Binks Forest Golf Club

Archive for the ‘Golf History’ Category

The PGA of America Championship is the fourth major championship played each year in men’s professional golf. The other three are the Masters, the U.S. Open and the British Open.

The PGA Championship is played on a different course in the United States each year, though the tournament returns to some courses. The tournament is the championship of the Professional Golfers’ Association of America.

Inaugural Tournament

The PGA was founded in 1916 and hosted its first championship that same year at Siwanoy Country Club in Bronxville, N.Y. England’s Jim Barnes won the first title in the match-play event, earning $2,580.

Rodman Wanamaker, a department store magnate, provided the purse and a trophy, the Wanamaker Trophy, which is still awarded to the tournament winner.

Early champions

Jim Barnes also won the second PGA Championship in 1919, following a two-year interruption for World War II. Then Walter Hagen, one of the golfers who founded the PGA, became its first dominant champion, winning five crowns in the 1920s. Gene Sarazen won three that decade, too. Byron Nelson had a memorable run starting in 1939 when he reached the finals of the tournament four times in five years, winning twice.

Stroke play and the emergence of Nicklaus

The PGA Championship switched from match play to a stroke-play format in 1958. Five years later Jack Nicklaus won his first PGA Championship.

He went on to win five PGA tournament titles during his career, tying Hagen’s record in 1980 when he won the event in Hagen’s hometown of Rochester, N.Y. A frequent Nicklaus rival, Arnold Palmer, never won the PGA Championship–it was the only major he failed to win. Read the rest of this entry »

The history of golf apparel is peppered with unusual outfits worn by all kinds of personalities over the course of golf’s existence. The casual onlooker observing his first golf match may be thrown off by the distinctive fashion that golfers have.

1700s

The earliest form of golf apparel consisted of animal skins and kilts as a result of the game’s Scottish heritage.

1800s to 1900s

Once the sport became more popular, new golfers modeled the already successful golfers and copied their fashion. A typical golfer would wear a sported tailcoat, as well as knee-high britches over long stockings.

1900 to 1925

Knee-high leggings were thrown out in favor of full-length slacks growing in popularity throughout the first quarter of the nineteenth century.

1950s

Formal jackets slowly found their way out of the sport, and some players replaced their ties with bow-ties. As a result, V-neck sweaters became a popular choice among players in golf.

1960 to 2000s

Golfers entertained their privilege of redefining golf apparel by introducing flashy colors and uncommon color combinations to the sport. Golf fashion became more diverse than ever during this period of time.

Pebble Beach Golf Links in California is considered one of the country’s premier golf sites and is ranked among the top 100 public courses. The course, opened in 1919, was designed by Jack Neville and Douglas Grant and features a coastal backdrop as it sits on the shoreline of the Pacific Ocean.

Samuel F.B. Morse

In 1919, Samuel F.B. Morse created the Del Monte Properties Company and purchased Hotel Del Monte, The Lodge at Pebble Beach and Pebble Beach Golf Links.

Monterey Peninsula Open

In 1926, Pebble Beach Golf Links hosted the Monterey Peninsula Open. The tournament is won by Harry “Light Horse” Cooper, who shot a 5 over par 293 for the four-round tourney. The purse was $5,000.

First Major

The U.S. Amateur was played at Pebble Beach Golf Links in 1929, becoming the first major to be played at the course. Harrison Johnston won the tournament.

The U.S. Open and Amateur Championship

As of 2009, Pebble Beach Golf hosted the U.S. Open Championship, one of professional golf’s premier events, in 1972, 1982, 1992 and 2000. The course also hosted the U.S. Amateur Championship, the premier event for amateur golfers, in 1929, 1947, 1961 and in 1999.

Course Changes Over Time

There have been several alterations to the course layout since the course was opened in 1919. The first change was with the 18th hole par 4, which went from 345 to 379 yards to make it a more challenging hole, soon after the course opened.

The hole was then made into a 548-yard par 5 in 1922, turning it into the one of finest last holes of any golf course in the world.

Greens
In 1929, the Chandler Egan recreated each green with a new shape and new bunkers and retooled about a half a dozen holes.

While its exact origins are unknown, golf is a sport that has been played in countries throughout the world since at least the 1600s. One of the most significant components of the sport–the golf ball–was refined before the current standard was adopted in 1932.

Feathers

One of the first types of golf balls on record, the so-called featherie, was introduced in 1618. It was made of a horsehide or cowhide leather and stuffed with feathers from a goose or chicken. The ball was stitched together. The manufacturing process was elaborate and, for this reason, the ball was expensive.

Later Versions

As time went on, other iterations of the golf ball were introduced. For example, inventor Robert Adams Paterson is credited with creating the gutta ball in 1848. Its name is derived from the material used. Gutta-percha, tapped from a tree in Malaysia, is a milky juice or latex substance.

Modern Standard

The golf ball used in modern golf was introduced in 1932. It was developed after the British Golf Association and United States Golf Association began adopting standards for the sport in their countries. Golf balls today are made with a combination of space-age plastics, silicone and rubber.