Last updated on May 10th, 2021
41. The longest drive ever recorded was made by Michael Hoke Austin, an English-American pro golfer. He drove 515 yards during the 1974 U.S. National Seniors Tournament.
42. On February 2, 2017, the world witnessed Australia’s Brett Stanford sink a putt on Point Walter Golf Course’s 5th fairway. The ball traveled 395 feet (120.6 meters) before sinking into the hole. It is the longest golf putt (non-tournament).
43. Tiger Woods is the PGA Tour pro with the most number of wins at 82. However, he is not the only one who holds this record. Way before him, Sam Snead (also of the U.S.), also clinched 82 PGA Tour wins. Unlike Woods, however, Snead never won the U.S. Open.
44. The most expensive club ever sold ($181,000) is also the oldest verified club. The Long-Nosed Putter club was manufactured by Andrew Dickson and features his stamp. It was made in the 1700s – a feature that was verified – making it the world’s most valuable golf club.
45. Golf is often referred to as a gentleman’s game because golfers play using a set of pre-agreed etiquette. The first rule of etiquette among players is the safety of other golfers. Players, for example, are expected to fix ball marks and divots on the green, not just to for aesthetic purposes but to keep the greens in good condition for other players as well.
46. Golf is not a game for the budget-conscious. The average cost in a public course for the basic 18-hole round is $36, which includes the cart rental. Municipal courses are cheaper while private clubs tend to be costlier. Green fees differ depending on the time of day, the season, and the location. Eighteen-hole courses could charge from $25 to over $150. In some courses, there are charges for motor carts and advanced tee times.
47. The cost of a set of golf clubs can set a newbie by about $1500. Although individual golf clubs are affordable, a serious player usually needs 12 to 14 types of clubs in one bag. Although a golfer technically only needs just one club to play, he/she will need different club types during the game.
48. Before 1939, golfers carried as many as 30 clubs to accommodate different shots in a game. This changed when steel-shafted clubs were developed and the 14 club rule was introduced. Clubs had names like spoons, niblicks, lofting, and mashie. The terms have since been replaced by a numbering system.
49. The chances of an average golfer to sink a hole-in-one are 12,000 to 1. The odds are better for a Tour player – it’s 3,000 to 1.
50. Other than the javelin throw, golf is the only sport ever to be played by a human on the moon. Using a six-iron, Alan Shepard, Jr. drove a ball using a one-handed swing on Feb. 6, 1967.
About golf players
As the world’s oldest sports, the history of golf is filled with a rich history. While a lot has happened since its inception, ushering some of the greatest golfers is perhaps what leaves behind the most incredible memories. In celebrating the sport’s past rich history, we’ve compiled a list of 20 Golf players interesting facts that you may not have known:
1. Tiger Woods
Although Tiger’s history is riddled with good and bad times, he’s best remembered for his 15 major championship wins, and 82 were PGA Tour wins that would see him bag the Player of the Year awards ten times. At his best times, Tiger Woods is believed to be a golfer who played golf better than it’s ever been played by any player.
2. Doug Ford
He is nostalgically remembered for not only predicting his victory but also telling the exact scores of 283. His projections were only unique to himself that no other golfer has ever done the same in the history of the game. Many people have joked that he could be the distant cousin of Nostradamus.
3. Greg Norman
He’s remembered for his incredible failures than the successes he recorded, but most importantly, a few can match his 20 career PGA Tour wins and 331 weeks he ruled as the world’s number 1 golfer in the global ranking.
4. Rory McIlroy
As a four-time major champion, Rory Mcllroy is perhaps only a Green Jacket away from joining the league of few players with a career Grand Slam. Many pundits say he’s a kind of golfer with the most upward mobility to have ever graced the golf courses.
5. Vijay Singh
He is known for a tainted career record because of allegations of using performance-enhancing drugs, but he is celebrated for his 34 wins on the PGA Tour, a Masters win and two major championship wins all on his tag.
6. Billy Casper
Billy Casper has 51 PGA Tour event wins and three majors all under his name and was named the seventh all-time golfer. He’s intimately remembered in a game that he denied Palmer his hard-fought win.
7. Ernie Els
Having four major championship wins two of which are British Opens and the others for U.S Opens, Ernie Els is a worthwhile contender of the second-best golfer of the recent times. His swift and smooth swings are envied by many around the world, and they have propelled him to win 19 times during his PGA Tour.
8. Walter Hagen
Known for his flamboyancy, Walter Hagen is the first most successful touring pro that scaled the game higher. As such, he has 11 professional major wins, a record that was to be broken in 1960’s.
9. Nick Faldo
He is remembered for drubbing his chief rival Greg Norman in 1990 British Open showdown and the Masters of 1996. He has 6 major wins, and bagged 30 wins on his European Tour. He is undoubtedly the golfer who has since influenced the five Ryder Cup-winning teams.
10. Lee Trevino
He is undoubtedly a self-made golfer who got more on his name because of the unyielding resilience that saw him win 29 PGA Tour events and 6 majors. He is among the few golfers known to have trounced Nicklaus, the world’s greatest golfer of his times who earned the name of the Golden Bear.
11. Byron Nelson
During 1945, he recorded 11 wins in a row, including the celebrated PGA Tour events. He is the golfer who was crowned as the AP Athlete of the Year and one of the few all-time greatest Golfers the world has ever had for his staggering 28 wins. No other golfer has even come close to winning 18 times in a year, or 11 tournaments in a row.
12. Seve Ballesteros
Two decades before Tiger Woods made his debut in the game, Seve Ballesteros was the youngest player at 19 years who trounced Jack Nicklaus during the 1976 British Open at Royal Birkdale. He denied Tom Watson his third consecutive Open at St. Andrews and is now remembered for putting forward the greatest final rounds the golf history can ever have.
13. Phil Mickelson
He has plenty of successes recording 44 PGA Tour wins that places him 9th all-time best golfer and five majors. One of only 12 men to hold at least three legs of the career Grand Slam and he’s among the only 8 players with as many as three masters wins all in his name.
14. Gene Sarazen
He is the first member of the golf’s modern Career Grand Slam club after his first Masters win that would make a total of three majors after his two U.S open wins. This record stood for 66 years and only four other golfers, including Gary Player, Nicklaus, Ben Hogan, and Tiger Woods have since joined the elite club.
15. Gary Player
He is known for his unprecedented work ethic and fitness that saw him win a whopping 150 tournaments worldwide—9 majors and he’s one of the five only players (Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, and Tiger Woods) to won four golf modern majors and one of the four golfers who boasts of winning the Masters and the British Open three times in a row.
16. Tom Watson
Tom Watson is undoubtedly the only golfer to have dominated the British Open, the game’s oldest tournament longer than any other player in the history of golf having 39 wins in his PGA Tour events that could see him named the 6-time PGA Tour Player of the year.
17. Bobby Jones
He is the golfer known to be the youngest legend to have ruled the field and recorded great accomplishments within the shortest time of the career rand the youngest to have hanged the boots and quit the championships at 28 years.
18. Ben Hogan
Hogan is not just known for his great focus, but most importantly as the shot maker golf has ever had. He used the uncanny skill that made him win 9 majors. He overcame the deadly 1949 car crash to come back to the game only to succumb to a major stroke and cancer.
19. Babe Zaharia
She’s the world’s first female golfer to have made a cut at PGA Tour event that saw her shot 76 and 81 in her first two rounds of the memorable 1945 Los Angeles Open. This record could only be rewritten in 2003 by Annika Sorenstam in her debut in the Bank of America Colonial.