Golf Timeline
Welcome to the Golf Timeline, a year-by-year look at the major developments in the history of golf from 1452 to the present day. Look below the "Sponsored Links" to get started.

Related Resources • Golf History Homepage • Golf Trivia Quizzes

Our timeline includes major changes in equipment and rules; births and deaths of prominent golfers; major championship winners for men and women, amateur championship winners, money leaders, scoring leaders, results of team competitions and other highlights from each year listed.

If you're interested in browsing, clicking the "Random Year" link is a great way to start. Otherwise, use the pulldown menus to find a specific year.

Choose a Year from these Menus:

Up to 1900 Select a Year Pre-17th Century 1600s 1700s 1800-1850 1851-1860 1861-1865 1866-1870 1871-1875 1876-1880 1881-1885 1886-1888 1889-1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900		1901-1940 Select a Year 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940
1941-1980 Select a Year 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980		1981 to Present Select a Year 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

Note About Sources
There were dozens and dozens - perhaps hundreds - of sources consulted while compiling the Golf Timeline (and new sources continue to be found); most were individual newspaper or magazine articles that led to a single addition to the timeline.

However, several sources deserve special mention, for this timeline would have been close to impossible without them. Those sources include James M. Lane's golf timeline available in the Wikipedia; historical articles and information from the United States Golf Association, Royal & Ancient Golf Association, PGA of America and Ladies Professional Golf Association; and media guides from the PGA Tour, Champions Tour, LPGA Tour and European PGA Tour. Many thanks to these sources and organizations for their invaluable assistance.