Timeline

Golf history timeline.

The whole history section in one dated table. Rows marked Disputed are dates the sources disagree on; the other versions are given in the row and explained on the linked pages.

Each row gives the date as its source gives it. Where the sources disagree, the row is marked Disputed and the other versions are named. Wikipedia-only rows say so. The pages listed under each heading explain the context.

Before 1800

Date	Event	Source
About 1261	Earliest known Dutch mention of colf, in Jacob van Maerlant's Boeck Merlijn.	Wikipedia
1297 (Disputed)	A colf match at Loenen, widely repeated from van Hengel's account. Britannica (per a search summary) and a Dutch golf-history note say the date is not supported by evidence.	Britannica; golfgeschiedenis.nl
6 March 1457	James II's Act of Parliament bans golf and football: the earliest known written mention of golf in Scotland.	National Library of Scotland
1471 (Disputed) and 1491	The ban is restated. Wikipedia's timeline gives 1470 for the second Act.	National Library of Scotland; Wikipedia
1502	Clubs bought for King James IV at Perth.	National Library of Scotland
1552	Archbishop Hamilton's charter reserves the St Andrews links for golf and other games.	National Library of Scotland
2 March 1672	Sir John Foulis records losing at golf at Musselburgh, the basis of Musselburgh's oldest-course certification.	Golf Magic
About 1687 to 1688	Thomas Kincaid writes the first known golf instructions.	National Library of Scotland
1743	The Goff, the first printed book devoted to golf.	National Library of Scotland
1744	The Gentlemen Golfers of Leith draw up 13 Articles and Laws; John Rattray wins the first Silver Club and is declared Captain on 2 April.	Scottish Golf History; National Library of Scotland
14 May 1754	The Society of St Andrews Golfers holds its first Challenge for the Silver Club, the R&A's founding date.	The R&A
4 October 1764	The Old Course is cut from 22 holes to 18.	Geoff Shackelford
1766 (Disputed)	Earliest firm evidence for Royal Blackheath, a golf prize, according to Scottish Golf History. The club claims 1608.	Scottish Golf History

More on these dates: origins and St Andrews and the R&A.

1800 to 1899

Date	Event	Source
1829	Royal Calcutta Golf Club founded, generally listed as the oldest club outside the UK.	Wikipedia
1834 (Disputed)	King William IV becomes patron and the society becomes the Royal and Ancient Golf Club. A Scottish Places gazetteer page implies an earlier name change; 1834 is the better supported date.	History Hit; Scottish Places
1840s (Disputed)	The gutta-percha ball appears. Wikipedia gives 1848; other sources give 1846, 1849 or 1850.	Smithsonian; Wikipedia; Gary Wiren; Australian Golf Heritage Society; Golf Historical Society of Canada
1856	Pau Golf Club founded in France.	Scottish Golf History
17 October 1860	The first Open, at Prestwick, won by Willie Park Snr.	The Open
1867	The St Andrews Ladies' Golf Club is formed.	St Andrews Ladies' Putting Club
1870 to 1873	Young Tom Morris keeps the Belt outright (1870); no Open in 1871; the Claret Jug is agreed (1872) and first presented to Tom Kidd (1873).	The Open
1873	Royal Montreal Golf Club founded.	Wikipedia
22 February 1888	John Reid and John Upham play a three-hole course at Yonkers; the Saint Andrew's Golf Club is formed on 14 November.	LINKS Magazine
1890	John Ball Jnr becomes the first amateur and first Englishman to win The Open.	The Open
1891	Muirfield opens for the Honourable Company.	Scottish Golf History
1893	The Ladies' Golf Union is founded (per Wikipedia); Lady Margaret Scott wins the first British Ladies Championship.	Wikipedia; George White, NBC Sports
1894	The Open is played in England for the first time, at Royal St George's.	The Open
22 December 1894	The USGA is formed in New York.	History.com
1895 (Disputed)	The first U.S. Amateur, U.S. Open and U.S. Women's Amateur. History.com places them in 1894.	Wikipedia; History.com
1896	John Shippen and Oscar Bunn play the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills.	Mass Golf
September 1897	The R&A Rules of Golf Committee is formed, according to one enthusiast site.	leith-rules-golf.co.uk
1898 to 1899	Coburn Haskell's wound ball is developed; patent issued in April 1899.	LINKS Magazine

1900 to 1959

Date	Event	Source
1900	Golf at the Paris Olympics: Charles Sands and Margaret Abbott win.	International Golf Federation
1904	Golf at the St Louis Olympics: George Lyon wins.	International Golf Federation
20 September 1913	Francis Ouimet wins the U.S. Open at Brookline.	AmateurGolf.com
10 April 1916	The PGA of America is founded; the first PGA Championship follows in October.	History.com
1920	The R&A becomes solely responsible for The Open.	The Open
1922	Walter Hagen becomes the first American-born Open champion.	Wikipedia
1924	The USGA legalises steel shafts.	LINKS Magazine
1926 (Disputed)	The first Negro National Open at Mapledale. Accounts give 1925 or 1926 for the founding of the UGA.	Mass Golf; What It Means to Be American (search summary)
3 to 4 June 1927	The first official Ryder Cup, at Worcester, Massachusetts.	Wikipedia
26 November 1929	The R&A legalises steel shafts.	National Club Golfer
1930	Bobby Jones's Grand Slam.	ESPN
1932	The first Curtis Cup, at Wentworth; Gene Sarazen's sand wedge first used at Prince's.	National Club Golfer; Wikipedia
1934	The PGA of America's Caucasian-only rule is in place.	PBS NewsHour
22 March 1934	The first Augusta National Invitation Tournament, renamed the Masters in 1939.	National Club Golfer; CBS News
1938 (Disputed)	The 14-club limit, announced at the end of 1936, takes effect. Golf Compendium gives 1 January 1938 for the USGA and 1 May 1939 for the R&A.	LINKS Magazine; Golf Compendium
1944	The Women's Professional Golf Association is formed.	George White, NBC Sports
1945	Byron Nelson wins 18 PGA Tour events, 11 in a row.	PGA Tour
1946	The first U.S. Women's Open, at Spokane, won by Patty Berg.	Wikipedia
1948	The PGA invokes its Caucasian-only rule to exclude Bill Spiller and Ted Rhodes from the Richmond Open.	NCGA
1950	The LPGA's first season.	Yahoo Sports
1951	Royal Portrush becomes the first Open venue outside Scotland and England.	Wikipedia
1952	The R&A and USGA agree a Joint Code of rules, according to one enthusiast site.	leith-rules-golf.co.uk
1953	Ben Hogan wins the Masters, U.S. Open and The Open.	The Open
23 March 1959	Karsten Solheim files his putter patent application.	Golf Magic

1960 to 1999

Date	Event	Source
November 1961 (Disputed)	The PGA of America removes the Caucasian-only clause. Mass Golf dates it to about a month after the August 1961 UGA Championship.	NCGA; Mass Golf
1964 (Disputed)	Althea Gibson becomes the first Black woman to join the LPGA. Other accounts give 1963.	WBUR; Picturing Black History
1968 or 1969 (Disputed)	Touring professionals form the Tournament Players Division: late 1968 per Wikipedia, 1969 per The Golf News Net. It is renamed the PGA Tour in 1974.	Wikipedia; The Golf News Net
1969 (Disputed)	Frank Thomas invents the graphite shaft, per Wikipedia; other accounts say 1968. Shown at the January 1970 PGA Merchandise Show.	Wikipedia
12 April 1972	The European Tour's first official event begins.	DP World Tour
10 April 1975	Lee Elder becomes the first Black golfer to play in the Masters.	History.com
1976	The first Women's British Open, at Fulford.	AIG Women's Open
1979	TaylorMade's first metal wood (per Wikipedia, though Wikipedia's general history dates the first metal wood to the early 1980s); continental Europeans join the Ryder Cup side; Seve Ballesteros wins The Open.	Wikipedia; DP World Tour; The Open
1 January 1990	The R&A adopts the 1.68-inch ball, making ball size the same worldwide.	Golf Compendium
1990	The first Solheim Cup, at Lake Nona; the Shoal Creek controversy at the PGA Championship, after which host-club open-membership guidelines follow.	The Golf News Net; Seattle Times
January 1991	Callaway's Big Bertha driver is launched.	Australian Golf Digest
April 1997	Tiger Woods wins the Masters by 12 shots.	Boston Globe

2000 to 2026

Date	Event	Source
2001	Woods completes the "Tiger Slam" at the Masters; Annika Sorenstam shoots the LPGA's first 59.	Boston Globe; NBC Sports
2004	The R&A group of companies is formed to take over the club's governing and championship functions.	The R&A
9 October 2009	The IOC votes golf back into the Olympics for 2016.	International Golf Federation
August 2012	Augusta National admits its first women members.	Free Malaysia Today
18 September 2014	The Royal and Ancient Golf Club votes to admit women.	ABC7 News
August 2016	Golf returns to the Olympics at Rio de Janeiro.	International Golf Federation
2017	The Ladies' Golf Union merges with The R&A (per Wikipedia); Muirfield votes to admit women on 14 March.	Wikipedia; CBS Sports
2019	The first Augusta National Women's Amateur (6 April); Woods wins his 15th major in April and ties Sam Snead's 82 PGA Tour wins on 28 October.	Free Malaysia Today; Boston Globe; CBS News
2020	The Open is cancelled because of COVID-19.	The Open; Wikipedia
2021	The R&A World Golf Museum takes its name; Phil Mickelson becomes the oldest major champion on 23 May.	The R&A; DP World Tour
2022	The European Tour becomes the DP World Tour; the first LIV Golf event ends on 11 June.	Khaleej Times; AP
10 June 2024 (Disputed)	The 13 LPGA founders are inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame. Wikipedia says they were elected in 2023.	Yahoo Sports; Wikipedia
August 2024	Olympic golf at Paris: Scottie Scheffler and Lydia Ko win gold.	NBC Olympics
13 April 2025	Rory McIlroy completes the career Grand Slam at the Masters.	KSAT
May to September 2026	Claire Dowling is nominated (reported 6 May) as the Royal and Ancient Golf Club's first woman captain, to take office at the September driving-in.	The Irish News
17 June 2026	The R&A and USGA say there will be no change to the golf ball Overall Distance Standard until January 2030.	Notice to Manufacturers
19 July 2026	Ryan Fox wins the 154th Open at Royal Birkdale.	The Open

For results of the 2026 season, which was still running on 20 October 2026, see the events section.

Sources

Keep reading

Origins

The 1457 Scottish ban, the earliest records, the oldest-course claims and the Dutch and Chinese theories.

Notable players

Major champions from Old Tom Morris to Rory McIlroy and Nelly Korda, with titles and years.

History

Golf's history from the 1457 Scottish ban to 2026: St Andrews, The Open, golf in America, equipment, the pro game, women's golf, access and the Olympics.