Golf Compendium

The Golden Lights Championship was a women's professional golf tournament on the LPGA Tour from the mid-1970s into the early 1980s. Some of the LPGA's biggest names won here, and one of the victories in Nancy Lopez's five-tournament win streak in 1978 happened here.

Fairways Minus Putts is the name of a game for individual golfers who are playing normal stroke play. This game rewards hitting the fairway off the tee (and hitting greens on par-3 holes), and rewards good putting. But especially the hitting fairways part.

The 1984 U.S. Women's Open was the 39th time this major championship was played. And Hollis Stacy took the title for the third time.

What are the lowest scores in U.S. Open history for the final two rounds? We're talking about the golfers who scored the best for the final 36 holes — their combined scores for the third and fourth rounds of this major championship.

Marlene Hagge was known as Marlene Bauer when, at age 15, she was one of the LPGA's "Original 13" — the 13 founders of the LPGA Tour. She played tournaments in each of the LPGA's first five decades of existence, from 1950 into the mid-1990s. Along the way she won more than 25 tournaments including a major championship.

The 1985 U.S. Women's Open was the 40th time this major championship took place. The champ was a first-time winner as a pro.

When a golfer wins a tournament — any tournament, but especially a major championship — returning the following year to defend that title is a big deal. Not many golfers win the same trophy in consecutive years, and being the defending champion is accompanied by lots of great attention. But not all defending champs in the U.S. Open have returned. Sometimes that's been by choice, sometimes due to injury, and even, in one case, because the U.S. Open winner died before the next year's tournament.

"If Only" is the name of a golf format for tournament play or for individuals within a group of two, three or four golfers. It is typically played using handicaps, but doesn't have to be. Before we explain how the game works, let's explain the name.

Which golfers have gone the longest in-between victories in the U.S. Open? Only a few golfers have gone as long as eight years between winning this major championship.

The 2027 U.S. Women's Open will be the 82nd time this tournament is played. Founded in 1946, the USWO is the biggest tournament in women's professional golf. It is run by the United States Golf Association and counts as an LPGA Tour event, as well.

The 1986 U.S. Women's Open was the 41st time this major championship was played. Jane Geddes emerged as a first-time major winner following an 18-hole playoff against Sally Little.

The 1987 U.S. Women's Open was the 42nd time this major championship was played. Laura Davies won her first major, and her first LPGA Tour title, in a 3-way playoff.

The U.S. Women's Open was played for the 43rd time in 1988. But it was a first for Liselotte Neumann: Her very first win on the LPGA Tour.

The 1989 U.S. Women's Open was the 44th time the tournament was played. Betsy King recovered from stumbles late in the third round to pull away for the win in the final round.

There are many big-name golfers on the list of U.S. Women's Open low amateurs , many golfers who went on to stellar LPGA Tour careers after turning pro. But how many of those USWO low ams went on to win the U.S. Women's Open?

The 1990 U.S. Women's Open was the 45th time this major championship was played. The winner emerged after a 36-hole final day with her second consecutive victory in this tournament.

The 1991 U.S. Women's Open was the 41st time this major championship was played. Meg Mallon came from two behind on the final day to win.

The 1992 U.S. Women's Open was the 47th edition of this major championship. It ended in an 18-hole playoff between LPGA stars Patty Sheehan and Juli Inkster.

The 1993 U.S. Women's Open was the 48th time this oldest major championship of women's golf was played. The winner came from five strokes behind at the start of the final round.

The Senior PGA Championship and U.S. Senior Open are two of the tournaments that make up the " senior majors ." They are also the two oldest of those senior majors, dating to 1937 in the case of the Senior PGA.

The Senior PGA Championship is, by far, the oldest of the senior majors, dating to 1937. In that history, only a handful of 50-and-over golfers have claimed this tournament in back-to-back years.

Golfers sometimes use another word for "golf course," a synonym that begins with the letters t-r-a-c. But that word, depending on who is saying it, might end either with a "k" (track) or a "t" (tract). So we are going to answer a question here that we sometimes get: Is a golf course a "track" or a "tract"?

The Dunlop International was a men's professional golf tournament in Australia from the mid-1960s into the early 1970s. It was noted for its very strong international fields, with some of the biggest U.S. PGA Tour stars often playing.

Two-Person Best Ball is the name of a golf competition format that can be used for tournaments, or can be played within a group of four golfers (two vs. two). Two-Person Best Ball uses two-player teams, and on each hole the lower of the two partners' scores counts as the team's score.

What is the lowest score ever recorded in a PGA Championship for the first 36 holes, the opening two rounds? That record is 128, and the record was set in 2019 by Brooks Koepka.

John Bland turned professional in 1969 and won his first tournament of note at the 1970 Transvaal Open. By the mid-1970s he was winning regularly on the South African Tour (later known as the Sunshine Tour). He was one of the tour's top players for nearly 20 years, also winning a couple times on the European Tour, before finding wider fame as a winner on the Senior PGA Tour.

The largest margin of victory by Jack Nicklaus on the PGA Tour was nine strokes, a winning margin Nicklaus achieved twice. Below are all the times Nicklaus won by at least five strokes on the PGA Tour plus a few other tours.

The basics of the 2-Person Net Multiplier golf format are right there in that name. It's a format for two-person teams, and the net scores made by the two partners are multiplied.

The Ohio Kings Island Open was a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour. It was played four times within a five-year span in the mid-1970s. Jack Nicklaus was the first winner.

Mary Lou Crocker was an LPGA Tour golfer in the 1960s and 1970s who had one LPGA victory. Before turning pro, she was a USGA national championship winner.

Scramble/Ramble is the name of a golf tournament format for 4-player teams (3-player is also possible). In this format, one golfer on each hole contributes half the team's score, while the other three players on the team play a scramble to produce the other half of the team score.

The Jersey Seniors Classic was a professional golf tournament on the European Seniors Tour for close to 20 years. It was played on the island of Jersey in the English Channel. It had many different names over the years, including Jersey Seniors Open and Jersey Legends.

Winning a major by any means is great ... but winning one by staging a big, final-round comeback must be particularly fantastic. And that's what the golfers listed below did: These are the largest, final-round comebacks to win in the history of the PGA Championship.

Maurice Bembridge once survived a fight with a poisonous snake to post a record-low round in The Masters. The English golfer played around the world during a career than spanned from the 1960s into the 2000s. And he claimed several of the European curcuit's marquee trophies.

There is an important tournament in the world of professional golf that is sometimes referred to as "the Dinah," even though that is not the tournament's actual name. What is this event, and why is it sometimes called that?

This is a tournament format for four-person teams in which it is neither the best nor the worst scores that matter. In Middle of the Road, it is the scores in the middle that count.

The Chevron Championship on the LPGA Tour is one of the five majors of women's professional golf . It dates to 1972, and since that time only a handful of golfers have won this major wire-to-wire.

The Chevron Championship is one of the five golf tournaments that make up the LPGA majors . Which golfers hold the records as the tournament's youngest winner, and its oldest? The youngest wasn't yet 19 years old, and the oldest was in her early 40s.

Andy Bean was a big golfer with a big personality who, from the late 1970s into the mid-late-1980s was one of the PGA Tour's top contenders. Bean recorded double-digit wins during that time, had multiple high money-list finishes, and was runner-up in three majors. And have you heard about the time he wrestled an alligator on a golf course?

A "golf lawyer" is something you don't want to be, even though the underlying knowledge required to be one (a strong understanding of the rules) is a good thing.

Being the low amateur in the U.S. Open is a great achievement in itself. Winning the U.S. Open is one of the greatest achievements in golf. But how many golfers have earned low amateur honors and also won the tournament at some point?

The format known as Two-Ball Low Net is for golf tournaments that use four-person teams. On each hole, the two lowest net scores among the four team members are combined for the team's score.

The 2028 Masters Tournament will be the 92nd time this major championship is played. First staged in 1934, The Masters is one of the four majors of men's professional golf. The format is four rounds, 72 holes of stroke play.

What is the "career grand slam" in golf? In men's golf, it refers to winning each of the four professional major championships over the course of one's career: The Masters, U.S. Open, British Open, PGA Championship. If a golfer wins each of those tournaments at least once, then he has achieved the career grand slam. And it is a rare feat.

The Sumrie Better-Ball tournament, also known as the Sumrie-Bournemouth Better-Ball, was a team golf tournament played in England and Scotland from the late 1960s into the late 1970s. It was an independent tournament, not a tour event, although it attracted most of the big names who played the European Tour at the time.

Picture a person who does not play golf, but whose spouse loves golf and plays a lot. That person would wind up spending lots of time on their own, waiting for that golf-loving spouse to get back from the course. What would you call such a person? One thing you can call them is this: golf widow.

Did you know that the most-famous tournament in golf, the Masters Tournament, was not always called "The Masters"? It had a different name altogether when the tournament debuted in 1934, and it took several years of convincing before a famous co-founder of the tournament was ready to change the name.

In the 4-Person Team Quota format, golfers on a four-person team (duh) are each playing their own ball throughout. Based on their net scores, they earn points for the team. The goal is to not just meet a point quota for your team, but for the team to exceed that goal. And the team that exceeds it by the most points wins the tournament or competition.

John O'Leary was an Irish golfer whose pro career stretched from the early 1970s into the 1990s. After his playing days ended, he spent many years as a director of the European Tour. O'Leary didn't have a lot of wins, but he played in the Ryder Cup. And after his biggest victory in his home Irish Open, it took 25 years before another Irish golfer won it.

The Masters Tournament dates to 1934, and most of the best golfers in the game's history since then have won this major championship. But not all of them! In fact, some big names are missing from the list of Masters champions . Who are the biggest-name golfers who never won The Masters? Let's count them down, from No. 10 to No. 1.

PGA Tour player Billy Mayfair was leading the 2002 Michelob Championship when he decided to play aggressively to a hole location close to the left side of a narrow green. And after making double bogey, he was no longer the leader. "It (was) a sucker pin," Mayfair said, "and I guess I was a sucker for it."

Rhona Adair was one of the first women in Ireland to make a name for herself as a golfer. She won multiple Irish and British championships. She was also known as a long driver for her time, but with distances that might surprise you. And Adair once played Old Tom Morris in a match.

Have any pairs of brother-sister golfers both won on the biggest men's and women's tours — the PGA Tour and LPGA Tour, respectively — in the world? Yes, but such sibling pairs are rare. So far, only three pairs of brothers-and-sisters have pulled off the PGA Tour/LPGA Tour double.

The record for the most birdies made by a golfer during one Masters Tournament is 28. And the golfer who holds that record is the only one so far to make more than 25 birdies in a single Masters.

Which golfers have finished below par for 72 holes in The Masters most frequently? One can answer that question by saying, "the usual suspects." And, yes, this is another Masters tournament record held by Jack Nicklaus.

1-2-3 Best Ball is the name of a golf format that is common for tournaments and can also be used by a large group of golfers teeing off in successive foursomes. In this game, the 1, 2 and 3 in its name refer to the number of scores that count on given holes.

We often hear golfers talk about aiming for "the fat part" of the putting green on approach shots. What does that mean? It's all about choosing the safest aiming point.

Ed "Porky" Oliver was a PGA Tour winner and Ryder Cup player in the 1940s and 1950s. A very popular player, he loved having fun on the course. But he developed a reputation for being a hard-luck golfer due to numerous second-place showings in big tournaments, including majors. He was disqualified from a U.S. Open in which he would otherwise have been in a playoff. Oliver's golf career, and his life, ended in his mid-40s.

Phil Mickelson is one of the all-time great golfers, and he's played (and practiced) a lot of golf in his lifetime. So you would probably guess that Mickelson has made a few holes-in-one over his life in golf. But how many? So many that he might just hold the record for tour pros.

"Hole high" and "pin high" are two terms used by golfers that mean exactly the same thing. These terms mean that a golfer's approach shot into a green has come to rest roughly equal to the depth of the flagstick. It's a way of saying the golfer got the distance right even if (as the case may be) the shot might not have been accurate.

"Two tie, all tie" is an expression sometimes heard in the setting of golf gambling games. What is means, basically, is that one golfer has to win a hole outright before any money (or points) changes hand, or before any golfer is eliminated.

The Hoosier Classic was a professional golf tournament played as part of the LPGA Tour schedule in the 1970s/80s. It was played in Indiana, using a 54-hole, stroke-play format.

Three Points (or 3-Points) is a putting game for the practice green. Depending on what happens on each "hole" of the putting course you and your fellow-competitors pick out, as many as three points or as few as one are up for grabs for each round.

The golfer who trailed by the most after the third round but went on to win The Players Championship was six strokes off the lead when the final round began. And then he had to survive a three-man playoff to claim the victory.

How many golfers in the history of The Players Championship have won the tournament in consecutive years? So far, the answer to that question is: One. There has only been a single back-to-back champion at The Players.

Johnny Palmer was the first "Palmer" to find success on the PGA Tour, claiming the first of his tour victories in the mid-to-late 1940s. He was among the tour's most consistent players for several years, and he also set a PGA Tour record that stood for nearly 20 years.

The Bridgestone Open was a 72-hole, stroke play golf tournament in Japan from the early 1970s into the 2020s. It was played annually as part of the Japan Golf Tour (JGTO) schedule.

"Putts by the Yard" is the name of a golf game that pays off to golfers who sink a high length of putts during the round. The number of putts you make isn't what's important (not directly, anyway). Rather, the total length of the putts you make determines the game winner.

The golf side game named Pavins is named for a golfer who was a famously short driver of the ball. So you can probably guess that this game pays off to golfers who fare well after hitting a short drive.

Golfers often refer to the "short grass" on a golf course. But even if you're not sure what the "short grass," specifically, refers to, you probably know that it's where you want your golf ball to wind up after playing a stroke.

The golf side wager known as Municipals is one that is usually safe to bet, because it rarely pays out. That's because a golfer has to make par from the wrong fairway in order to win the Municipals bet.

The Pasadena Open was a men's professional golf tournament in California in the 1920s and '30s. It was part of what was known at the time as the PGA's "winter circuit." Some important history in golf equipment was made in this tournament.

Most of our accounts of Masters Tournament records are focused on good achievements — the bests. But sometimes you have to acknowledge the worsts , too. Such as the worst 72-hole scores ever seen in Masters Tournament history.

"Chuck Wagon" is the name of a side bet in golf that pays off once, maybe twice, during the round — the number depends on how many snack bars the golf course has.

Jocelyne Bourassa had a great career as an amateur golfer in her native Canada before turning pro and joining the LPGA Tour. Despite her competitive career ending prematurely due to injury, she made her mark as the first Canadian to win an LPGA tournament played in Canada.

The Honda Civic Classic was a pro golf tournament on the LPGA Tour, played for a handful of years in the 1970s in California. But its roster of champions, though short, is impressive.

What are the highest scores for one round of golf yet recorded in The Masters Tournament? The all-time worst 18-hole score in The Masters is 95.

There are two different side games that go by the name Bogeyman, both of them, as you probably guessed, based around making (or avoiding making) bogeys. One of them is best-suited for low-handicappers, the other is more-often played by higher handicappers.

Imagine having Magnolia Lane on one side of you and the Augusta National Golf Club clubhouse on the other. If you are lucky enough to attend The Masters Tournament (or otherwise find yourself on the Augusta National grounds), you don't have to imagine: You'll be in that spot when you visit Founders Circle.

Frank Walsh was never a big winner in pro tournaments, but he did win on the PGA Tour and was in contention quite a bit in the 1920s and 1930s. His career highlights included reaching the championship match in the match-play era of the PGA Championship, and setting a long-standing Masters Tournament record (but one he'd rather not have).

The Las Vegas Senior Classic was a professional golf tournament in Nevada that was played from the 1980s into the early 2000s. It was part of the Champions Tour, then called the Senior PGA Tour.

What is the worst score on a single hole in the history of The Masters Tournament? The tournament record for single-hole high score is 13, a tally recorded by three golfers so far.

"Let the big dog eat" is one of the more colorful golf slang expressions. Do you know what it means? And how long golfers have been using this phrase?

Would you guess that a golf game named Birdies is one that pays off when a golfer ... makes a birdie? This side bet is one of the simplest, and it is also one of the most popular among golfers.

Jimmy Clark was a professional golfer on the PGA Tour whose tournament appearances mostly came in the 1950s. He is best-known for two things: First, as an amateur, he once set a 36-hole scoring record for all USGA competitions ... and then broke his own record the next time the same tournament was played. Second, as a pro Clark won only twice on the PGA Tour, but they happened in the same year (1952) and the same golfer was runner-up both times.

The Fort Wayne Open was a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour. It was played in Fort Wayne, Indiana, seven times during the 1950s.

From 1972 through 2022, Mission Hills Country Club in California's Coachella Valley was the site of a big LPGA Tour event, a tournament that for most of its history was one of the LPGA's major championships . And every year during the broadcast of that tournament, television viewers heard repeated references to "the Indio effect."

No, an amateur golfer has never won The Masters Tournament. A few have come close, including three who finished runner-up. But it has been a very long time since any amateur even finished in the Top 5 at this major championship.

The golf wager known as "Duck" (sometimes "Duckies") is one that is lost by the last golfer to hold the duck. And what does "holding the duck" mean? It means you hit into water.

Billy Joe Patton was a lifelong amateur golfer who never came close to winning either of the two biggest amateur tournaments. But he did come close to winning a professional major, The Masters, and had multiple Top 10 finishes in both The Masters and U.S. Open. Patton was a big-bombing country boy who captured the imagination of golf fans in the 1950s and 1960s.

Do you know what the golf slang terms "cat box" and "kitty litter" refer to? They are both alternate names for sand bunkers (sand traps) on golf courses.

Do the USGA and R&A, the two governing bodies that set the rules of golf, impose a minimum and maximum size for golf balls? Yes and no. There is a minimum size, but there is no maximum size.

The Florida Lady Citrus (known as the Freedom/Orlando Classic in its final year) was a golf tournament on the LPGA Tour played mostly during the 1980s. Although played only six times, it produced some memorable results.

Good golf etiquette is, along with your opponent, the enemy in the game known as Caddy Shack. That's because in Caddy Shack, you are allowed to violate every rule of golf etiquette, you are allowed to do pretty much anything, to distract your opponent and throw them off their game. It's the whole point of Caddy Shack.

Golf is full of side games and competition formats, hundreds of possibilities for a group of buddies or a field of tournament players. What you'll find here are explanations of hundreds of those games.

"Misery" the name of a golf game in which the points "earned" are actually penalties: Golfers are assessed points each time they make a mistake (such as 3-putting or hitting into water). So the object of Misery, just like the object of regular stroke play, is to have the lowest score at the end.

When my golf game ended the other day, I headed straight to the grocery store. My buddies and I have a tradition for our big weekly game: loser buys the steaks. Then we meet back up at one of our houses and enjoy a meal together.

Henry Ransom was a professional golfer, later a rancher and college golf coach, whose victories on the PGA Tour came during the period 1946-55. He once got into a fistfight with another pro during a tournament, but also finished as high as fourth on the PGA Tour season money list.

The Ladies European Open was a professional golf tournament played under various names in the 1980s and 1990s on the Ladies European Tour. It rotated to different golf courses most years, mostly in the U.K. The tournament used a 72-hole, stroke-play format.

"Target golf" is a term that describes a type of golf strategy — or requirement, actually — in which the golfer's strokes are almost all carry, almost no roll, due to course design and/or course conditions. The golfer is playing lofted shots that stop very quickly, trying to avoid penal areas, with the ground game (options to play shots that lead to the ball running a lot after landing) all but eliminated from consideration.

To win the golf side bet known as Froggies, you need some luck. But that's all you need: Winning this bet does not require making par or posting any other specific score.

Dai Rees was a professional golfer from Wales whose long, productive career as a tournament winner spanned from the 1930s into the 1970s. He came close multiple times to winning the British Open, and did win dozens of tournaments on the British and European circuits of his era. Particularly noted as a match player and famed for his dedication to the Ryder Cup, Rees helped hand Team USA the only Ryder Cup loss it suffered between 1933 and 1985.

Mabel walks into the clubhouse looking for her husband, Jasper, who she's arrived to pick up after his round of golf. She finds him at the bar and asks how his round went.

The Wales Open (which was called the Cazoo Open its final two years) was a men's professional golf tournament on the European Tour in the 2000s. It was always played at Celtic Manor Resort in Newport, Wales.

Has an amateur golfer ever won on the European Tour? The answer is yes. How many amateurs have won Euro Tour tournaments? That answer is three.

The putting game named 50/50 (Fifty-Fifty) is one that is played on the practice green. You can play it as a competition between golfers, but it is probably best for a single golfer: You can use 50/50 to spice up your practice session, challenging yourself to earn points on putts of varying lengths.

Andy jumped out of his car in front of the hospital, grabbed his unconscious wife out of the back seat, and dragged her into the emergency room.

Diana Fischwick was an English golfer who was a major player in British women's golf starting as a junior in the 1920s and continuing into the 1930s. Her exploits included a major upset victory in the British Ladies Amateur, and playing in the first two Curtis Cups. By the 1940s she was captaining international teams.

Which golfers finished the year 2024 in the Top 50 of the Official World Golf Ranking? Who was No. 1? Below is the year-end list of 2024's top-ranked golfers.

Who was the No. 1 player in women's golf at the end of 2024? Which golfers finished the year ranked the highest in the Rolex Rankings, the official world rankings of women's golf? Below is the year-end list of 2024's top-ranked golfers.