If you are trying to learn how to be a golf master, you must understand the essentials of the game, particularly the big golf competitions that happen every year. Just like a real basketball fan knows about the key NBA games and tournaments, and the Olympic championship game, any faithful golfing fanatic has to be knowledgeable about the most important tournaments.



The US PGA Tour is a collection of games that take place all over America. They last for most of the year and have a wide range of prizes and participants. There are qualifying events which allow you to play in the tour the next year and the actual matches take place throughout the year with major events distributed throughout the year.

The PGA Championship is one of the four big golf contests. It was established in 1916 and has traditionally been thrown on various golf courses across the US. Walter Hagen and Jack Nicklaus together are the record holders for most triumphs at the PGA Championship with five each.

The Open Championship, The Masters, and U.S. Open are three additional major contests that are a part of the PGA Tour. Each competition is unique as far as credentials, playing settings, and rewards. Let's discuss each in turn:

One odd major championship is the Masters. All the others rotate their courses around, but the Masters vehemently refuses to and has been played on the same course (Augusta National Golf Club) since 1934! I guess if it isn't broken don't try and fix it.

If win the Masters then you become and honorary member of the club and get a distinctive green jacket. This jacket has been awarded since 1949 and is highly prized among golfers. They keep it for one year and then give it back to the club who hold it for them to wear whenever they visit. The winner from the year before is supposed to place the jacket on the latest winner.

The US Open is indeed very 'open', it allows experts and gifted amateurs to play and even male and female golfers together. If you have a USGA handicap of not more than 1.4 you can participate in the qualifying rounds. It is held on various courses around the US and has been played since 1895.

The British Open is the oldest of the major tournaments, it was first played in 1860 at the Prestwick Golf Club and is now played all over the UK. When it first started off there was no prize money, you were instead awarded a red leather belt with a silver buckle, that was retired in 1870 when Tom Morris won the championship three times in a row and was allowed to keep it. It was then replaced with the trophy still used today and in 2006 Tiger Woods won it for the third time and received a cash prize of 720,000.