usga

The United States Golf Association (USGA) is the United States' national association of golf courses, clubs and facilities and the governing body of golf for the U.S. and Mexico. Together with the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews (R&A), the USGA produces and interprets the rules of golf. The USGA also provides a national golf handicaphandicap system for golfers, organises several leading golf championships, and tests golf equipment for conformity with regulations. It is currently lead by Executive Director David B. Fay, and President Fred S. Ridley.

Competitions organised by the USGA - The USGA organises or co-organises the following competitions:

Open championships - An "open" golf championship is one which both professionals and amateurs may enter. In practice, such events are always won by professionals nowadays. The two leading opens in the U.S. are:

U.S. Open (golf)U.S. Open - no age restrictions (upper or lower). Established 1895, one of the major championships.

U.S. Women's Open Championship (golf)U.S. Women's Open - females, no age restrictions (upper or lower). Established 1946, administered by the USGA since 1953, one of the women's majors.The USGA also runs a senior open for men which is part of the Champions Tour schedule. Although a Women's Senior Golf Tour has existed since 2001, the USGA has not yet created a Senior Women's Open.

U.S. Senior Open - men 50 or older, established 1980.

Individual amateur championships - Professional golf in the U.S. is mainly run by the PGA of America, the PGA Tour and the LPGA. However, the USGA is at the heart of amateur golf in the country and it organises the ten national amateur championships. The leading events are open to all age groups, but are usually won by golfers in their early twenties who are working towards a career in professional tournament golf:

U.S. Amateur Championship - men (boys may enter too), established 1895.

U.S. Women's Amateur - girls may enter too, established 1895.There are two tournaments for under eighteens:

U.S. Junior Amateur - boys, established 1948

U.S. Girls' Junior - established 1949And two for senior golfers:

USGA Senior Amateur - men 55 or older, established 1955

USGA Senior Women's Amateur - women 50 or older, established 1962Because the two non-age restricted amateur championships are dominated by future professionals, two national championships have been established for "career amateurs" at least 25 years old:

U.S. Mid-Amateur - men, established 1981

U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur - established 1987There are also two events for "public links" golfers. Members of private golf clubs are excluded from these championships:

U.S. Amateur Public Links - established 1922

U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links - established 1977

State team championships - The USGA's two amateur state team championships are played biennially in odd numbered years. They were both established in 1995. College golfers are not eligible for the three player teams.

USGA Men's State Team Championships

USGA Women's State Team Championships

International team competitions - The USGA and The R&A co-organise two biennial amateur team competitions between the United States and a joint team representing United KingdomGreat Britain and Republic of IrelandIreland:

Walker Cup - 10-man teams, played in odd-numbered years

Curtis Cup - 8-woman teams, played in even-numbered years Through its membership of the International Golf Federation the USGA is involved in the administration of the two "World Amateur Team Championships", which are played biennially in even-numbered years.

Eisenhower Trophy - for men

Espirito Santo Trophy - for women

United States Golf Association
The ruling body of golf in the US.
http://www.usga.org

Golf Handicap Information Network
Online handicap computation service and registry. Utilizes the United States Golf Association handicap system.
http://www.ghin.com/

Golfweb
PGA tour's official site. Tournament scores, statistics, and biographies. Course directory and reviews, travel, and instruction sections.
http://www.golfweb.com/