Golf
Golf history
How the competition came to look the way it does.
Four rounds, one number
Stroke play displaced match play as the professional standard because it produced a clearer, more televisable result.
Course design has responded to distance gains for over a century, mostly by lengthening and narrowing.
The modern statistical view of the game, built on measuring strokes gained, changed how players and coaches allocate practice.
Season-by-season champions, records and historical tables need a licensed historical data source. Until we have one, this page carries written history only.
