian Wells Sam Snead Dai Rees Finsterwald; Rosburg; Souchak 2 / 2 Alliss 1.5 / 2 12th 1957 4– 5 Oct United Kingdom Great Britain 71⁄2– 41⁄2 England Great Britain Lindrick Golf Club, Nottinghamshire Jack Burke Jr. Dai Rees Mayer 1.5 / 2 Bousfield; Rees 2 / 2 11th 1955 5– 6 Nov United States 8– 4 California United States Thunderbird Country Club, Riverside County Chick Harbert Dai Rees Bolt; Burke Jr.; Ford; Snead 2 / 2 Jacobs 2 / 2 10th 1953 2– 3 Oct United States 61⁄2– 51⁄2 England Great Britain Wentworth Club, Surrey Lloyd Mangrum Henry Cotton Burke Jr. 2 / 2 Bradshaw; Daly 2 / 2 9th 1951 2– 4 Nov United States 91⁄2– 21⁄2 North Carolina United States Pinehurst Resort (No. 2), Moore County Sam Snead Arthur Lacey Burke Jr.; Demaret; Hogan; Mangrum; Snead 2 / 2 Lees 2 / 2 8th 1949 16– 17 Sep United States 7– 5 England Great Britain Ganton Golf Club; Yorkshire Ben Hogan Charles Whitcombe Demaret; Heafner 2 / 2 Adams 2 / 2 7th 1947 1– 2 Nov United States 11– 1 Oregon United States Portland Golf Club, Portland Ben Hogan Henry Cotton Demaret; Mangrum; Nelson; Oliver; Snead; Worsham 2 / 2 King 1 / 2 1939, 1941, 1943, and 1945: No Ryder Cups because of World War II 6th 1937 29– 30 Jun United States 8– 4 England Great Britain Southport and Ainsdale Golf Club, Merseyside Walter Hagen Charles Whitcombe Dudley; Guldahl 2 / 2 Rees 1.5 / 2 5th 1935 28– 29 Sep United States 9– 3 New Jersey United States Ridgewood Country Club, Bergen County Walter Hagen Charles Whitcombe Picard; Revolta; Runyan; Sarazen 2 / 2 Whitcombe 1 / 1 4th 1933 25– 26 Jun United Kingdom Great Britain 61⁄2– 51⁄2 England Great Britain Southport and Ainsdale Golf Club, Merseyside Walter Hagen John Henry Taylor Hagen; Sarazen 1.5 / 2 Easterbrook; Havers; Mitchell 2 / 2 3rd 1931 26– 27 Jun United States 9– 3 Ohio United States Scioto Country Club, Upper Arlington Walter Hagen Charles Whitcombe Burke; Cox; Hagen; Sarazen; Shute; 2 / 2 Davies; Havers; Mitchell; Robson 1 / 2 2nd 1929 26– 27 Apr United Kingdom Great Britain 7– 5 England Great Britain Moortown Golf Club, Yorkshire Walter Hagen George Duncan Diegel 2 / 2 Compston; Whitcombe 1.5 / 2 1st 1927 3– 4 Jun United States 91⁄2– 21⁄2 Massachusetts United States Worcester Country Club, Worcester County Walter Hagen Ted Ray Farrell; Golden; Hagen; Watrous 2 / 2 Whitcombe 1.5 / 2 Reference : 2014 Media Guide;[59] Ryder Cup website[60] Dates include all days on which play took place or was planned to take place If more than one player ties for top points scorer, players with the highest win% are shown Deferred due to the 9/11 attacks Future venues Year Edition Hosts Course Location Dates Last hosted Ref 2023 44th Europe Marco Simone Golf and Country Club Rome, Lazio, Italy 30 Sep – 2 Oct n/a [61] 2025 45th United States Bethpage Black Course, Bethpage State Park Farmingdale, New York, United States n/a [61] 2027 46th Europe Adare Manor Adare, County Limerick, Republic of Ireland n/a [61] 2029 47th United States Hazeltine National Golf Club Chaska, Minnesota, United States 2016 [61] 2031 48th Europe Not yet awarded 2033 49th United States Olympic Club, Lake Course San Francisco, California, United States n/a [61] 2035 50th Europe Not yet awarded 2037 51st United States Congressional Country Club, Blue Course Bethesda, Maryland, United States n/a [61] Future European venues In 2001, the PGA European Tour decided to put out the Ryder Cup hosting rights from 2018 through 2030 to a competitive bid process throughout Europe.[62] Television Main article: List of Ryder Cup broadcasters The Ryder Cup matches were always covered by the BBC, whether in Britain or in the United States, even prior to the British team's merger with Europe. But in the 1970s ITV gained the rights to the Ryder Cup showing the 1973, 1975 in the US and 1977 cups. ITV had the 1979 rights hosted in the US and the first with a European team but the 1979 cup wasn't televised in the UK due to the 1979 ITV strike. In 1981 the BBC regained the rights covering the 1981, 1983, 1985, 1987, 1989, 1991 and 1993 cups. In the 1990s, Sky Sports became heavily involved in the Ryder Cup, and has since taken over live coverage, including temporarily rebranding their Sky Sports Golf channel as 'Sky Sports Ryder Cup' for the tournament weekend (since 2014).[63] The BBC still screens edited highlights each night. In the United States,[64] the Ryder Cup was first televised live at the 1983 matches in Florida, with ABC Sports covering just the final four holes of the singles matches. A highlight package of the 1985 singles matches was produced by ESPN, but no live coverage aired from England. In 1987, with the matches back in the United States, ABC covered both weekend days, but only in the late afternoon. In 1989, USA Network began a long association with the Ryder Cup, by televising all three days live from England, the first live coverage of a Ryder Cup from Europe. This led to a one-year deal for the 1991 matches in South Carolina to be carried by NBC[65] live on the weekend, with USA Network continuing to provide live coverage of the first day. All five sessions were broadcast for the first time. The success of the 1991 matches led to a contract extension with USA and NBC through 1997, marking a turning point in the competition's popularity. For the European matches, the first two days were taped and aired on delay in the U.S. Another extension with USA and NBC covering the 1999–2003 (later moved to 2004) competitions increased the number of hours of coverage to include the entire first day and most of the second day. Tape delay was still employed for competitions from Europe. The Ryder Cup's increased success led to a landmark contract with NBC (which had recently bought USA Network) to air the 2006–14 competitions on USA and NBC. It called for a record increase in coverage hours, with the second day now having near-complete coverage. Tape delay was last used for the 2006 event in Ireland. In 2006, ESPN was sub-licensed rights to Friday coverage, as part of a larger transaction between NBC and Disney that also resulted in ABC Sports personality Al Michaels moving to NBC to join their then-upcoming Sunday-night NFL games, ESPN gaining expanded access to highlights from events whose rights are owned by NBC, and Disney acquiring the rights to the cartoon character Oswald the Lucky Rabbit (who was created by Walt Disney in 1927 for a series of animated shorts distributed by Universal Pictures).[66] In 2013, NBC reached a deal to extend its rights to the Ryder Cup and Senior PGA Championship through 2030, with Friday coverage of the Ryder Cup being assumed by Golf Channel.[67][68] For 2018, Golf Channel and NBC had a combined total of 30.5 hours of coverage; Golf Channel had 13.5 hours, and NBC had 17 hours. Ninety minutes of Golf Channel and NBC's time overlapped, amounting to a net total of 29 hours of real time coverage. For 2021, Golf Channel and NBC had a combined total of 28 hours of coverage; Golf Channel had 12 hours, and NBC had 16 hours. All broadcasts were also shown on Peacock, along with the websites and mobile apps of both NBC Sports and the Ryder Cup.[69][70] Records Main article: List of Ryder Cup records See also: List of American Ryder Cup golfers and List of European Ryder Cup golfers Most appearances: 12 ° Phil Mickelson (USA), 1995–2018 Most points: 28+1⁄2 ° Sergio García (Eur) (25–13–7 record) Most singles points won: 7 ° Colin Montgomerie (Eur) (6–0–2 record) ° Billy Casper (USA) (6–2–2 record) ° Lee Trevino (USA) (6–2–2 record) ° Arnold Palmer (USA) (6–3–2 record) ° Neil Coles (GB, GB&I) (5–6–4 record) Most foursomes points won: 13+1⁄2 ° Sergio García (Eur) (12–4–3 record) Most fourball points won: 10+1⁄2 ° Ian Woosnam (Eur) (10–3–1 record) ° José María Olazábal (Eur) (9–2–3 record) ° Sergio García (Eur) (9–4–3 record) Most points won by a pairing: 12 ° Seve Ballesteros and José María Olazábal (Eur) (11–2–2 record) Top point percentage (minimum of 3 Ryder Cup matches) ° Jimmy Demaret (USA) (6–0–0) 100.0% ° Jack Burke Jr. (USA) (7–1–0) 87.5% ° Patrick Cantlay (USA) (3–0–1) 87.5% ° Horton Smith (USA) (3–0–1) 87.5% ° Walter Hagen (USA) (7–1–1) 83.3% ° J. C. Snead (USA) (9–2–0) 81.8% ° Sam Snead (USA) (10–2–1) 80.8% Most points in a single contest: 5 ° Tony Lema (USA) (5–1–0) 1965 ° Peter Alliss (GB) (5–1–0) 1965 ° Gardner Dickinson (USA) (5–0–0) 1967 ° Arnold Palmer (USA) (5–0–0) 1967 ° Tony Jacklin (GB) (4–0–2) 1969 ° Jack Nicklaus (USA) (5–1–0) 1971 ° Larry Nelson (USA) (5–0–0) 1979 ° Francesco Molinari (Eur) (5–0–0) 2018 ° Dustin Johnson (USA) (5–0–0) 2021 Youngest player: 19 years, 258 days ° Sergio García (Eur) 1999 Oldest player: 51 years, 20 days ° Raymond Floyd (USA) 1993 Sources[71][72][73] Traditions If one of the golfers is injured and cannot play his singles match, the opposing captain can select one player from his team that he would like to not compete. The nominated player is then matched up against the injured player and the match recorded as a half. There is one stipulation – each captain must place the name of their nominated player in an envelope prior to the start of the matches. The "envelope rule", as it has known, has come into play three times since 1979, including most recently in 1993 when Europe's Sam Torrance suffered a sore left foot. Lanny Wadkins offered to be the player that American captain Tom Watson placed in the envelope, and their match was recorded as halved.[74][75] Teams have also used the competition to pay tribute to recently deceased legends: In 2012 at Medinah, victorious captain Olazábal dedicated the victory to his countryman Ballesteros. The five-time major champion, who had scored 221⁄2 points in 37 matches and been part of four victorious European sides before captaining them to victory on home soil at Valderrama in 1997, had died of brain cancer in May 2011 at the age of 54, and in his memory, Team Europe wore navy blue and white garments – his traditional Sunday colors – on the final day, including during the comeback.[76] Additionally, the European kit also bore the silhouette of Ballesteros famously pumping his fist after winning the 1984 Open Championship at the Old Course at St Andrews.[77][78] In 2016 at Hazeltine, both teams paid tribute to Palmer after he passed away five days before the competition at the age of 85 while awaiting heart surgery. The seven-time major champion, who had won more than 22 Ryder Cup matches during five American victories (including one as Team USA's last playing captain) and been the non-playing captain during a sixth, had a video tribute and also opening ceremony tributes from both captains (Love and Clarke) and both honorary captains (Nicklaus and Jacklin), and his bag from the 1975 competition at Laurel Valley was placed on the first tee during Friday's opening foursomes in his honor. Team USA also swept the opening foursomes for the first time since 1975, and after Team USA regained the Cup, Love also dedicated the victory to Palmer. Two days after the competition, the majority of Team USA also attended Palmer's public memorial at St. Vincent College in his hometown of Latrobe, Pennsylvania and brought the Cup at the request of Palmer's daughter Amy.[79] Similar golf events The Presidents Cup is similar to the Ryder Cup, except that the competing sides are a U.S. side and an International side from the rest of the world consisting of players who are ineligible for the Ryder Cup. It is held in years when there is no Ryder Cup. Other team golf events between U.S. and either Europe or Great Britain and Ireland include: Curtis Cup – Women's amateur event analogous to the Walker Cup. Junior Ryder Cup – A match between U.S. and European juniors involving both boys and girls. Junior Solheim Cup – A match between U.S. and European junior girls. PGA Cup – A match between U.S. and Great Britain and Ireland club professionals. Solheim Cup – The women's equivalent of the Ryder Cup, featuring the same U.S. against Europe format. Walker Cup – Event for amateur men between a U.S. side and a team drawn from Great Britain and Ireland.
John C. Palmer (July 3, 1918 – September 14, 2006) was an American professional golfer. Born in Eldorado, North Carolina, Palmer won seven times on the PGA Tour in the 1940s and 1950s, and was a member of the Ryder Cup team 1949. Palmer died in Albemarle, North Carolina, at age 88 from undisclosed causes.[1] Contents 1 Professional wins 1.1 PGA Tour wins (7) 1.2 Other wins 2 Results in major championships 2.1 Summary 3 See also 4 References Professional wins PGA Tour wins (7) 1946 (1) Nashville Invitational 1947 (1) Western Open 1948 (1) Philadelphia Inquirer Open 1949 (2) Houston Open, World Championship of Golf 1952 (1) Canadian Open 1954 (1) Colonial National Invitation Other wins this list may be incomplete 1941 Carolinas Open 1947 Utah Open 1948 Carolinas PGA Championship 1949 Carolinas Open, Carolinas PGA Championship 1950 Carolinas Open 1951 Carolinas PGA Championship 1952 Carolinas PGA Championship 1954 Mexican Open, Carolinas PGA Championship 1957 Oklahoma Open Results in major championships Tournament 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 Masters Tournament T26 NT NT NT T32 T17 T28 T4 U.S. Open T21 NT NT NT NT T35 T6 T35 T8 PGA Championship NT R32 2 Tournament 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 Masters Tournament T24 T30 12 13 T33 T18 11 T24 U.S. Open T10 T24 T34 CUT CUT PGA Championship QF R64 R64 R64 R32 QF R64 R64 CUT Note: Palmer never played in The Open Championship. Top 10 Did not play NT = no tournament CUT = missed the half-way cut (3rd round cut in 1958 PGA Championship) R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = round in which player lost in PGA Championship match play "T" indicates a tie for a place Summary Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts made Masters Tournament 0 0 0 1 1 8 13 13 U.S. Open 0 0 0 0 3 5 10 8 The Open Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 PGA Championship 0 1 0 3 3 5 11 10 Totals 0 1 0 4 7 18 34 31 Most consecutive cuts made – 31 (1941 U.S. Open – 1957 Masters) Longest streak of top-10s – 3 (1949 Masters – 1949 PGA) The Professional Golfers' Association of America (PGA of America) is an American organization of golf professionals that was founded in 1916. Consisting of nearly 29,000 men and women members, the PGA of America's undertaking is to establish and elevate the standards of the profession and to grow interest and participation in the game of golf. On December 4, 2018, it was announced that the PGA plans to relocate its headquarters by the summer of 2022 from Palm Beach Gardens, Florida to a planned 600 acre mixed-use development in Frisco, Texas.[1] Contents 1 History 2 Championships 3 Growth of the game 4 Organization 4.1 PGA professionals 4.2 PGA Reach 4.3 PGA presidents 5 PGA properties 6 See also 7 References 8 External links History The Professional Golfers' Association of America was established on April 10, 1916, but the genesis of the first all-professional golf body in the United States was sparked by a luncheon on January 17, 1916, hosted by Rodman Wanamaker at Wanamaker's Store on Ninth Street and Broadway in New York City.[2] Sixty attendees were invited by the Taplow Club, which was a business group within Wanamaker's Store and led by professional Tom McNamara of Brookline, Massachusetts, an outstanding player and talented salesman who was keenly aware of the welfare of the club professional.[3] McNamara pressed upon Wanamaker that it was prime time to bring U.S. professionals together, and that the publicity generated would be advantageous. Locked into a retail battle with rival A.G. Spalding & Bros. for the sale of golf balls, Wanamaker enthusiastically approved the initiative. He asked McNamara to arrange the luncheon inviting prominent amateur and professional golf leaders from throughout the country.[4] Wanamaker's ninth floor restaurant was chosen as the site for the Monday luncheon, which attracted amateur great Francis Ouimet, noted writer, player and budding architect A.W. Tillinghast; and P.C. Pulver, the New York Evening Sun reporter and one of the first newspaper golf "beat" writers who later served as the first editor of The Professional Golfer, today's PGA Magazine. The guest list also included some of America's top professionals: Alex Smith, James Maiden, Robert White, Jack Mackie and Alex Pirie, as well as others who derived their livelihoods from their jobs at private and public golf facilities.[5] The Taplow Club was not an eatery or dining establishment. Instead, it was Wanamaker's nickname for his in-store business group. He had taken the name from a palatial estate he leased on Taplow Court some 25 miles outside London. He would later stamp "Taplow" on his store's lower-end, private-label golf balls. Wanamaker, who was not a golfer, was never reported to have attended the luncheon. He delegated the details to McNamara. With golf becoming more and more popular in the U.S., McNamara believed that his fellow professionals could benefit by working together. Wanamaker also believed consolidating professionals would also improve their social standing, having long been treated by club members as second-class citizens. Toastmaster Joseph H. Appel, vice president of Wanamaker's foundation, presented Wanamaker's offer to conduct a match play championship for professionals, similar to Great Britain's News of the World Tournament. Appel also broached the subject of a national association of professionals. In addition, Wanamaker would donate a cup and $2,580 in prize money, and would ultimately pay the travel expenses of the competitors. That "cup" became the Rodman Wanamaker Trophy, and the tournament the PGA Championship. The inaugural PGA Championship was held October 10–14, 1916, at Siwanoy Country Club in Bronxville, New York, and won by English-born Jim Barnes. Former British PGA Secretary James Hepburn suggested that the 32 lowest finishers in the U.S. Open would be paired for match play, following Robert White's contention that the U.S. was too large for section qualifiers. The all-professional match play concept was in direct contrast to the United States Golf Association's medal (stroke) play format. Wanamaker requested that the proposal for the Championship be contingent upon approval by the USGA or other governing bodies. Tillinghast spoke up and declared that the professionals should be independent of the USGA in handling their own affairs and competitions. Tillinghast's argument held, as a follow-up organizational meeting was planned the following day in Wanamaker's store. Organizers then formed a seven-person group whose primary task was to define tentative bylaws for the new association. They named Hepburn to chair an organizational committee of professionals that included Maiden, White and Mackie, as well as Gilbert Nicholls, John "Jack" Hobens, and Herbert Strong - none of the group was American-born. This group drafted a constitution, turning to the British PGA for assistance. The luncheon agenda addressed giving golf professionals say when it came to the organization and staging of tournaments, among other employment issues. The response to creating such a body was positive, and additional meetings followed. On April 10, 1916, in the second-floor boardroom of the Hotel Martinique on 32nd and Broadway, the Professional Golfers' Association of America was born. There were 78 members elected that day, including 35 PGA Charter Members, of which 28 were born outside the U.S. The Association began with seven PGA Sections: Metropolitan, Middle States, New England, Southeastern, Central, Northwestern and Pacific. Today, there are 41 PGA Sections nationwide. From 1934 through November 1961, the PGA of America maintained a "Caucasian-only" membership clause in its bylaws. The clause was removed by amending its constitution.[6][7] The previous year, it had voted to retain the clause, and had gained the ire of California's attorney general Stanley Mosk, who threatened to shut down the PGA in the state until the clause was removed. The 1962 PGA Championship was scheduled for Brentwood Country Club in Los Angeles, but the PGA moved it to Philadelphia at Aronimink.[6] With an increase of revenue in the late 1960s due to expanded television coverage, a dispute arose between the touring professionals and the PGA of America on how to distribute the windfall. The tour players wanted larger purses, where the PGA desired the money to go to the general fund to help grow the game at the local level.[8] Following the final major in July 1968 at the PGA Championship, several leading tour pros voiced their dissatisfaction with the venue and the abundance of club pros in the field.[9] The increased friction resulted in a new entity in August, what would eventually become the PGA Tour.[10][11][12][13] Tournament players formed their own organization, American Professional Golfers, Inc. (APG), independent of the PGA of America.[14][15][16] After several months,[17] a compromise was reached in December: the tour players agreed to abolish the APG and form the PGA "Tournament Players Division," a fully autonomous division under the supervision of a new 10-member Tournament Policy Board.[18][19][20][21] The board consisted of four tour players, three PGA of America executives, and three outside members, initially business executives.[19][20][22] It hired its own commissioner and was renamed the "PGA Tour" in the mid-1970s. In October 2014, PGA President Ted Bishop responded to Ian Poulter's criticism of the Ryder Cup captaincy of Nick Faldo and Tom Watson by calling Poulter a "lil' girl", which led to Bishop's firing. The PGA called Bishop's statements "unacceptable" and "insensitive gender-based".[23][24] Championships The PGA conducts annual men's, senior, and women's major championships: the PGA Championship, the Senior PGA Championship, and the Women's PGA Championship (which was renamed from the LPGA Championship in 2015 after a partnership between the LPGA and the PGA of America to heighten the event's profile).[25] All three tournaments feature professional golfers, but their fields also contain slots reserved for club professionals. The PGA conducts more than 30 tournaments for its members and apprentices, including the PGA Professional Championship and the Assistant PGA Professional Championship. It also co-organizes the biennial Ryder Cup, PGA Cup and in 2019, the inaugural Women's PGA Cup. Growth of the game In 2003, the PGA of America created the Player Development department within the Association in an endeavor to reach out to new, past and sporadic adult golfers. This is accomplished through the growth, promotion and support of instructional programs and events at PGA Member facilities that support adults and families to play golf. Included in these programs is Play Golf America, instigated in 2004 with the help of the Allied Associations (LPGA, National Golf Course Owners Association, PGA Tour, USGA, and others involved in the annual Golf 20/20 Conference). Organization The PGA is organized into 14 districts and 41 sections. District 1 Northeast New York Connecticut New England District 2 Metropolitan New Jersey Philadelphia District 3 Alabama-Northwest Florida Gulf States Tennessee District 4 Central New York Tri-State Western New York District 5 Michigan Northern Ohio Southern Ohio District 6 Illinois Indiana Wisconsin District 7 Gateway Midwest South Central District 8 Iowa Minnesota Nebraska District 9 Colorado Rocky Mountain Utah District 10 Carolinas Kentucky Mid-Atlantic District 11 Aloha Northern California Southern California District 12 Northern Texas Southern Texas Sun Country District 13 Georgia Northern Florida Southern Florida District 14 Pacific Northwest Southwest PGA professionals To be elected to membership of the PGA, aspirant golf professionals (apprentices) and students go through three levels of education courses, written exams, simulation testing, seminars, and must pass the PGA Playing Ability Test. These men and women have the option to pursue the PGA education through self-study, by the use of accredited PGA Golf Management Universities (currently 18 universities in the United States offer a PGA Golf Management program),[26] or through an accelerated PGA Golf Management Program. PGA Reach PGA Reach is the charitable foundation of the PGA of America. The mission of PGA Reach is to positively impact the lives of youth, military, and diverse populations by enabling access to PGA professionals, PGA Sections and the game of golf. PGA presidents Robert White, Metropolitan PGA Section, 1916–19 Jack Mackie, Metropolitan PGA Section, 1919–20 George Sargent, Southeastern PGA Section, 1921–26 Alex Pirie, Metropolitan PGA Section, 1927–30 Charles Hall, Southeastern PGA Section, 1931–32 George Jacobus, New Jersey PGA Section, 1933–39 Tom Walsh, Illinois PGA Section, 1940–41 Ed Dudley, Philadelphia PGA Section, 1942–48 Joe Novak, Southern California PGA Section, 1949–51 Horton Smith, Michigan PGA Section, 1952–54 Harry Moffitt, Northern Ohio PGA Section, 1955–57 Harold Sargent, Southeastern PGA Section, 1958–60 Lou Strong, Illinois PGA Section, 1961–63 Warren Cantrell, Texas PGA Section, 1964–65 Max Elbin, Middle Atlantic PGA Section, 1966–68 Leo Fraser, Philadelphia PGA Section, 1969–70 Warren Orlick, Michigan PGA Section, 1971–72 William Clarke, Middle Atlantic PGA Section, 1973–74 Henry Poe, Dixie PGA Section, 1975–76 Don Padgett, Indiana PGA Section, 1977–78 Frank Cardi, Metropolitan PGA Section, 1979–80 Joe Black, Northern Texas PGA Section, 1981–82 Mark Kizziar, South Central PGA Section, 1983–84 Mickey Powell, Indiana PGA Section, 1985–86 James Ray Carpenter, Gulf States PGA Section, 1987–88 Patrick J. Rielly, Southern California PGA Section, 1989–90 Dick Smith, Philadelphia PGA Section, 1991–92 Gary Schaal, Carolinas PGA Section, 1993–94 Tom Addis III, Southern California PGA Section, 1995–96 Ken Lindsay, Gulf States PGA Section, 1997–98 Will Mann, Carolinas PGA Section, 1999–2000 Jack Connelly, Philadelphia PGA Section, 2001–02 M.G. Orender, North Florida PGA Section, 2003–04 Roger Warren, Carolinas PGA Section, 2005–06 Brian Whitcomb, Southwest PGA Section, 2007–08 Jim Remy, New England PGA Section, 2009–10 Allen Wronowski, Middle Atlantic Section, 2011–12 Ted Bishop, Indiana PGA Section, 2013–14 Derek Sprague, Northeastern New York PGA Section, 2015–16 Paul K. Levy, Southern California PGA Section, 2017–2018 Suzy Whaley, South Florida PGA Section, 2018–Current PGA properties PGA Golf Club (Port St. Lucie, Florida) — 54 holes of public-access resort golf designed by Tom Fazio and Pete Dye in PGA Village, which is ranked among the "75 Best Golf Resorts in North America" by Golf Digest (No. 51). PGA Center for Golf Learning and Performance (Port St. Lucie, Florida) — 35-acre (140,000 m2) golf park featuring a lighted driving range, short game practice area, and a three-hole teaching course. Ranked among the Top 100 Golf Ranges in America from 1999 to 2011 by Golf Range Magazine. PGA Gallery - located in the halls of the PGA Golf Club clubhouse in Port St. Lucie, Florida. The PGA Gallery showcases the major trophies in golf, and artifacts of PGA Champions and many rare pieces of PGA history to connect visitors to the rich history of the game and the Association. PGA Education Center (Port St. Lucie, Florida) — Provides education programs to serve both PGA members and apprentices. Valhalla Golf Club (Louisville, Kentucky) — Designed by Jack Nicklaus. Site of the 2008 Ryder Cup; 2004 and 2011 Senior PGA Championships; 2002 PGA Professional National Championship; and 1996, 2000 and 2014 PGA Championships. Ranked No. 95 among "America's 100 Greatest Golf Courses" by Golf Digest.[27] See also Dewey Brown Golf in the United States LPGA Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not utilize a standardized playing area, and coping with the varied terrains encountered on different courses is a key part of the game. The game at the usual level is played on a course with an arranged progression of 18 holes, though recreational courses can be smaller, often having nine holes. Each hole on the course must contain a teeing ground to start from, and a putting green containing the actual hole or cup 4+1⁄4 inches (11 cm) in diameter. There are other standard forms of terrain in between, such as the fairway, rough (long grass), bunkers (or "sand traps"), and various hazards (water, rocks) but each hole on a course is unique in its specific layout and arrangement. Golf is played for the lowest number of strokes by an individual, known as stroke play, or the lowest score on the most individual holes in a complete round by an individual or team, known as match play. Stroke play is the most commonly seen format at all levels, but most especially at the elite level. The modern game of golf originated in 15th century Scotland. The 18-hole round was created at the Old Course at St Andrews in 1764. Golf's first major, and the world's oldest tournament in existence, is The Open Championship, also known as the British Open, which was first played in 1860 at the Prestwick Golf Club in Ayrshire, Scotland. This is one of the four major championships in men's professional golf, the other three being played in the United States: The Masters, the U.S. Open, and the PGA Championship. Contents 1 Origin and history 2 Golf course 3 Play of the game 4 Rules and regulations 4.1 Penalties 5 Equipment 6 Stroke mechanics 6.1 Stance 6.2 Strokes 6.3 Musculature 6.4 Types of putting 7 Scoring and handicapping 7.1 Par 7.1.1 Scoring 7.2 Basic forms of golf 7.2.1 Match play 7.2.2 Stroke play 7.3 Other formats of play 7.3.1 Bogey or par competition 7.3.2 Stableford 7.3.3 Basic pairs formats 7.3.4 Team formats 7.4 Handicap systems 8 Popularity 8.1 Golf courses worldwide 9 Professional golf 9.1 Instruction 9.2 Golf tours 9.3 Men's major championships 9.4 Women's major championships 9.5 Senior major championships 9.6 Olympic Games 10 Women 11 International events 12 See also 13 References 14 External links Origin and history Main article: History of golf The Xuande Emperor of the Ming dynasty playing chuiwan While the modern game of golf originated in 15th-century Scotland, the game's ancient origins are unclear and much debated. Some historians[3] trace the sport back to the Roman game of paganica, in which participants used a bent stick to hit a stuffed leather ball. One theory asserts that paganica spread throughout Europe as the Romans conquered most of the continent, during the first century BC, and eventually evolved into the modern game.[4] Others cite chuiwan (捶丸; "chui" means striking and "wan" means small ball)[5] as the progenitor, a Chinese game played between the eighth and fourteenth centuries.[6] A Ming Dynasty scroll by the artist Youqiu dating back to 1368 entitled "The Autumn Banquet" shows a member of the Chinese Imperial court swinging what appears to be a golf club at a small ball with the aim of sinking it into a hole.[5] The game is thought to have been introduced into Europe during the Middle Ages.[7] The MacDonald boys playing golf, attributed to William Mosman. 18th century, National Galleries of Scotland. Another early game that resembled modern golf was known as cambuca in England and chambot in France.[7] The Persian game chowkan is another possible ancient origin, albeit being more polo-like. In addition, kolven (a game involving a ball and curved bats) was played annually in Loenen, Netherlands, beginning in 1297, to commemorate the capture of the assassin of Floris V, a year earlier. The modern game originated in Scotland, where the first written record of golf is James II's banning of the game in 1457, as an unwelcome distraction to learning archery.[8] James IV lifted the ban in 1502 when he became a golfer himself, with golf clubs first recorded in 1503–1504: "For golf clubbes and balles to the King that he playit with".[9] To many golfers, the Old Course at St Andrews, a links course dating to before 1574, is considered to be a site of pilgrimage.[10] In 1764, the standard 18-hole golf course was created at St Andrews when members modified the course from 22 to 18 holes.[11] Golf is documented as being played on Musselburgh Links, East Lothian, Scotland as early as 2 March 1672, which is certified as the oldest golf course in the world by Guinness World Records.[12][13] The oldest surviving rules of golf were compiled in March 1744 for the Company of Gentlemen Golfers, later renamed The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers, which was played at Leith, Scotland.[14] The world's oldest golf tournament in existence, and golf's first major, is The Open Championship, which was first played on 17 October 1860 at Prestwick Golf Club, in Ayrshire, Scotland, with Scottish golfers winning the earliest majors.[15] Two Scotsmen from Dunfermline, John Reid and Robert Lockhart, first demonstrated golf in the U.S. by setting up a hole in an orchard in 1888, with Reid setting up America's first golf club the same year, Saint Andrew's Golf Club in Yonkers, New York.[16] Golf course Aerial view of the Golfplatz Wittenbeck in Mecklenburg, Germany The Tammer Golf Course in the Ruotula district of Tampere, Finland. Main article: Golf course A golf course consists of either 9 or 18 holes, each with a teeing ground or "tee box" that is set off by two markers showing the bounds of the legal tee area, fairway, rough and other hazards, and the putting green surrounded by the fringe with the pin (normally a flagstick) and cup. The levels of grass are varied to increase difficulty, or to allow for putting in the case of the green. While many holes are designed with a direct line-of-sight from the teeing area to the green, some holes may bend either to the left or to the right. This is commonly called a "dogleg", in reference to a dog's knee. The hole is called a "dogleg left" if the hole angles leftwards and "dogleg right" if it bends right. Sometimes, a hole's direction may bend twice; this is called a "double dogleg". A regular golf course consists of 18 holes, but nine-hole courses are common and can be played twice through for a full round of 18 holes.[17][18] Early Scottish golf courses were primarily laid out on links land, soil-covered sand dunes directly inland from beaches. The word "links" derives from the Scots language and the Old English word hlinc ("rising ground, ridge"): traditionally these are coastal sand dunes but sometimes open parkland.[19] This gave rise to the term "golf links", particularly applied to seaside courses and those built on naturally sandy soil inland.[20] The first 18-hole golf course in the United States was on a sheep farm in Downers Grove, Illinois, in 1892. The course is still there today.[21] Play of the game 1=teeing ground, 2=water hazard, 3=rough, 4=out of bounds, 5=sand bunker, 6=water hazard, 7=fairway, 8=putting green, 9=flagstick, 10=hole Every round of golf is based on playing a number of holes in a given order. A "round" typically consists of 18 holes that are played in the order determined by the course layout. Each hole is played once in the round on a standard course of 18 holes. The game can be played by any number of people, although a typical group playing will have 1-4 people playing the round. The typical amount of time required for pace of play for a 9-hole round is two hours and four hours for an 18-hole round. Playing a hole on a golf course is initiated by putting a ball into play by striking it with a club on the teeing ground (also called the tee box, or simply the tee). For this first shot on each hole, it is allowed but not required for the golfer to place the ball on a tee prior to striking it. A tee is a small peg that can be used to elevate the ball slightly above the ground up to a few centimetres high. Tees are commonly made of wood but may be constructed of any material, including plastic. Traditionally, golfers used mounds of sand to elevate the ball, and containers of sand were provided for the purpose. A few courses still require sand to be used instead of peg tees, to reduce litter and reduce damage to the teeing ground. Tees help reduce the interference of the ground or grass on the movement of the club making the ball easier to hit, and also places the ball in the very centre of the striking face of the club (the "sweet spot") for better distance. When the initial shot on a hole is intended to move the ball a long distance, typically more than 225 yards (210 m), the shot is commonly called a "drive" and is generally made with a long-shafted, large-headed wood club called a "driver". Shorter holes may be initiated with other clubs, such as higher-numbered woods or irons. Once the ball comes to rest, the golfer strikes it again as many times as necessary using shots that are variously known as a "lay-up", an "approach", a "pitch", or a "chip", until the ball reaches the green, where he or she then "putts" the ball into the hole (commonly called "sinking the putt" or "holing out"). The goal of getting the ball into the hole ("holing" the ball) in as few strokes as possible may be impeded by obstacles such as areas of longer grass called "rough" (usually found alongside fairways), which both slows any ball that contacts it and makes it harder to advance a ball that has stopped on it; "doglegs", which are changes in the direction of the fairway that often require shorter shots to play around them; bunkers (or sand traps); and water hazards such as ponds or streams.[17] In stroke play competitions played according to strict rules, each player plays their ball until it is holed no matter how many strokes that may take. In match play it is acceptable to simply pick up one's ball and "surrender the hole" after enough strokes have been made by a player that it is mathematically impossible for the player to win the hole. It is also acceptable in informal stroke play to surrender the hole after hitting three strokes more than the "par" rating of the hole (a "triple bogey" - see below); while technically a violation of Rule 3–2, this practice speeds play as a courtesy to others, and avoids "runaway scores", excessive frustration and injuries caused by overexertion. The total distance from the first teeing ground to the 18th green can be quite long; total yardages "through the green" can be in excess of 7,000 yards (6.4 km), and when adding in the travel distance between the green of one hole and the tee of the next, even skilled players may easily travel five miles (8 km) or more during a round. At some courses, electric golf carts are used to travel between shots, which can speed-up play and allows participation by individuals unable to walk a whole round. On other courses players generally walk the course, either carrying their bag using a shoulder strap or using a "golf trolley" for their bag. These trolleys may or may not be battery assisted. At many amateur tournaments including U.S. high school and college play, players are required to walk and to carry their own bags, but at the professional and top amateur level, as well as at high-level private clubs, players may be accompanied by caddies, who carry and manage the players' equipment and who are allowed by the rules to give advice on the play of the course.[22] A caddie's advice can only be given to the player or players for whom the caddie is working, and not to other competing players. Rules and regulations Main article: Rules of golf Arnold Palmer in 1953 The rules of golf are internationally standardised and are jointly governed by The R&A, spun off in 2004 from The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews (founded 1754), and the United States Golf Association (USGA).[23][24] With the aim of simplifying the rules, in 2017 the USGA and R&A undertook a complete rewrite.[25] The new rule book came into effect in January 2019.[26] The underlying principle of the rules is fairness. As stated on the back cover of the official rule book: Play the ball as it lies, play the course as you find it, and if you cannot do either, do what is fair. There are strict regulations regarding the amateur status of golfers.[27] Essentially, anybody who has ever received payment or compensation for giving instruction, or played golf for money, is not considered an amateur and may not participate in competitions limited solely to amateurs. However, amateur golfers may receive expenses that comply with strict guidelines and they may accept non-cash prizes within the limits established by the Rules of Amateur Status. In addition to the officially printed rules, golfers also abide by a set of guidelines called golf etiquette. Etiquette guidelines cover matters such as safety, fairness, pace of play, and a player's obligation to contribute to the care of the course. Though there are no penalties for breach of etiquette rules, players generally follow the rules of golf etiquette in an effort to improve everyone's playing experience. Penalties Main article: Penalty (golf) Penalty strokes are incurred in certain situations and are counted towards a player's score as if there were extra swing(s) at the ball. Either one or two strokes are added for most rule infractions or for taking relief from various situations, with the "general penalty" defined as two-strokes, and disqualification for severe or repeated rule breaches. Examples include: A lost ball or a ball hit out of bounds (OB) results in a penalty of one stroke and distance (Rule 18.2). With the exception of certain circumstances, a one-stroke penalty is assessed if a player causes their ball to move (Rule 9.4). A one-stroke penalty is assessed if a player elects to take relief when their ball comes to rest within a red or yellow penalty area (Rule 17), or from an unplayable lie (Rule 19). A two-stroke penalty is incurred for making a stroke at the wrong ball (Rule 6.3c). A two-stroke penalty is incurred for hitting a fellow player's ball if both balls lay on the green prior to the stroke (Rule 11.1a). Disqualification can result from cheating, signing for a lower score, or failing to adhere to one or more rules that lead to improper play.[28] Equipment Main article: Golf equipment A wood positioned ready to be swung and to strike a golf ball Golf clubs are used to hit the golf ball. Each club is composed of a shaft with a lance (or "grip") on the top end and a club head on the bottom. Long clubs, which have a lower amount of degree loft, are those meant to propel the ball a comparatively longer distance, and short clubs a higher degree of loft and a comparatively shorter distance. The actual physical length of each club is longer or shorter, depending on the distance the club is intended to propel the ball. Golf clubs have traditionally been arranged into three basic types. Woods are large-headed, long-shafted clubs meant to propel the ball a long distance from relatively "open" lies, such as the teeing ground and fairway. Of particular importance is the driver or "1-wood", which is the lowest lofted wood club, and in modern times has become highly specialized for making extremely long-distance tee shots, up to 300 yards (270 m), or more, in a professional golfer's hands. Traditionally these clubs had heads made of a hardwood, hence the name, but virtually all modern woods are now made of metal such as titanium, or of composite materials. Irons are shorter-shafted clubs with a metal head primarily consisting of a flat, angled striking face. Traditionally the clubhead was forged from iron; modern iron clubheads are investment-cast from a steel alloy. Irons of varying loft are used for a variety of shots from virtually anywhere on the course, but most often for shorter-distance shots approaching the green, or to get the ball out of tricky lies such as sand traps. The third class is the putter, which evolved from the irons to create a low-lofted, balanced club designed to roll the ball along the green and into the hole. Putters are virtually always used on the green or in the surrounding rough/fringe. A fourth class, called hybrids, evolved as a cross between woods and irons, and are typically seen replacing the low-lofted irons with a club that provides similar distance, but a higher launch angle and a more forgiving nature. A maximum of 14 clubs is allowed in a player's bag at one time during a stipulated round. The choice of clubs is at the golfer's discretion, although every club must be constructed in accordance with parameters outlined in the rules. (Clubs that meet these parameters are usually called "conforming".) Violation of these rules can result in disqualification. The exact shot hit at any given time on a golf course, and which club is used to accomplish the shot, are always completely at the discretion of the golfer; in other words, there is no restriction whatsoever on which club a golfer may or may not use at any time for any shot. Golf balls are spherical, usually white (although other colours are allowed), and minutely pock-marked by dimples that decrease aerodynamic drag by increasing air turbulence around the ball in motion, which delays "boundary layer" separation and reduces the drag-inducing "wake" behind the ball, thereby allowing the ball to fly farther.[29] The combination of a soft "boundary layer" and a hard "core" enables both distance and spin. A tee is allowed only for the first stroke on each hole, unless the player must hit a provisional tee shot or replay their first shot from the tee. Many golfers wear golf shoes with metal or plastic spikes designed to increase traction, thus allowing for longer and more accurate shots. A golf bag is used to transport golf clubs and the player's other or personal equipment. Golf bags have several pockets designed for carrying equipment and supplies such as tees, balls, and gloves. Golf bags can be carried, pulled on a trolley or harnessed to a motorized golf cart during play. Golf bags usually have both a hand strap and shoulder strap for carrying, others may be carried over both shoulders like a backpack, and often bags have retractable legs that allow the bag to stand upright when at rest. Stroke mechanics A golfer takes an approach shot on the fairway. Main article: Golf swing The golf swing is outwardly similar to many other motions involving swinging a tool or playing implement, such as an axe or a baseball bat. However, unlike many of these motions, the result of the swing is highly dependent on several sub-motions being properly aligned and timed. These ensure that the club travels up to the ball in line with the desired path; that the clubface is in line with the swing path; and that the ball hits the centre or "sweet spot" of the clubface. The ability to do this consistently, across a complete set of clubs with a wide range of shaft lengths and clubface areas, is a key skill for any golfer, and takes a significant effort to achieve. Stance Stance refers to how the golfer positions themselves in order to play a stroke; it is fundamentally important in being able to play a stroke effectively. The stance adopted is determined by what stroke is being played. All stances involve a slight crouch. This allows for a more efficient striking posture whilst also isometrically preloading the muscles of the legs and core; this allows the stroke to be played more dynamically and with a greater level of overall control. When adopting their stance golfers start with the non-dominant side of the body facing the target (for a right-hander, the target is to their left). Setting the stance in regard to the position of the ball, and placing the clubhead behind the ball, is known as being at address; when in this position the player's body and the centerline of the club face are positioned parallel to the desired line of travel, with the feet either perpendicular to that line or slightly splayed outward. The feet are commonly shoulder-width apart for middle irons and putters, narrower for short irons and wider for long irons and woods. The ball is typically positioned more to the "front" of the player's stance (closer to the leading foot) for lower-lofted clubs, with the usual ball position for a drive being just behind the arch of the leading foot. The ball is placed further "back" in the player's stance (toward the trailing foot) as the loft of the club to be used increases. Most iron shots and putts are made with the ball roughly centered in the stance, while a few mid- and short-iron shots are made with the ball slightly behind the centre of the stance to ensure consistent contact between the ball and clubface, so the ball is on its way before the club continues down into the turf. Strokes The golfer chooses a golf club, grip, and stroke appropriate to the distance: The "drive" or "full swing" is used on the teeing ground and fairway, typically with a wood or long iron, to produce the maximum distance capable with the club. In the extreme, the windup can end with the shaft of the club parallel to the ground above the player's shoulders. The "approach" or "3/4 swing" is used in medium- and long-distance situations where an exact distance and good accuracy is preferable to maximum possible distance, such as to place the ball on the green or "lay up" in front of a hazard. The windup or "backswing" of such a shot typically ends up with the shaft of the club pointing straight upwards or slightly towards the player. The "chip" or "half-swing" is used for relatively short-distance shots near the green, with high-lofted irons and wedges. The goal of the chip is to land the ball safely on the green, allowing it to roll out towards the hole. It can also be used from other places to accurately position the ball into a more advantageous lie. The backswing typically ends with the head of the club between hip and head height. The "putt" is used in short-distance shots on or near the green, typically made with the eponymous "putter", although similar strokes can be made with medium to high-numbered irons to carry a short distance in the air and then roll (a "bump and run"). The backswing and follow-through of the putt are both abbreviated compared to other strokes, with the head of the club rarely rising above the knee. The goal of the putt is usually to put the ball in the hole, although a long-distance putt may be called a "lag" and is made with the primary intention of simply closing distance to the hole or otherwise placing the ball advantageously. Having chosen a club and stroke to produce the desired distance, the player addresses the ball by taking their stance to the side of it and (except when the ball lies in a hazard) grounding the club behind the ball. The golfer then takes their backswing, rotating the club, their arms and their upper body away from the ball, and then begins their swing, bringing the clubhead back down and around to hit the ball. A proper golf swing is a complex combination of motions, and slight variations in posture or positioning can make a great deal of difference in how well the ball is hit and how straight it travels. The general goal of a player making a full swing is to propel the clubhead as fast as possible while maintaining a single "plane" of motion of the club and clubhead, to send the clubhead into the ball along the desired path of travel and with the clubhead also pointing that direction. Accuracy and consistency are typically stressed over pure distance. A player with a straight drive that travels only 220 yards (200 m) will nevertheless be able to accurately place the ball into a favourable lie on the fairway, and can make up for the lesser distance of any given club by simply using "more club" (a lower loft) on their tee shot or on subsequent fairway and approach shots. However, a golfer with a drive that may go 280 yards (260 m) but often does not fly straight will be less able to position their ball advantageously; the ball may "hook", "pull", "draw", "fade", "push" or "slice" off the intended line and land out of bounds or in the rough or hazards, and thus the player will require many more strokes to hole out. Musculature A golf stroke uses the muscles of the core (especially erector spinae muscles and latissimus dorsi muscle when turning), hamstring, shoulder, and wrist. Stronger muscles in the wrist can prevent them from being twisted during swings, whilst stronger shoulders increase the turning force. Weak wrists can also transmit the force to elbows and even neck and lead to injury. (When a muscle contracts, it pulls equally from both ends and, to have movement at only one end of the muscle, other muscles must come into play to stabilize the bone to which the other end of the muscle is attached.) Golf is a unilateral exercise that can break body balances, requiring exercises to keep the balance in muscles.[30][31] Types of putting Putting is considered to be the most important component of the game of golf. As the game of golf has evolved, there have been many different putting techniques and grips that have been devised to give golfers the best chance to make putts. When the game originated, golfers would putt with their dominant hand on the bottom of the grip and their weak hand on top of the grip. This grip and putting style is known as "conventional". There are many variations of conventional including overlap, where the golfer overlaps the off hand index finger onto off the dominant pinky; interlock, where the offhand index finger interlocks with the dominant pinky and ring finger; double or triple overlap and so on.[32] Recently, "cross handed" putting has become a popular trend amongst professional golfers and amateurs. Cross handed putting is the idea that the dominant hand is on top of the grip where the weak hand is on the bottom. This grip restricts the motion in your dominant hand and eliminates the possibility of wrist breakdowns through the putting stroke.[33] Other notable putting styles include "the claw", a style that has the grip directly in between the thumb and index finger of the dominant hand while the palm faces the target.[34] The weak hand placed normally on the putter. Anchored putting, a style that requires a longer putter shaft that can be anchored into the player's stomach or below the chin; the idea is to stabilize one end of the putter thus creating a more consistent pendulum stroke. This style has been banned on professional circuits since 2016.[35] Scoring and handicapping Par Main article: Par (score) A par-3 hole in Phoenician Golf Club, Scottsdale, Arizona A marker stone indicating that this hole is a par-5 hole A hole is classified by its par, which gives an indication of the number of strokes a skilled golfer may be expected to need to complete play of the hole.[17] The primary factor for classifying the par of a relatively straight, hazard-free hole is the distance from the tee to the green, and calculates the number of strokes a skilled golfer is expected to require to reach the green with an additional allowance of 2 putts. As such, the minimum par of any hole is 3; one stroke for the tee shot and two putts. Par 3, 4 and 5 holes are commonplace on golf courses; far more rarely, courses may feature par-6 and even par-7 holes. For men, a typical par-3 hole is less than 250 yards (230 m) in length, with a par-4 hole ranging between 251–450 yards (230–411 m), and a par-5 hole being longer than 450 yards (410 m); for women these boundaries are lower, and for professionals they are much increased. The rare par-6s can stretch well over 650 yards (590 m). These distances are based on the typical scratch golfer's drive distance of between 240 and 280 yards (220 and 260 m). Although length is the primary factor in calculating par, other factors are taken into account; however the number of strokes a scratch golfer should take to make the green remains foremost. Factors affecting the calculation include altitude, gradient of the land from the tee to green, and forced "lay-ups" due to dog-legs (sharp bends) or obstacles (e.g. bunkers, water hazards).[36] Getting the ball onto the green in two strokes less than par, and hence meeting the par calculation criteria, is called making "green in regulation" or GIR.[37] Missing a GIR does not necessarily mean a golfer will not make par, but it does make doing so more difficult as it reduces the number of putts available; conversely, making a GIR does not guarantee a par, as the player might require three or more putts to "hole out". Professional golfers typically make between 60% and 70% of greens in regulation.[38] Eighteen-hole courses typically total to an overall par score of 70 to 72 for a complete round; with most holes having a par of 4, and a smaller number of par-3 and par-5 holes. Additionally, courses may be classified according to their play difficulty, which may be used to calculate a golfer's handicap.[39] The two primary difficulty ratings in the U.S. are the Course Rating, which is the expected score for a zero-handicap "scratch golfer", and the Slope Rating, which is a measure of how much worse a "bogey golfer" (handicap around 20) would be expected to play than a "scratch golfer" relative to their handicap. Scoring Golf-themed decorative nest box “Birdies Welcome” The goal is to play as few strokes per round as possible. A golfer's number of strokes in a hole, course, or tournament is compared to its respective par score, and is then reported either as the number that the golfer was "under-" or "over-par", or if it was "equal to par". A hole in one (or an "ace") occurs when a golfer sinks their ball into the cup with their first stroke from the tee. Common scores for a hole also have specific terms.[17] Numeric term Name Definition −4 Condor four strokes under par −3 Albatross (Double eagle) three strokes under par −2 Eagle two strokes under par −1 Birdie one stroke under par E Par equal to par +1 Bogey one stroke over par +2 Double bogey two strokes over par +3 Triple bogey three strokes over par In a typical professional tournament or among "scratch" amateur players, "birdie-bogey" play is common; a player will "lose" a stroke by bogeying a hole, then "gain" one by scoring a birdie. Eagles are uncommon but not rare; however, only 18 players have scored an albatross in a men's major championship. One of the rarest feats in golf is the condor, which has never occurred in a professional tournament. Only five condors have been verified to have ever occurred, although none of the courses involved were professionally accredited.[40] Basic forms of golf There are two basic forms of golf play, match play and stroke play. Stroke play is more popular. Match play Two players (or two teams) play each hole as a separate contest against each other in what is called match play. The party with the lower score wins that hole, or if the scores of both players or teams are equal the hole is "halved" (or tied). The game is won by the party that wins more holes than the other. In the case that one team or player has taken a lead that cannot be overcome in the number of holes remaining to be played, the match is deemed to be won by the party in the lead, and the remainder of the holes are not played. For example, if one party already has a lead of six holes, and only five holes remain to be played on the course, the match is over and the winning party is deemed to have won "6 & 5". At any given point, if the lead is equal to the number of holes remaining, the party leading the match is said to be "dormie", and the match is continued until the party increases the lead by one hole or ties any of the remaining holes, thereby winning the match, or until the match ends in a tie with the lead player's opponent winning all remaining holes. When the game is tied after the predetermined number of holes have been played, it may be continued until one side takes a one-hole lead.[17] Stroke play The score achieved for each and every hole of the round or tournament is added to produce the total score, and the player with the lowest score wins in stroke play. Stroke play is the game most commonly played by professional golfers. If there is a tie after the regulation number of holes in a professional tournament, a playoff takes place between all tied players. Playoffs either are sudden death or employ a pre-determined number of holes, anywhere from three to a full 18. In sudden death, a player who scores lower on a hole than all of their opponents wins the match. If at least two players remain tied after such a playoff using a pre-determined number of holes, then play continues in sudden death format, where the first player to win a hole wins the tournament. Other formats of play Main article: Variations of golf There are many variations in scoring and playing formats in the game of golf, some officially defined in the Rules of Golf. Variations include the popular Stableford scoring system, and various team formats. Some common and popular examples are listed below. There are also variations on the usual starting procedure where everyone begins from the first tee and plays all holes in order, through to the eighteenth. In large field tournaments, especially on professional tours, a two tee start is commonplace, where the field will be split between starting on the first tee and the tenth tee (sometimes the eighth or eleventh depending on proximity to the clubhouse). Shotgun starts are mainly used for amateur tournament or society play. In this variant, each of the groups playing starts their game on a different hole, allowing for all players to start and end their round at roughly the same time. For example, a group starting on hole 5 will play through to the 18th hole and continue with hole 1, ending their round on hole 4. Bogey or par competition Main article: Par (golf scoring format) A bogey or par competition is a scoring format sometimes seen in informal tournaments. Its scoring is similar to match play, except each player compares their hole score to the hole's par rating instead of the score of another player. The player "wins" the hole if they score a birdie or better, they "lose" the hole if they score a bogey or worse, and they "halve" the hole by scoring par. By recording only this simple win–loss–halve score on the sheet, a player can shrug off a very poorly-played hole with a simple "-" mark and move on. As used in competitions, the player or pair with the best win–loss differential wins the competition. Stableford Main article: Stableford The Stableford system is a simplification of stroke play that awards players points based on their score relative to the hole's par; the score for a hole is calculated by taking the par score, adding 2, then subtracting the player's hole score, making the result zero if negative. Alternately stated, a double bogey or worse is zero points, a bogey is worth one point, par is two, a birdie three, an eagle four, and so on. The advantages of this system over stroke play are a more natural "higher is better" scoring, the ability to compare Stableford scores between plays on courses with different total par scores (scoring an "even" in stroke play will always give a Stableford score of 36), discouraging the tendency to abandon the entire game after playing a particularly bad hole (a novice playing by strict rules may score as high as an 8 or 10 on a single difficult hole; their Stableford score for the hole would be zero, which puts them only two points behind par no matter how badly they played), and the ability to simply pick up one's ball once it is impossible to score any points for the hole, which speeds play. The USGA and R&A sanction a "Modified Stableford" system for scratch players, which makes par worth zero, a birdie worth 2, eagle 5 and double-eagle 8, while a bogey is a penalty of −1 and a double-bogey or worse −3. As with the original system, the highest score wins the game, and terrible scores on one or two holes will not ruin a player's overall score, but this system rewards "bogey-birdie" play more than the original, encouraging golfers to try to make riskier birdie putt or eagle chipshots instead of simply parring each hole.[17] Basic pairs formats Junín Golf Club, in Junín, Argentina Foursomes (also known as Alternate Shot): defined in Rule 22, this is played in pairs, in which each team has only one ball and players alternate playing it. For example, if players "A" and "B" form a team, "A" tees off on the first hole, "B" will play the second shot, "A" the third, and so on until the hole is finished. On the second hole, "B" will tee off (regardless who played the last putt on the first hole), then "A" plays the second shot, and so on. Foursomes can be played as match play or stroke play.[41] Greensomes (also known as Scotch Foursomes): also called modified alternate shot, this is played in pairs; both players tee off, and then pick the best shot. The player who did not shoot the best first shot plays the second shot. The play then alternates as in a foursome.[42] A variant of greensome is sometimes played where the opposing team chooses which of their opponent's tee shots the opponents should use. Four-ball: defined in Rules 23, this is also played in pairs, but every each plays their own ball and for each team, the lower score on each hole counts. Four-ball can be played as match play or stroke play.[43] Team formats Scramble: also known as ambrose or best-shot; each player in a team tees off on each hole, and the players decide which shot was best. Every player then plays their second shot from within a clublength of where the best shot has come to rest (and no closer to the hole), and the procedure is repeated until the hole is finished. This system is very common at informal tournaments such as for charity, as it speeds play (due to the reduced number of shots taken from bad lies), allows teams of varying sizes, and allows players of widely varying skill levels to participate without profoundly affecting team score.[44] Best-ball: like four-ball, each player plays the hole as normal, but the lowest score of all the players on the team counts as the team's score for the hole.[45] There are many variations on this format, which count a different number of scores on each hole. Handicap systems Main article: Handicap (golf) A handicap is a numerical measure of a golfer's potential scoring ability over 18 holes. It is used to enable players of widely varying abilities to compete against one another. Better players are those with the lowest handicaps, and someone with a handicap of 0 or less is often referred to as a scratch golfer. Handicap systems vary throughout the world and use different methods to assess courses and calculate handicaps. In order to address difficulties in translating between these systems the USGA and The R&A, working with the various existing handicapping authorities, devised a new World Handicap System which is set to be introduced globally starting in 2020.[46] Golf courses are assessed and rated according to the average good score of a scratch golfer, taking into account a multitude of factors affecting play, such as length, obstacles, undulations, etc. A player's handicap gives an indication of the number of strokes above this course rating that the player will make over the course of an "average best" round of golf, i.e. scoring near their potential, above average.[47] Lower handicap players are generally the most consistent, so can be expected to play to this standard or better more often than higher handicappers. Some handicap systems also account for differences in scoring difficulty between low and high handicap golfer. They do this by means of assessing and rating courses according to the average good score of a "bogey golfer", a player with a handicap of around 20. This is used with the course rating to calculate a slope rating, which is used to adjust golfer's handicap to produce a playing handicap for the course and set of tees being used.[48] Handicap systems have potential for abuse by players who may intentionally play badly to increase their handicap (sandbagging) before playing to their potential at an important event with a valuable prize. For this reason, handicaps are not used in professional golf, but they can still be calculated and used along with other criteria to determine the relative strengths of various professional players. Touring professionals, being the best of the best, have negative handicaps; they can be expected, more often than not, to score lower than the Course Rating on any course. Popularity Part of a golf course in western India An aerial view of a golf course in Italy In 2005 Golf Digest calculated that the countries with most golf courses per capita, in order, were: Scotland, New Zealand, Australia, Ireland, Canada, Wales, United States, Sweden, and England (countries with fewer than 500,000 people were excluded). The number of courses in other territories has increased, an example of this being the expansion of golf in China. The first golf course in China opened in 1984, but by the end of 2009, there were roughly 600 in the country. For much of the 21st century, the development of new golf courses in China has been officially banned (with the exception of the island province of Hainan), but the number of courses had nonetheless tripled from 2004 to 2009; the "ban" has been evaded with the government's tacit approval simply by not mentioning golf in any development plans.[49] In the United States, women made up 25 percent of golfers in 2021, which was up from 19 percent since 2011 and junior female golfers account for 35 percent or 1.1 million golfers.[50] In the United States, the number of people who play golf twenty-five times or more per year decreased from 6.9 million in 2000 to 4.6 million in 2005,[51] according to the National Golf Foundation. The NGF reported that the number who played golf at all decreased from 30 to 26 million over the same period.[51] In February 1971, astronaut Alan Shepard became the first person to golf anywhere other than Earth. He smuggled a golf club and two golf balls on board Apollo 14 with the intent to golf on the Moon. He attempted two drives. He shanked the first attempt, but it is estimated his second went more than 200 yards (180 m).[52] Golf courses worldwide Below are the top 20 countries that have the most golf courses as of 2019.[53] Country Number of courses % USA 16,752 43% Japan 3,169 8% Canada 2,633 7% England 2,270 6% Australia 1,616 4% Germany 1,050 3% France 804 2% South Korea 798 2% Sweden 662 2% Scotland 614 2% China 599 1% Spain 497 1% Ireland 494 1% South Africa 489 1% New Zealand 418 1% Argentina 349 1% Denmark 346 1% Netherlands 330 1% Italy 321 1% Thailand 315 1% Rest of the world 4,338 11% Total 38,864 100% Professional golf Main article: Professional golfer The majority of professional golfers work as club or teaching professionals ("pros"), and only compete in local competitions. A small elite of professional golfers are "tournament pros" who compete full-time on international "tours". Many club and teaching professionals working in the golf industry start as caddies or with a general interest in the game, finding employment at golf courses and eventually moving on to certifications in their chosen profession. These programs include independent institutions and universities, and those that eventually lead to a Class A golf professional certification. Touring professionals typically start as amateur players, who attain their "pro" status after success in major tournaments that win them either prize money and/or notice from corporate sponsors. Jack Nicklaus, for example, gained widespread notice by finishing second in the 1960 U.S. Open to champion Arnold Palmer, with a 72-hole score of 282 (the best score to date in that tournament by an amateur). He played one more amateur year in 1961, winning that year's U.S. Amateur Championship, before turning pro in 1962. Instruction Indoor putting green for practice and instruction Main article: Golf instruction Golf instruction involves the teaching and learning of the game of golf. Proficiency in teaching golf instruction requires not only technical and physical ability but also knowledge of the rules and etiquette of the game. In some countries, golf instruction is best performed by teachers certified by the Professional Golfers Association. Some top instructors who work with professional golfers have become quite well known in their own right. Professional golf instructors can use physical conditioning, mental visualization, classroom sessions, club fitting, driving range instruction, on-course play under real conditions, and review of videotaped swings in slow motion to teach golf to prepare the golfer for the course. Golf tours Main article: Professional golf tours There are at least twenty professional golf tours, each run by a PGA or an independent tour organization, which is responsible for arranging events, finding sponsors, and regulating the tour. Typically a tour has "members" who are entitled to compete in most of its events, and also invites non-members to compete in some of them. Gaining membership of an elite tour is highly competitive, and most professional golfers never achieve it. Gary Player is widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of golf. Perhaps the most widely known tour is the PGA Tour, which tends to attract the strongest fields, outside the four Majors and the four World Golf Championships events. This is due mostly to the fact that most PGA Tour events have a first prize of at least 800,000 USD. The European Tour, which attracts a substantial number of top golfers from outside North America, ranks second to the PGA Tour in worldwide prestige. Some top professionals from outside North America play enough tournaments to maintain membership on both the PGA Tour and European Tour. Since 2010, both tours' money titles have been claimed by the same individual three times, with Luke Donald doing so in 2011 and Rory McIlroy in 2012 and 2014. In 2013, Henrik Stenson won the FedEx Cup points race on the PGA Tour and the European Tour money title, but did not top the PGA Tour money list (that honour going to Tiger Woods). The other leading men's tours include the Japan Golf Tour, the Asian Tour (Asia outside Japan), the PGA Tour of Australasia, and the Sunshine Tour (for southern Africa, primarily South Africa). The Japan, Australasian, Sunshine, PGA, and European Tours are the charter members of the trade body of the world's main tours, the International Federation of PGA Tours, founded in 1996. The Asian Tour became a full member in 1999. The Canadian Tour became an associate member of the Federation in 2000, and the Tour de las Américas (Latin America) became an associate member of the Federation in 2007. The Federation underwent a major expansion in 2009 that saw eleven new tours become full members – the Canadian Tour, Tour de las Américas, China Golf Association, the Korea Professional Golfers' Association, Professional Golf Tour of India, and the operators of all six major women's tours worldwide. The OneAsia Tour, founded in 2009, is not a member of the Federation, but was founded as a joint venture of the Australasia, China, Japan, and Korean tours. In 2011, the Tour de las Américas was effectively taken over by the PGA Tour, and in 2012 was folded into the new PGA Tour Latinoamérica. Also in 2012, the Canadian Tour was renamed PGA Tour Canada after it agreed to be taken over by the PGA Tour. All men's tours that are Federation members, except the India tour, offer points in the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) to players who place sufficiently high in their events. The OneAsia Tour also offers ranking points. Golf is unique in having lucrative competition for older players. There are several senior tours for men aged fifty and over, arguably the best known of which is the U.S.-based PGA Tour Champions. There are six principal tours for women, each based in a different country or continent. The most prestigious of these is the United States-based LPGA Tour. All of the principal tours offer points in the Women's World Golf Rankings for high finishers in their events. All of the leading professional tours for under-50 players have an official developmental tour, in which the leading players at the end of the season will earn a tour card on the main tour for the following season. Examples include the Korn Ferry Tour, which feeds to the PGA Tour, and the Challenge Tour, which is the developmental tour of the European Tour. The Korn Ferry and Challenge Tours also offer OWGR points. Men's major championships Lee Westwood pictured making a bunker shot at the 2008 Open Main article: Men's major golf championships The major championships are the four most prestigious men's tournaments of the year. In chronological order they are: The Masters, the U.S. Open, The Open Championship (referred to in North America as the British Open) and the PGA Championship.[54] The fields for these events include the top several dozen golfers from all over the world. The Masters has been played at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia, since its inception in 1934. It is the only major championship that is played at the same course each year.[55] The U.S. Open and PGA Championship are played at courses around the United States, while the Open Championship is played at courses around the United Kingdom.[56] Prior to the advent of the PGA Championship and The Masters, the four Majors were the U.S. Open, the U.S. Amateur, the Open Championship, and the British Amateur. Women's major championships Lorena Ochoa, a retired number one female golfer, pictured here in 2007 Main article: Women's major golf championships Women's golf does not have a globally agreed set of majors. The list of majors recognised by the dominant women's tour, the LPGA Tour in the U.S., has changed several times over the years, with the most recent changes occurring in 2001 and 2013. Like the PGA Tour, the (U.S.) LPGA[57] tour long had four majors, but now has five: the Chevron Championship (previously known by several other names, most recently the ANA Inspiration), the Women's PGA Championship (previously known as the LPGA Championship),[58] the U.S. Women's Open, the Women's British Open (which replaced the du Maurier Classic as a major in 2001) and The Evian Championship (added as the fifth major in 2013). Only the last two are also recognised as majors by the Ladies European Tour. However, the significance of this is limited, as the LPGA is far more dominant in women's golf than the PGA Tour is in mainstream men's golf. For example, the BBC has been known to use the U.S. definition of "women's majors" without qualifying it. Also, the Ladies' Golf Union, the governing body for women's golf in Great Britain and Ireland, stated on its official website that the Women's British Open was "the only Women's Major to be played outside the U.S."[59] (this was before the elevation of The Evian Championship to major status). For many years, the Ladies European Tour tacitly acknowledged the dominance of the LPGA Tour by not scheduling any of its own events to conflict with the three LPGA majors played in the U.S., but that changed beginning in 2008, when the LET scheduled an event opposite the LPGA Championship. The second-richest women's tour, the LPGA of Japan Tour, does not recognise any of the U.S. LPGA or European majors as it has its own set of majors (historically three, since 2008 four). However, these events attract little notice outside Japan. Senior major championships Main article: Senior major golf championships Senior (aged fifty and over) men's golf does not have a globally agreed set of majors. The list of senior majors on the U.S.-based PGA Tour Champions has changed over the years, but always by expansion. PGA Tour Champions now recognises five majors: the Senior PGA Championship, The Tradition, the Senior Players Championship, the United States Senior Open, and The Senior (British) Open Championship. Of the five events, the Senior PGA is by far the oldest, having been founded in 1937. The other events all date from the 1980s, when senior golf became a commercial success as the first golf stars of the television era, such as Arnold Palmer and Gary Player, reached the relevant age. The Senior Open Championship was not recognised as a major by PGA Tour Champions until 2003. The European Senior Tour recognises only the Senior PGA and the two Senior Opens as majors. However, PGA Tour Champions is arguably more dominant in global senior golf than the U.S. LPGA is in global women's golf. Olympic Games Main article: Golf at the Summer Olympics Golf was featured in the Summer Olympic Games official programme in 1900 and 1904. After a 112-year absence, golf returned for the 2016 Rio Games.[60] Women It was not until 1552 that the first woman golfer played the game. Mary Queen of Scots commissioned St. Andrew's Links.[61] However, it was not until the 20th century that women were taken seriously and eventually broke the "Gentlemen Only, Ladies Forbidden" rule. Many men saw women as unfit to play the sport due to their supposed lack of strength and ability. In 1891 the newly built Shinnecock Hills nine-hole course in Southampton, New York became the first club to offer membership to women golfers. Four years later, in 1895, The U.S. Golf Association held the first Women's Amateur Championship tournament.[61][62] Just like professional golfer Bobby Jones, Joyce Wethered was considered to be a star in the 1920s.[63] Jones praised Wethered in 1930 after they had played an exhibition against each other. He doubted that there had ever been a better golfer, man or woman.[64] However, Bobby Jones' comment was not enough for others to change their views on women golfers. The Royal Liverpool's club refused entry of Sir Henry Cotton's wife into the clubhouse in the late 1940s. The secretary of the club released a statement saying, "No woman ever has entered the clubhouse and, praise God, no woman ever will."[63] However, American golfer and all-around athlete Babe Zaharias did not have to enter the clubhouse. She was able to prove herself on the course, going on to become the first American to win the British Women's Amateur title in 1947. The following year she became the first woman to attempt to qualify for the U.S. Open, but her application was rejected by the USGA. They stated that the event was intended to be open to men only.[65] The Ladies Professional Golf Association was formed in 1950 as a way to popularize the sport and provide competitive opportunities for golfers.[63] The competitions were not the same for the men and women. It was not until 1972 that U.S. Congress passed the Title IX of the Education Amendments. "No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subject to discrimination under any education program or activities receiving Federal financial assistance."[66] American Renee Powell moved to the UK in the 1970s to further her career, and became the first woman to play in a British men's tournament in 1977.[67] As of 2016,[needs update] women golfers were still fighting to have the same opportunities as male golfers. There is still a significant pay gap in the USGA. The USGA has a long history of writing bigger checks to winners of the men's U.S. Open than the U.S. Women's Open.[68] International events Golf at the Asian Games Curtis Cup EurAsia Cup International Crown Golf at the Summer Olympics Golf at the Pan American Games Presidents Cup Ryder Cup Seve Trophy Solheim Cup Golf at the Summer Universiade Walker Cup The Ryder Cup is a biennial men's golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States. The competition is contested every two years with the venue alternating between courses in the United States and Europe. The Ryder Cup is named after the English businessman Samuel Ryder who donated the trophy. The event is jointly administered by the PGA of America and Ryder Cup Europe, the latter a joint venture of the PGA European Tour (60%), the PGA of Great Britain and Ireland (20%), and the PGAs of Europe (20%).[1][2] Originally contested between Great Britain and the United States, the first official Ryder Cup took place in the United States in 1927 at Worcester Country Club in Worcester, Massachusetts. The home team won the first five contests, but with the competition's resumption after the Second World War, repeated American dominance eventually led to a decision to extend the representation of "Great Britain and Ireland" to include continental Europe from 1979. The inclusion of continental European golfers was partly prompted by the success of a new generation of Spanish golfers, led by Seve Ballesteros and Antonio Garrido. In 1973 the official title of the British Team had been changed from "Great Britain" to "Great Britain and Ireland", but this was simply a change of name to reflect the fact that golfers from the Republic of Ireland had been playing in the Great Britain Ryder Cup team since 1953, while Northern Irish players had competed since 1947. In addition to players from Great Britain and Ireland, the European team has since included players from Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Spain and Sweden. Since 1979, Europe has won eleven times outright and retained the Cup once in a tied match, whilst the United States won nine times over the same period. Since 1979, Europe has won four times away on foreign soil (in 1987, 1995, 2004 and 2012),[3] whilst the United States has won twice away on foreign soil (in 1981 and 1993).[4][5][6][7] From 1995 to 2014, Europe won eight out of ten Ryder Cups.[8][9][10] The Ryder Cup, its alternate-year non-European counterpart (the Presidents Cup), and its women's equivalent (the Solheim Cup) remain exceptions within the world of professional sports because the competing professionals receive no prize money, despite the contests being high-profile events that bring in large amounts of money in television, sponsorship, ticketing and merchandise revenue.[11][12] The 2021 Ryder Cup was held on the Straits course at Whistling Straits, Haven, Wisconsin, from 24 to 26 September 2021. The United States defeated Europe 19–9, to clinch the largest margin of victory in the modern history of the event (since the inclusion of Continental Europe in 1979).[13][14][15] Contents 1 Founding of the Cup 1.1 Gleneagles 1921 1.2 Wentworth 1926 1.3 Worcester 1927 2 Inclusion of continental European golfers 3 Format 4 Team composition 4.1 Captains 4.2 Qualification and selection 5 Preliminary events 6 Notable Ryder Cups 6.1 1969: Nicklaus vs Jacklin 6.2 1989: Azinger and Ballesteros 6.3 1991: "The War on the Shore" 6.4 1999: Battle of Brookline 6.5 2012: Medinah 6.6 Cancellations and postponements 6.6.1 1939 Ryder Cup 6.6.2 1941, 1943, and 1945 Ryder Cups 6.6.3 2001 Ryder Cup 6.6.4 2020 Ryder Cup 7 Results 7.1 Summary 7.2 Editions 8 Future venues 8.1 Future European venues 9 Television 10 Records 11 Traditions 12 Similar golf events 13 See also 14 Notes and references 15 External links Founding of the Cup The Ryder Cup on display in 2008. An event sponsored by English businessman Samuel Ryder, the figure on top is modeled after professional golfer Abe Mitchell, Ryder's private coach.[17] Gleneagles 1921 On 27 September 1920 Golf Illustrated wrote a letter to the Professional Golfers' Association of America with a suggestion that a team of 12 to 20 American professionals be chosen to play in the 1921 British Open, to be financed by popular subscription.[18] At that time no American golfer had won the British Open. The idea was that of James D. Harnett, who worked for the magazine. The PGA of America made a positive reply and the idea was announced in the November 1920 issue. The fund was called the British Open Championship Fund. By the next spring the idea had been firmed-up.[19] A team of 12 would be chosen, who would sail in time to play in a warm-up tournament at Gleneagles (the Glasgow Herald 1000 Guinea Tournament) prior to the British Open at St. Andrews, two weeks later. The team of 12 was chosen by PGA President George Sargent and PGA Secretary Alec Pirie, with the assistance of USGA Vice-president Robert Gardner.[20] A team of 11 sailed from New York on the RMS Aquitania on 24 May 1921 together with James Harnett, Harry Hampton deciding at the last minute that he could not travel.[21] The idea for a 12-a-side International Match between the American and Great Britain professionals was reported in The Times on 17 May, with James Douglas Edgar being reported as the probable 12th player.[22] Edgar was already in the United Kingdom. The match would be played at Gleneagles on Monday 6 June, the day before the start of the 1000 Guinea Tournament. With Jim Barnes indisposed, the match eventually became a 10-a-side contest, Edgar not being required for the American team. The match consisted of 5 foursomes in the morning and 10 singles in the afternoon, played on the King's Course. The match was won by Great Britain by 9 matches to 3, 3 matches being halved.[23] The British team was: George Duncan (captain), James Braid, Arthur Havers, Abe Mitchell, James Ockenden, Ted Ray, James Sherlock, J.H. Taylor, Josh Taylor, and Harry Vardon. The American team was: Emmet French (captain), Clarence Hackney, Walter Hagen, Charles Hoffner, Jock Hutchison, Tom Kerrigan, George McLean, Fred McLeod, Bill Mehlhorn and Wilfrid Reid. Gold medals were presented by Katharine Stewart-Murray, Duchess of Atholl, to each member of the teams at the conclusion of the Glasgow Herald tournament on Saturday afternoon. The medals "had on one side crossed flags, The Union Jack and Stars and Stripes surmounted by the inscription "For Britain" or "For America" as the case may be, and on the other side "America v Britain. First international golf match at "The Glasgow Herald" tournament, Gleneagles, 6 June 1921"[24] After the Glasgow Herald Tournament most of the American team travelled to St Andrews to practice for the British Open, for which qualifying began on 20 June. However, Walter Hagen and Jock Hutchison played in a tournament at Kinghorn on 14 and 15 June. Hagen had a poor first round and didn't turn up for the second day. Hutchison scored 74 and 64 and took the £50 first prize.[25] At St Andrews, Hutchison led the qualifying and then won the Open itself. So, despite losing the International Match, the American team achieved its main objective, winning the British Open. A match between American and British amateur golfers was played at Royal Liverpool Golf Club (Hoylake) in 1921, immediately before The Amateur Championship. This match was followed by the creation of the Walker Cup, which was first played in 1922.[26] However the 1921 Gleneagles match did not immediately lead to a corresponding match between the professionals. Wentworth 1926 It was common at this time for a small number of professionals to travel to compete in each other's national championship. In 1926, a larger than usual contingent of American professionals were travelling to Britain to compete in the Open Championship, two weeks before their own Championship. In February it was announced that Walter Hagen would select a team of four American professionals (including himself) to play four British professionals in a match before the Open Championship.[27] The match would be a stroke play competition with each playing the four opposing golfers over 18 holes.[28] In mid-April, it was announced that "A golf enthusiast, who name has not yet been made public" was ready to donate a cup for an annual competition.[29] Later in April it was announced that Samuel Ryder would be presenting a trophy "for annual competition between British and American professionals." with the first match to be played on 4 and 5 June "but the details are not yet decided",[30] and then in May it was announced that the match would be a match-play competition, 8-a-side, foursomes on the first day, singles on the second.[31] Eventually, at Hagen's request, 10 players competed for each team.[32] Samuel Ryder (together with his brother James) had sponsored a number of British professional events starting in 1923.[28] The match resulted in 13–1 victory for the British team (1 match was halved). The American point was won by Bill Mehlhorn with Emmet French being all square. Medals were presented to the players by the American ambassador Alanson B. Houghton. The match was widely reported as being for the "Ryder Cup". However Golf Illustrated for 11 June states that because of uncertainty following the general strike in May, which led to uncertainty about how many Americans would be visiting Britain, Samuel Ryder had decided to withhold the cup for a year. It has also been suggested that because Walter Hagen chose the American team rather than the American PGA, that only those Americans who had travelled to Britain to play in the Open were available for selection and that it contained a number of players born outside the United States, also contributed to the feeling that the match ought to be regarded as unofficial.[28] In addition the Americans "had only just landed in England and were not yet in full practice."[33] The British team was: Ted Ray (Captain), Aubrey Boomer, Archie Compston, George Duncan, George Gadd, Arthur Havers, Herbert Jolly, Abe Mitchell, Fred Robson and Ernest Whitcombe. The American team was: Walter Hagen (Captain), Tommy Armour, Jim Barnes, Emmet French, Joe Kirkwood, Fred McLeod, Bill Mehlhorn, Joe Stein, Cyril Walker and Al Watrous. While all ten of the British players subsequently played in the Ryder Cup only three of the Americans did (Hagen, Mehlhorn and Watrous). Armour, Barnes, Kirkwood, McLeod and Walker were excluded by the policy of requiring players to be born in the USA while French and Stein were never selected. Worcester 1927 Main article: 1927 Ryder Cup The 1927 competition was organized on a much more formal basis. A Ryder Cup "Deed of Trust" was drawn up formalising the rules of the contest, while each of the PGA organisations had a selection process. In Britain, Golf Illustrated launched a fund to raise £3,000 to fund professional golfers to play in the U.S. Open and the Ryder Cup. Ryder contributed £100 and, when the fund closed with a shortfall of £300, he made up the outstanding balance himself. Although not in the rules at that time, the American PGA restricted their team to those born in the United States.[34] In early 1928 it became clear that an annual contest was not practical and so it was decided that the second contest should be in 1929 and then every two years thereafter.[28] For the 1929 UK contest at Moortown GC, Leeds, the American PGA again restricted their team to those born in the USA but in late 1929 the Deed of Trust was revised requiring all players to be born in[36] and resident in their respective countries, as well as being members of their respective Professional Golfers' Association.[28] Inclusion of continental European golfers The most significant change to the Ryder Cup has been the inclusion of continental European golfers since 1979. Up until 1977, the matches featured teams representing the United States and Great Britain and Ireland. From 1979 players from continental Europe have been eligible to join what is now known as Team Europe. The change to include continental Europeans arose from discussion in 1977 between Jack Nicklaus and Edward Stanley, 18th Earl of Derby, who was serving as the President of the Professional Golfers' Association; it was suggested by Nicklaus as a means to make the matches more competitive, since the Americans almost always won, often by lopsided margins.[37] The change worked, as the contests soon became much more competitive, with talented young Europeans such as Seve Ballesteros and Bernhard Langer bolstering the European side. The present-day popularity of the Ryder Cup, which now generates enormous media attention, can be said to date from that change in eligibility. Format The Ryder Cup involves various match play competitions between players selected from two teams of twelve. It takes place from a Friday to a Sunday with a total of 28 matches being played, all matches being over 18 holes. On Friday and Saturday there are four fourball matches and four foursomes matches each day; a session of four matches in the morning and a session of four matches in the afternoon. On Sunday, there are 12 singles matches, when all team members play. Not all players must play on Friday and Saturday; the captain can select any eight players for each of the sessions over these two days. The winner of each match scores a point for his team, with half a point each for any match that is tied after the 18 holes. The winning team is determined by cumulative total points. In the event of a tie (14 points each) the Ryder Cup is retained by the team who held it before the contest. A foursomes match is a competition between two teams of two golfers. On a particular hole the golfers on the same team take alternate shots playing the same ball. One team member tees off on all the odd-numbered holes, and the other on all the even-numbered holes. Each hole is won by the team that completes the hole in the fewest shots. A fourball match is also a competition between two teams of two golfers, but all four golfers play their own ball throughout the round rather than alternating shots. The better score of the two golfers in a team determines the team's score on a particular hole; the score of the other member of the team is not counted. Each hole is won by the team whose individual golfer has the lowest score. A singles match is a standard match play competition between two golfers. The format of the Ryder Cup has changed over the years. From the inaugural event until 1959, the Ryder Cup was a two-day competition with 36-hole matches. In 1961 the matches were changed to 18 holes each and the number of matches doubled. In 1963 the event was expanded to three days, with fourball matches being played for the first time. This format remained until 1977, when the number of matches was reduced to 20, but, in 1979, the first year continental European players participated, the format was changed to the 28-match version in use today, with 8 foursomes/four-ball matches on the first two days and 12 singles matches on the last day.[38] Because of weather disruption the format of the 2010 contest was altered and it was extended to a fourth day. Year Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Total points Morning Afternoon Morning Afternoon Morning Afternoon 1927–59 4 36-hole foursomes 8 36-hole singles – 12 1961 4 foursomes 4 foursomes 8 singles 8 singles – 24 1963–71 4 foursomes 4 foursomes 4 fourballs 4 fourballs 8 singles 8 singles 32 1973 4 foursomes 4 fourballs 4 foursomes 4 fourballs 8 singles 8 singles 32 1975 4 foursomes 4 fourballs 4 fourballs 4 foursomes 8 singles 8 singles 32 1977 5 foursomes 5 fourballs 10 singles 20 1979– present 4 foursomes 4 fourballs 4 foursomes 4 fourballs 12 singles 28 or or 4 fourballs 4 foursomes 4 fourballs 4 foursomes The team size was increased from 10 to 12 in 1969. There were two singles sessions (morning and afternoon) in 1979, but no player played in both sessions. Since 1979, there have been 4 foursomes and 4 fourballs on each of the first two days. Currently the home captain decides before the contest starts whether the fourball or foursomes matches are played in the morning. He may choose a different order for the two days. Since 1979, a player can play a maximum of 5 matches (2 foursomes, 2 fourballs and a singles match), however from 1963 to 1975 it was possible to play 6 matches (2 foursomes, 2 fourballs and 2 singles matches). 1993 scorecard of Valderrama, continental Europe's most renowned course. It was the first club outside the United Kingdom and United States to host the competition, in 1997 Team composition Captains The captains have always selected the players and chosen the playing order in each group of matches. When the contest involved 36-hole matches, it was usual for the captain to be one of the players. The USA only had two non-playing captains in this period: Walter Hagen in 1937 and Ben Hogan in 1949 while Great Britain had non-playing captains in 1933, 1949, 1951 and 1953. With the change to 18-hole matches and the extension to three days, it became more difficult to combine the roles of captain and player and Arnold Palmer in 1963 was the last playing captain. The captains have always been professional golfers and the only captain who never played in the Ryder Cup was J. H. Taylor, the 1933 British captain. Qualification and selection The selection process for the Ryder Cup players has varied over the years. In the early contests the teams were generally decided by a selection committee but later qualification based on performances was introduced. The current system by which most of the team is determined by performances with a small number of players selected by the captain (known as "wild cards" or "captain's picks") gradually evolved and has been used by both sides since 1989.[39] For the 2014 Ryder Cup both teams had 9 players qualifying based on performances with the remaining 3 players selected by the captain. For those players gaining automatic qualification the Europeans used a system, introduced in 2004, using two tables; one using prize money won in official European Tour events and a second based on World Ranking points gained anywhere in the world. Both tables used a 12-month qualifying period finishing at the end of August. The American system, introduced in 2008, was based on prize money earned in official PGA Tour events during the current season and prize money earned in the major championships in the previous season. The qualifying period ended after the PGA Championship. For the 2016 Ryder Cup there were a number of changes from 2014 in the American system. The number of captain's picks was increased from three to four with the selections being made later than previously, especially moving the fourth and last pick to less than a week before the Ryder Cup, right after the completion of the Tour Championship. The qualifying events now included both the 2015 World Golf Championships events and The Players Championship, on top of the four major championships, but only included 2016 PGA Tour events actually played in 2016, thus excluded any other event played in 2015. The qualifying period was also extended because the Olympic Games had moved the timeslot for the 2016 PGA Championship which took place already at the end of July. Team Europe retained its old system of qualification and wild cards. Preliminary events An opening ceremony takes place on the afternoon before play begins. Since 2012, there has been a celebrity match played before the Ryder Cup contest. Celebrities were paired with former Ryder Cup captains in 2012 and 2014. Since 2016 there have been separate matches for celebrities and past captains. Celebrities have included sportspeople Michael Phelps, Scottie Pippen, Martina Navratilova, Alessandro Del Piero, A. J. Hawk and Andriy Shevchenko, and actors Bill Murray and Justin Timberlake. Notable Ryder Cups 1969: Nicklaus vs Jacklin Main article: 1969 Ryder Cup Tony Jacklin's golf ball used in the 1969 Ryder Cup held at Royal Birkdale Golf Club The 1969 Cup held at Royal Birkdale was perhaps one of the best and most competitive contests in terms of play (18 of the 32 matches went to the last green). It was decided in its very last match, of which United States Captain Sam Snead later said "This is the greatest golf match you have ever seen in England".[40] With the United States and Great Britain tied at 15+1⁄2 each, Jack Nicklaus led Tony Jacklin by the score of 1 up as they played the 17th hole. Jacklin made a 35-foot eagle putt and when Nicklaus missed his own eagle try from 12 feet, the match was all square. At the par-5 finishing hole, both Jacklin and Nicklaus got on the green in two. Nicklaus ran his eagle putt five feet past the hole, while Jacklin left his two-foot short. Nicklaus then sank his birdie putt, and with a crowd of 8,000 people watching, picked up Jacklin's marker, conceding the putt Jacklin needed to tie the matches. As the current holders, the rules meant that the United States retained the trophy.[41][42] "I don't think you would have missed that putt", Nicklaus said to Jacklin afterwards, "but in these circumstances I would never give you the opportunity." This gesture of sportsmanship by Nicklaus caused controversy on the American side, some of whom would have preferred to force Jacklin to attempt the putt for the small chance that he might miss, which would have given the United States team an outright win. "All the boys thought it was ridiculous to give him that putt", said Sam Snead. "We went over there to win, not to be good ol' boys." 1989: Azinger and Ballesteros Main article: 1989 Ryder Cup Held at The Belfry in England, the 1989 Ryder Cup saw the rising of tensions in the series. After holding the cup for more than two decades, the United States team lost both the 1985 and 1987 matches. At the 1989 matches, the pressure was on the United States team and its captain, Raymond Floyd. At a pre-match opening celebration, Floyd slighted the European team by introducing his United States team as "the 12 greatest players in the world." The competition saw the beginnings of a feud between Seve Ballesteros and Paul Azinger. Early in their singles match, Ballesteros sought to change a scuffed ball for a new ball under Rule of Golf 5–3. Somewhat unusually, Azinger disputed whether the ball was unfit for play. A referee was called, and sided with Azinger in ruling the ball fit for play. Ballesteros reportedly said to Azinger, "Is this the way you want to play today?" The match continued in a contentious fashion, culminating in Ballesteros unusually contesting whether Azinger took a proper drop after hitting into the water on the 18th hole. The American team's frustration grew as the matches ended in a tie, with the European team retaining the cup. 1991: "The War on the Shore" Main article: 1991 Ryder Cup The overall tension between the teams and the feud between Ballesteros and Azinger escalated at the Kiawah Island Golf Resort in 1991. At the ceremonial opening dinner, the PGA of America played two videos that were seen as less than hospitable by the European team. The first video was presented as a highlight reel of past Ryder Cups, but reportedly showed only Americans. The second video was a welcoming address by then-United States President George H. W. Bush in which he closed by cheering on the American side. On the first morning of the competition, Azinger and Chip Beck were paired against Ballesteros and José María Olazábal in a foursomes match, an alternate shot event. Azinger and Beck accused Ballesteros of gamesmanship on account of his throat clearing during Beck's shots. Later in the same match, Azinger and Beck, who were playing the same brand and make of ball but each with a slightly different model, switched their balls. While this switching was unlikely to have resulted in an advantage or to have been intentional, it was in violation of the "one ball rule" which was in effect for the competition. Under that rule, a player is prohibited from changing the type of ball he uses during the course of a match. A few holes after the switch had occurred, Ballesteros called the Americans for the violation. Azinger, seeming to feel that his integrity was being questioned, said "I can tell you we're not trying to cheat." Ballesteros responded, "Oh no. Breaking the rules and cheating are two different things." As the violation was called too long after it had occurred, no penalty was assessed against the American pair. The constant goading between Ballesteros and Azinger intensified their respective desires to win. Out of that intensity, they and their playing partners produced what may be regarded as one of the best pairs matches in history, with the Spaniards winning 2 & 1. After the matches concluded, Ballesteros reportedly said, "The American team has 11 nice guys. And Paul Azinger." The 1991 matches received the sobriquet "the War on the Shore" after some excitable advertising in the American media, and intense home-team cheering by the American home crowds. For his part, Corey Pavin caused controversy by sporting a Desert Storm baseball cap during the event in support of the U.S. and coalition war effort in Iraq. The matches culminated in one of the single most dramatic putts in the history of golf. With only one match remaining to be completed, between Hale Irwin for the United States and Bernhard Langer for the Europeans, the United States team led by one point. Irwin and Langer came to the last hole tied. To win the cup, the American team needed Irwin to win or tie the match by winning or tying the hole. The Europeans could keep the cup with a win by Langer. Both players struggled on the hole, and found themselves facing a pair of putts; Langer had a six-foot, side-hill par putt, and Irwin had a generally uphill, 18-inch putt for bogey. To the surprise of his teammates, Langer conceded Irwin's bogey putt, leaving himself in a must-make position. Langer missed his putt, the match was halved, and the U.S. team took back the cup. Players on both sides were driven to public tears by the pressure of the matches on the final day. The intense competition of the 1991 Ryder Cup is widely regarded as having elevated public interest in the series. 1999: Battle of Brookline Main article: 1999 Ryder Cup The 1999 Ryder Cup held at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts, caused great controversy. A remarkable comeback by the American team helped propel the U.S. to a 141⁄2–131⁄2 victory after trailing 10–6 at the start of the final day. The U.S. defeated Europe 81⁄2–31⁄2 in the singles matches to seal the first American victory since 1993. The competition turned on the 17th hole of a match between American Justin Leonard and Spaniard José María Olazábal. With the match all square, Leonard needed to earn at least a half-point to seal an American victory. After Olazábal's second shot left him with a 22-foot putt on the par-4, Leonard hit his shot within 10 feet of the hole and then watched it roll away from the cup, leaving him with a 45-foot putt for birdie. Leonard had made putts of 25 and 35 feet earlier in the round. Leonard holed the putt, and a wild celebration followed with other U.S. players, their wives, and a few fans running onto the green. The putt did not guarantee a half-point for Leonard since Olazábal could still hole his putt and win the last hole. However, Olazábal missed his putt, and the American team celebrated once again, although the second celebration was more reserved than the first one. There was considerable bad blood after the event, with some of the European players complaining about the behavior of the American galleries throughout the match. Sam Torrance branded it "disgusting", while European captain Mark James referred to it as a "bear pit" in a book recounting the event.[43] There were also reports that a spectator spat at James' wife.[44] Payne Stewart had conceded his singles match to Colin Montgomerie with both players level and on the last green in 2 shots as a response to the abuse Montgomerie had received throughout the match.[45] Following the 1999 Ryder Cup, many members of the U.S. team apologised for their behavior, and there were numerous attempts by both teams to calm the increasing nationalism of the event.[46][47] 2012: Medinah Main article: 2012 Ryder Cup The 39th Ryder Cup was held at the Medinah Country Club in Medinah, Illinois. Under captain José María Olazábal of Spain; the Europeans were down 10–4 after 14 matches, with two four-ball matches still on the course and 12 singles matches to be played the next day. At the end of day two, Ian Poulter made five birdies on the final five holes to give him and Rory McIlroy the point over Jason Dufner and Zach Johnson. Despite being down 10–6 going into the final day Europe came back to win by 14+1⁄2 points to 13+1⁄2.[48] Out of the 12 points available on the final day Europe won 8+1⁄2 points with the U.S. winning only 3+1⁄2 points. In terms of points this feat matched the Americans' 1999 comeback at Brookline Country Club. Martin Kaymer struck the putt that retained the cup for Europe. The putt was almost identical in length to the one that fellow German Bernhard Langer missed at the 1991 Ryder Cup. Francesco Molinari secured the final half-point to win the Ryder Cup outright by winning the 18th hole to halve his match against Tiger Woods. Ian Poulter of the European team finished this Ryder Cup with a perfect 4–0 record. The event is often referred to as the "Meltdown at Medinah" in the United States or the "Miracle at Medinah" in Europe. Cancellations and postponements 1939 Ryder Cup The 1939 Ryder Cup was planned for 18–19 November at Ponte Vedra Country Club in Jacksonville, Florida; Walter Hagen was chosen as non-playing captain of the U.S. team. The competition was cancelled shortly after the outbreak of World War II in Europe in September. It would have been the first Ryder Cup to be held in Florida; the competition was not held there until 1983. In early April 1939, the British P.G.A. chose a selection committee of six and selected Henry Cotton as captain.[49] In August, eight players were named in the team: Cotton, Jimmy Adams, Dick Burton, Sam King, Alf Padgham, Dai Rees, Charles Whitcombe, and Reg Whitcombe.[50] Charles Whitcombe immediately withdrew from the team,[51] not wishing to travel to the United States. With seven selected, three places were left to be filled. War was declared on 3 September and the British P.G.A. immediately cancelled the match: "The P.G.A. announce that the Ryder Cup match for this year has been cancelled by the state of war prevailing in this country. The P.G.A. of the United States is being informed."[52][53] 1941, 1943, and 1945 Ryder Cups The Ryder Cup was not played in these scheduled years due to World War II; by the fall of 1945, many members of the British team were still in the military.[54] After a decade-long absence, it resumed in November 1947 at the Portland Golf Club in Portland, Oregon. 2001 Ryder Cup Main article: 2002 Ryder Cup The competition, scheduled for 28–30 September at The Belfry's Brabazon Course, was postponed a year because of the September 11 terrorist attacks. "The PGA of America has informed the European Ryder Cup Board that the scope of the last Tuesday's tragedy is so overwhelming that it would not be possible for the United States Ryder Cup team and officials to attend the match this month."[55] The manager of Phil Mickelson and Mark Calcavecchia had earlier announced that the two players would not travel to Europe. Other American players were said to be concerned about attending the event. It was played in 2002 at the original venue with the same teams that had been selected to play a year earlier. The display boards at The Belfry still read "The 2001 Ryder Cup", and U.S. captain Curtis Strange deliberately referred to his team as "The 2001 Ryder Cup Team" in his speech at the closing ceremony. It was later decided to hold the subsequent Ryder Cup in 2004 (rather than 2003) and thereafter in even-numbered years. This change also affected the men's Presidents Cup and Seve Trophy and women's Solheim Cup competitions, as each switched from even to odd years. 2020 Ryder Cup Main article: 2021 Ryder Cup Results Main article: List of Ryder Cup matches Summary Team From To Matches Wins Losses Ties United States 1927 2021 43 27 14 2 Great Britain/ Great Britain & Ireland 1927 1977 22 3 18 1 Europe 1979 2021 21 11 9[58] 1 Although the team was referred to as "Great Britain" up to 1971, a number of golfers from the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, Guernsey and Jersey had played for Great Britain before that date. In 1973, the official team name was changed to "Great Britain and Ireland,” but this was simply a change of name to reflect the fact that golfers from the Republic of Ireland had played in the "Great Britain" Ryder Cup team since Harry Bradshaw in 1953, while Northern Irish players had competed since Fred Daly in 1947. The team in place of the original "Great Britain" team has been referred to as "Europe" since 1979, when players from continental Europe were included. Since then, the "United States" team has won 9 matches and the "Europe" team has won 11 matches, while retaining the Ryder Cup once with a tie. Editions # Year Dates [a] Winners Score Host location Course U.S. captain European captain U.S. top point scorer[b] European top point scorer[b] United States v Europe (1979 to present) 44th 2023 29 Sep– 1 Oct Italy Europe Marco Simone Golf and Country Club, Guidonia Montecelio Zach Johnson Henrik Stenson 43rd 2020[c] 2021 24– 26 Sep United States 19– 9 Wisconsin United States Whistling Straits, Haven Steve Stricker Pádraig Harrington Johnson 5 / 5 Rahm 3.5 / 5 42nd 2018 28– 30 Sep Europe 171⁄2– 101⁄2 France Europe Le Golf National, Île-de-France Jim Furyk Thomas Bjørn Thomas 4 / 5 Molinari 5 / 5 41st 2016 30 Sep– 2 Oct United States 17– 11 Minnesota United States Hazeltine National Golf Club, Carver County Davis Love III Darren Clarke Reed 3.5 / 5 Pieters 4 / 5 40th 2014 26– 28 Sep Europe 161⁄2– 111⁄2 Scotland Europe Gleneagles Hotel, Perthshire Tom Watson Paul McGinley Reed 3.5 / 4 Rose 4 / 5 39th 2012 28– 30 Sep Europe 141⁄2– 131⁄2 Illinois United States Medinah Country Club (No. 3), DuPage County Davis Love III José María Olazábal Johnson 3 / 3 Poulter 4 / 4 38th 2010 1– 4 Oct Europe 141⁄2– 131⁄2 Wales Europe Celtic Manor Resort, Newport Corey Pavin Colin Montgomerie Stricker; Woods 3 / 4 Donald; Poulter 3 / 4 37th 2008 19– 21 Sep United States 161⁄2– 111⁄2 Kentucky United States Valhalla Golf Club, Louisville Paul Azinger Nick Faldo Mahan 3.5 / 5 Poulter 4 / 5 36th 2006 22– 24 Sep Europe 181⁄2– 91⁄2 Ireland Europe K Club, County Kildare Tom Lehman Ian Woosnam Woods 3 / 5 García; Westwood 4 / 5 35th 2004 17– 19 Sep Europe 181⁄2– 91⁄2 Michigan United States Oakland Hills Country Club, Birmingham, MI Hal Sutton Bernhard Langer DiMarco 2.5 / 4 García; Westwood 4.5 / 5 34th 2001[d] 2002 27– 29 Sep Europe 151⁄2– 121⁄2 England Europe The Belfry, Warwickshire Curtis Strange Sam Torrance Toms 3.5 / 5 Montgomerie 4.5 / 5 33rd 1999 24– 26 Sep United States 141⁄2– 131⁄2 Massachusetts United States The Country Club (Brookline), Norfolk County Ben Crenshaw Mark James Sutton 3.5 / 5 García; Lawrie; Montgomerie; Parnevik 3.5 / 5 32nd 1997 26– 28 Sep Europe 141⁄2– 131⁄2 Spain Europe Valderrama Golf Club, Andalusia Tom Kite Seve Ballesteros Hoch 2.5 / 3 Montgomerie 3.5 / 5 31st 1995 22– 24 Sep Europe 141⁄2– 131⁄2 New York United States Oak Hill Country Club, Monroe County Lanny Wadkins Bernard Gallacher Pavin 4 / 5 Gilford 3 / 4 30th 1993 24– 26 Sep United States 15– 13 England Europe The Belfry, Warwickshire Tom Watson Bernard Gallacher Floyd; Stewart 3 / 4 Woosnam 4.5 / 5 29th 1991 27– 29 Sep United States 141⁄2– 131⁄2 South Carolina United States Kiawah Island Golf Resort, Charleston County Dave Stockton Bernard Gallacher Couples; Wadkins 3.5 / 5 Ballesteros 4.5 / 5 28th 1989 22– 24 Sep Tied Europe retains 14– 14 England Europe The Belfry, Warwickshire Raymond Floyd Tony Jacklin Beck 3.5 / 4 Olazábal 4.5 / 5 27th 1987 25– 27 Sep Europe 15– 13 Ohio United States Muirfield Village, Franklin County Jack Nicklaus Tony Jacklin Kite; Sutton 3 / 5 Ballesteros 4 / 5 26th 1985 13– 15 Sep Europe 161⁄2– 111⁄2 England Europe The Belfry, Warwickshire Lee Trevino Tony Jacklin Stadler; Wadkins 3 / 5 Piñero 4 / 5 25th 1983 14– 16 Oct United States 141⁄2– 131⁄2 Florida United States PGA National Golf Club, Palm Beach County Jack Nicklaus Tony Jacklin Watson 4 / 5 Faldo; Langer 4 / 5 24th 1981 18– 20 Sep United States 181⁄2– 91⁄2 England Europe Walton Heath Golf Club, Surrey Dave Marr John Jacobs Nelson; Nicklaus; Trevino 4 / 4 Piñero 2 / 4 23rd 1979 14– 16 Sep United States 17– 11 West Virginia United States The Greenbrier, Greenbrier County Billy Casper John Jacobs Nelson 5 / 5 Gallacher 4 / 5 United States v Great Britain & Ireland (1973 to 1977) 22nd 1977 15– 17 Sep United States 121⁄2– 71⁄2 England GB & Ireland Royal Lytham & St Annes, Lancashire Dow Finsterwald Brian Huggett Wadkins 3 / 3 Faldo 3 / 3 21st 1975 19– 21 Sep United States 21– 11 Pennsylvania United States Laurel Valley Golf Club, Westmoreland County Arnold Palmer Bernard Hunt Irwin 4.5 / 5 Oosterhuis 3.5 / 6 20th 1973 20– 22 Sep United States 19– 13 Scotland GB & Ireland Muirfield, East Lothian Jack Burke Jr. Bernard Hunt Nicklaus 4.5 / 6 Oosterhuis 4 / 6 United States v Great Britain (1923 to 1971) 19th 1971 16– 18 Sep United States 181⁄2– 131⁄2 Missouri United States Old Warson Country Club, St. Louis Jay Hebert Eric Brown Palmer 4.5 / 6 Gallacher 3.5 / 5 18th 1969 18– 20 Sep Tied United States retains 16– 16 England Great Britain Royal Birkdale Golf Club, Merseyside Sam Snead Eric Brown Hill 4 / 6 Jacklin 5 / 6 17th 1967 20– 22 Oct United States 231⁄2– 81⁄2 Texas United States Champions Golf Club, Houston Ben Hogan Dai Rees Palmer; Dickinson 5 / 5 Thomas 3 / 5 16th 1965 7– 9 Oct United States 191⁄2– 121⁄2 England Great Britain Royal Birkdale Golf Club, Merseyside Byron Nelson Harry Weetman Lema 5 / 6 Alliss 5 / 6 15th 1963 11– 13 Oct United States 23– 9 Georgia United States Atlanta Athletic Club, Atlanta Arnold Palmer John Fallon Casper 4.5 / 5 Huggett 2.5 / 5 14th 1961 13– 14 Oct United States 141⁄2– 91⁄2 England Great Britain Royal Lytham & St Annes, Lancashire Jerry Barber Dai Rees Palmer 3.5 / 4 Rees 3 / 4 13th 1959 6– 7 Nov United States 81⁄2– 31⁄2 California United States Eldorado Country Club Indian Wells Sam Snead Dai Rees Finsterwald; Rosburg; Souchak 2 / 2 Alliss 1.5 / 2 12th 1957 4– 5 Oct United Kingdom Great Britain 71⁄2– 41⁄2 England Great Britain Lindrick Golf Club, Nottinghamshire Jack Burke Jr. Dai Rees Mayer 1.5 / 2 Bousfield; Rees 2 / 2 11th 1955 5– 6 Nov United States 8– 4 California United States Thunderbird Country Club, Riverside County Chick Harbert Dai Rees Bolt; Burke Jr.; Ford; Snead 2 / 2 Jacobs 2 / 2 10th 1953 2– 3 Oct United States 61⁄2– 51⁄2 England Great Britain Wentworth Club, Surrey Lloyd Mangrum Henry Cotton Burke Jr. 2 / 2 Bradshaw; Daly 2 / 2 9th 1951 2– 4 Nov United States 91⁄2– 21⁄2 North Carolina United States Pinehurst Resort (No. 2), Moore County Sam Snead Arthur Lacey Burke Jr.; Demaret; Hogan; Mangrum; Snead 2 / 2 Lees 2 / 2 8th 1949 16– 17 Sep United States 7– 5 England Great Britain Ganton Golf Club; Yorkshire Ben Hogan Charles Whitcombe Demaret; Heafner 2 / 2 Adams 2 / 2 7th 1947 1– 2 Nov United States 11– 1 Oregon United States Portland Golf Club, Portland Ben Hogan Henry Cotton Demaret; Mangrum; Nelson; Oliver; Snead; Worsham 2 / 2 King 1 / 2 1939, 1941, 1943, and 1945: No Ryder Cups because of World War II 6th 1937 29– 30 Jun United States 8– 4 England Great Britain Southport and Ainsdale Golf Club, Merseyside Walter Hagen Charles Whitcombe Dudley; Guldahl 2 / 2 Rees 1.5 / 2 5th 1935 28– 29 Sep United States 9– 3 New Jersey United States Ridgewood Country Club, Bergen County Walter Hagen Charles Whitcombe Picard; Revolta; Runyan; Sarazen 2 / 2 Whitcombe 1 / 1 4th 1933 25– 26 Jun United Kingdom Great Britain 61⁄2– 51⁄2 England Great Britain Southport and Ainsdale Golf Club, Merseyside Walter Hagen John Henry Taylor Hagen; Sarazen 1.5 / 2 Easterbrook; Havers; Mitchell 2 / 2 3rd 1931 26– 27 Jun United States 9– 3 Ohio United States Scioto Country Club, Upper Arlington Walter Hagen Charles Whitcombe Burke; Cox; Hagen; Sarazen; Shute; 2 / 2 Davies; Havers; Mitchell; Robson 1 / 2 2nd 1929 26– 27 Apr United Kingdom Great Britain 7– 5 England Great Britain Moortown Golf Club, Yorkshire Walter Hagen George Duncan Diegel 2 / 2 Compston; Whitcombe 1.5 / 2 1st 1927 3– 4 Jun United States 91⁄2– 21⁄2 Massachusetts United States Worcester Country Club, Worcester County Walter Hagen Ted Ray Farrell; Golden; Hagen; Watrous 2 / 2 Whitcombe 1.5 / 2 Reference : 2014 Media Guide;[59] Ryder Cup website[60] Dates include all days on which play took place or was planned to take place If more than one player ties for top points scorer, players with the highest win% are shown Deferred due to the 9/11 attacks Future venues Year Edition Hosts Course Location Dates Last hosted Ref 2023 44th Europe Marco Simone Golf and Country Club Rome, Lazio, Italy 30 Sep – 2 Oct n/a [61] 2025 45th United States Bethpage Black Course, Bethpage State Park Farmingdale, New York, United States n/a [61] 2027 46th Europe Adare Manor Adare, County Limerick, Republic of Ireland n/a [61] 2029 47th United States Hazeltine National Golf Club Chaska, Minnesota, United States 2016 [61] 2031 48th Europe Not yet awarded 2033 49th United States Olympic Club, Lake Course San Francisco, California, United States n/a [61] 2035 50th Europe Not yet awarded 2037 51st United States Congressional Country Club, Blue Course Bethesda, Maryland, United States n/a [61] Future European venues In 2001, the PGA European Tour decided to put out the Ryder Cup hosting rights from 2018 through 2030 to a competitive bid process throughout Europe.[62] Television Main article: List of Ryder Cup broadcasters The Ryder Cup matches were always covered by the BBC, whether in Britain or in the United States, even prior to the British team's merger with Europe. But in the 1970s ITV gained the rights to the Ryder Cup showing the 1973, 1975 in the US and 1977 cups. ITV had the 1979 rights hosted in the US and the first with a European team but the 1979 cup wasn't televised in the UK due to the 1979 ITV strike. In 1981 the BBC regained the rights covering the 1981, 1983, 1985, 1987, 1989, 1991 and 1993 cups. In the 1990s, Sky Sports became heavily involved in the Ryder Cup, and has since taken over live coverage, including temporarily rebranding their Sky Sports Golf channel as 'Sky Sports Ryder Cup' for the tournament weekend (since 2014).[63] The BBC still screens edited highlights each night. In the United States,[64] the Ryder Cup was first televised live at the 1983 matches in Florida, with ABC Sports covering just the final four holes of the singles matches. A highlight package of the 1985 singles matches was produced by ESPN, but no live coverage aired from England. In 1987, with the matches back in the United States, ABC covered both weekend days, but only in the late afternoon. In 1989, USA Network began a long association with the Ryder Cup, by televising all three days live from England, the first live coverage of a Ryder Cup from Europe. This led to a one-year deal for the 1991 matches in South Carolina to be carried by NBC[65] live on the weekend, with USA Network continuing to provide live coverage of the first day. All five sessions were broadcast for the first time. The success of the 1991 matches led to a contract extension with USA and NBC through 1997, marking a turning point in the competition's popularity. For the European matches, the first two days were taped and aired on delay in the U.S. Another extension with USA and NBC covering the 1999–2003 (later moved to 2004) competitions increased the number of hours of coverage to include the entire first day and most of the second day. Tape delay was still employed for competitions from Europe. The Ryder Cup's increased success led to a landmark contract with NBC (which had recently bought USA Network) to air the 2006–14 competitions on USA and NBC. It called for a record increase in coverage hours, with the second day now having near-complete coverage. Tape delay was last used for the 2006 event in Ireland. In 2006, ESPN was sub-licensed rights to Friday coverage, as part of a larger transaction between NBC and Disney that also resulted in ABC Sports personality Al Michaels moving to NBC to join their then-upcoming Sunday-night NFL games, ESPN gaining expanded access to highlights from events whose rights are owned by NBC, and Disney acquiring the rights to the cartoon character Oswald the Lucky Rabbit (who was created by Walt Disney in 1927 for a series of animated shorts distributed by Universal Pictures).[66] In 2013, NBC reached a deal to extend its rights to the Ryder Cup and Senior PGA Championship through 2030, with Friday coverage of the Ryder Cup being assumed by Golf Channel.[67][68] For 2018, Golf Channel and NBC had a combined total of 30.5 hours of coverage; Golf Channel had 13.5 hours, and NBC had 17 hours. Ninety minutes of Golf Channel and NBC's time overlapped, amounting to a net total of 29 hours of real time coverage. For 2021, Golf Channel and NBC had a combined total of 28 hours of coverage; Golf Channel had 12 hours, and NBC had 16 hours. All broadcasts were also shown on Peacock, along with the websites and mobile apps of both NBC Sports and the Ryder Cup.[69][70] Records Main article: List of Ryder Cup records See also: List of American Ryder Cup golfers and List of European Ryder Cup golfers Most appearances: 12 ° Phil Mickelson (USA), 1995–2018 Most points: 28+1⁄2 ° Sergio García (Eur) (25–13–7 record) Most singles points won: 7 ° Colin Montgomerie (Eur) (6–0–2 record) ° Billy Casper (USA) (6–2–2 record) ° Lee Trevino (USA) (6–2–2 record) ° Arnold Palmer (USA) (6–3–2 record) ° Neil Coles (GB, GB&I) (5–6–4 record) Most foursomes points won: 13+1⁄2 ° Sergio García (Eur) (12–4–3 record) Most fourball points won: 10+1⁄2 ° Ian Woosnam (Eur) (10–3–1 record) ° José María Olazábal (Eur) (9–2–3 record) ° Sergio García (Eur) (9–4–3 record) Most points won by a pairing: 12 ° Seve Ballesteros and José María Olazábal (Eur) (11–2–2 record) Top point percentage (minimum of 3 Ryder Cup matches) ° Jimmy Demaret (USA) (6–0–0) 100.0% ° Jack Burke Jr. (USA) (7–1–0) 87.5% ° Patrick Cantlay (USA) (3–0–1) 87.5% ° Horton Smith (USA) (3–0–1) 87.5% ° Walter Hagen (USA) (7–1–1) 83.3% ° J. C. Snead (USA) (9–2–0) 81.8% ° Sam Snead (USA) (10–2–1) 80.8% Most points in a single contest: 5 ° Tony Lema (USA) (5–1–0) 1965 ° Peter Alliss (GB) (5–1–0) 1965 ° Gardner Dickinson (USA) (5–0–0) 1967 ° Arnold Palmer (USA) (5–0–0) 1967 ° Tony Jacklin (GB) (4–0–2) 1969 ° Jack Nicklaus (USA) (5–1–0) 1971 ° Larry Nelson (USA) (5–0–0) 1979 ° Francesco Molinari (Eur) (5–0–0) 2018 ° Dustin Johnson (USA) (5–0–0) 2021 Youngest player: 19 years, 258 days ° Sergio García (Eur) 1999 Oldest player: 51 years, 20 days ° Raymond Floyd (USA) 1993 Sources[71][72][73] Traditions If one of the golfers is injured and cannot play his singles match, the opposing captain can select one player from his team that he would like to not compete. The nominated player is then matched up against the injured player and the match recorded as a half. There is one stipulation – each captain must place the name of their nominated player in an envelope prior to the start of the matches. The "envelope rule", as it has known, has come into play three times since 1979, including most recently in 1993 when Europe's Sam Torrance suffered a sore left foot. Lanny Wadkins offered to be the player that American captain Tom Watson placed in the envelope, and their match was recorded as halved.[74][75] Teams have also used the competition to pay tribute to recently deceased legends: In 2012 at Medinah, victorious captain Olazábal dedicated the victory to his countryman Ballesteros. The five-time major champion, who had scored 221⁄2 points in 37 matches and been part of four victorious European sides before captaining them to victory on home soil at Valderrama in 1997, had died of brain cancer in May 2011 at the age of 54, and in his memory, Team Europe wore navy blue and white garments – his traditional Sunday colors – on the final day, including during the comeback.[76] Additionally, the European kit also bore the silhouette of Ballesteros famously pumping his fist after winning the 1984 Open Championship at the Old Course at St Andrews.[77][78] In 2016 at Hazeltine, both teams paid tribute to Palmer after he passed away five days before the competition at the age of 85 while awaiting heart surgery. The seven-time major champion, who had won more than 22 Ryder Cup matches during five American victories (including one as Team USA's last playing captain) and been the non-playing captain during a sixth, had a video tribute and also opening ceremony tributes from both captains (Love and Clarke) and both honorary captains (Nicklaus and Jacklin), and his bag from the 1975 competition at Laurel Valley was placed on the first tee during Friday's opening foursomes in his honor. Team USA also swept the opening foursomes for the first time since 1975, and after Team USA regained the Cup, Love also dedicated the victory to Palmer. Two days after the competition, the majority of Team USA also attended Palmer's public memorial at St. Vincent College in his hometown of Latrobe, Pennsylvania and brought the Cup at the request of Palmer's daughter Amy.[79] Similar golf events The Presidents Cup is similar to the Ryder Cup, except that the competing sides are a U.S. side and an International side from the rest of the world consisting of players who are ineligible for the Ryder Cup. It is held in years when there is no Ryder Cup. Other team golf events between U.S. and either Europe or Great Britain and Ireland include: Curtis Cup – Women's amateur event analogous to the Walker Cup. Junior Ryder Cup – A match between U.S. and European juniors involving both boys and girls. Junior Solheim Cup – A match between U.S. and European junior girls. PGA Cup – A match between U.S. and Great Britain and Ireland club professionals. Solheim Cup – The women's equivalent of the Ryder Cup, featuring the same U.S. against Europe format. Walker Cup – Event for amateur men between a U.S. side and a team drawn from Great Britain and Ireland.
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