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USGA


USGA History

The USGA sponsors programs that serve everyone who plays the game. The essential services affect all golfers, whether they are amateurs or professionals, public or private course players.

The United States Golf Association (USGA) has served as the national governing body of golf since its formation in 1894. It is a non-profit organization run by golfers for the benefit of golfers.

More than 9,000 private and public golf courses, clubs and facilities comprise the USGA.

An Executive Committee of 15 volunteers, the organization’s policy-making board, oversees the Association. More than 1,400 volunteers from all parts of the country serve on other USGA committees. All donate their services and pay most of their own expenses. A professional staff of approximately 350 directs the Association’s day-to-day functions from Golf House, the USGA’s headquarters in Far Hills, N.J.


USGA History

Historical evidence demonstrates that golf has been played in the United States of America for well over 200 years. Records show that immigrants to America founded a golf club in Charleston, South Carolina, in 1786, although the longest continuing club operation is credited to the St. Andrew’s Golf Club in Yonkers, New York, which was organized in 1888.

In the 1890’s, a dispute arose over the question of a National Amateur Champion. In 1894, St. Andrew’s and Rhode Island’s Newport Golf Club each staged invitational tournaments and each declared its winner to be the National Amateur Champion. The confusion made it clear that an impartial governing body was needed to administer golf, conduct national championships and oversee the codification and interpretation of the game’s rules, as well as Rules of Amateur Status.

The formation of the United States Golf Association (USGA) was the end result of a December 22, 1894, meeting of delegates in New York City from Newport, St. Andrew’s, Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, The Country Club (Brookline, MA) and the Chicago Golf Club. Theodore A. Havemeyer was elected as the USGA’s first president.

Dedicated to the promotion and conservation of the best interests in golf, the USGA is guided by its 15 member Executive Committee, which is the organization’s policymaking board and represents more than 9,700 member clubs, courses and training facilities. More than thirty committees, comprised of approximately 1,200 men and women volunteers, augment the Executive Committee. All donate their services and pay their own expenses.


USGA Championships

The USGA’s championships began in this country in October 1895, with the first playing of the U.S. Amateur. The first U.S. Open was played the next day. Both championships were played at Newport. One month later, the USGA conducted the first U.S. women’s Amateur at the Meadow Brook Club in Hempstead, N.Y.

The 13 national championships conducted by the United States Golf Association are:

  • U.S. Open Championship
  • U.S. Women’s Open Championship
  • U.S. Senior Open Championship
  • U.S. Amateur Championship
  • U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship
  • U.S. Junior Amateur Championship
  • U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship
  • U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship
  • U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship
  • U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship
  • U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship
  • USGA Senior Amateur Championship
  • USGA Senior Women’s Amateur Championship

(The USGA also operates the State Team Championships, conducted for teams of men and women from around the country and held biennially in odd-numbered years.)

In cooperation with the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews, Scotland, the USGA conducts the Walker Cup, a biennial competition between teams of male amateur golfers, the United States of America on one side and Great Britain and Ireland on the other. Similarly, since 1932, the USGA, with the British Ladies Golf Union, conducts the Curtis Cup Match, played between teams of women amateur golfers. The USGA conducts both championships when they are played in this country.


Rules

The USGA and The R&A write and interpret The Rules of Golf to safeguard the tradition and integrity of the game.

In May 1951, representatives from governing bodies of golf in Great Britain, Australia, Canada and the United States of America met in London to develop a worldwide, uniform code of The Rules of Golf.

An Agreement between The R&A and the USGA provides that the Rules may be amended only every four years.


Handicapping

The USGA Handicap System TM allows golfers of different abilities to enjoy competing against one another on relatively equal terms. It is one of the few sports or games that provides this opportunity.


Green Section

For many years the USGA has been dedicated to improving the playing conditions of golf courses in the United States. The USGA Green Section was created in 1920 to conduct research and to collect and distribute information about the proper maintenance and upkeep of golf courses to member clubs and courses.

The USGA employs 18 skilled agronomists who make annual visits to more than 1,800 golf courses. These experts offer recommendations that help improve golf course maintenance and make it more cost-efficient.

The USGA Green Section Construction Education Program develops educational materials and seminars related to green construction and golf course construction issues. It also publishes the Green Section Record, a bimonthly magazine devoted to turf grass and golf course maintenance issues.


Research and Test Center

The USGA continually tests golf equipment for conformity to the Rules. Without such rigorous equipment testing and research programs, advances in technology could soon overtake skill as the major factor in success. The USGA works in cooperation with the R&A on matters of equipment in order to develop worldwide, uniform standards. The USGA’s Research and Test Center, one of the most sophisticated and technically advanced golf equipment test facilities in the country, is located at its headquarters in Far Hills.


Amateur Status

The Rules of Amateur Status reinforce the fundamental idea that an amateur is one who plays solely for the enjoyment of the game, without financial benefit.

Amateurism remains the highest ideal f the USGA, which actively pursues its obligation to support the Rules of Amateur Status. The rigid distinction between amateurs and professionals has been vital to the preservation of the unique character of golf.


Regional Affairs

In its role as the national governing body of golf, the USGA cooperates closely with local, state and regional golf associations on matters of common interest. The steady growth and stabilization of these golf associations has been a proactive and satisfying trend in recent years. One example of how the USGA and these associations work closely is the administration of some 800 local and sectional qualifying rounds annually for the USGA’s national championships. These golf officials conduct USGA qualifying rounds in addition to supervising their own local and statewide competitions.


Museum and Archives

To help preserve the game’s heritage, the USGA collects and displays golf artifacts, memorabilia, books and artwork at the USGA Museum and Archives called Golf House, in Far Hills, N.J. This facility has served as caretaker of the game’s history in the United States since the first item was accessioned into the collections in 1936. Following a three year renovation and the addition of a new wing, the Arnold Palmer Center for Golf History, Golf House reopened on June 3, 2o08. The Arnold Palmer Center for Golf History is a state-of-the art facility where stories of the greatest champions and championship moments in USGA history will be told.


Members Program

The USGA Members Program was founded in 1975 for the purpose of being the direct link between the USGA and the individual golfer. Currently the program has more than 900,000 golfers. In addition, the Members Program gives the individual an opportunity to assist the USGA in its efforts to preserve and promote the game. As Members, one receives many benefits including their own personal copy of “The Rules of Golf,” U.S. Open Golf hat and bag tag. (For information, call 1 (800) 223-0041 or visit www.members.usga.org


Ensuring Golf’s Future

The USGA Grants & Fellowship Program funds a variety of junior golf, caddie, physically challenged, and education programs that foster the notion that golf is a game for everyone.

The USGA has committed more than $59 million since 1996 to support programs that operate in the best interests of the game.

For more information contact:
The United States Golf Association
77 Liberty Corner Road
Far Hills, NJ 07931-0708
Phone (908) 234-2300; Fax (908) 234-9687
www.usga.org