Brief history of golf in America

Golf in America is considered the best in the world. They have many of the best golf courses, and a good number of the top ranked golfers are in the US. The history of golf in the US dates back to the late 19th century as the first US golf courses were established.

Among the first golf courses was the Oakhurst Golf Club which had some of the first golf holes in the US. Today, the oldest golf course in the USA is that of Foxburg Country Club, a 9-hole public course in Pennsylvania opened in 1887. This golf course was designed by Joseph Fox, an American who had visited St Andrews, and aimed to bring the game to America. The golf course itself is America's home of golf.


The first Major to begin in the US was that of the US Open. The US Open began in 1895 at the Newport Country Club of Rhode Island. The first winner of this golf championship was an English golfer, and it was not until 1911 that J McDermott became the first US golfer to win the US Open.

PGA professional golf in America began in 1916 when the PGA of America was founded. The PGA of America was founded by Robert White. It also marked the beginning of the PGA Championship which was first won by Jim Barnes.

The last of the four Majors was established during the 1930s. With the opening of the Augusta National golf course in Georgia the US Masters was first staged as the Augusta Invitational in 1934. This was then later renamed to the US Masters.


The 1960s was a golden era for US golf as some great US golfers emerged. Palmer was one such who was the top ranked US golfer in the late '50s and early '60s. However, the emergence of Nicklaus saw the Majors of the '60s keenly contested, particularly at the Masters. Nicklaus would go on to win a record 18 Majors with the final win at Augusta during the 1980s.

The emergence of Woods in the 1990s saw another great US golfer win their first Major titles. In the 2000s Woods started to dominate the golf Majors, winning all four of the Majors in a row. With such dominance Woods has remained at the top of the golf rankings since, and won 14 Majors in total.

So today, golf in America is one of the nations favorite sports with most of the golf championships of the PGA Tour in the USA. US golfers dominate the sport, and like baseball America considers the game to be one of their own. From Pebble Beach in California to Augusta National golf course in Georgia, golf is America's sport.