Woods was a child prodigy who began to play golf at the age of two. In 1978, he putted against comedian Bob Hope in a television appearance on The Mike Douglas Show. At age three, Woods shot a 48 over nine holes at the Navy Golf Club in Cypress, California, and at age five, he appeared in Golf Digest and on ABC’s That’s Incredible.

At the age of 15 Tiger Woods became the youngest U.S. Junior Amateur Open Champion in golf history. He would go on to win the tournament three more times making him the events only multiple winner as well as the youngest. Continuing his record breaking career, Woods was the youngest to win the U.S. Amateur Championship which bought him a ticket into the PGA Masters. He tied for 41st making him the only amateur to make the cut.

His professional career has been just as prolific. Immediately upon turn pro, Tiger signed endorsement deals worth $60 million with Nike and Titleist. He played his first round of professional golf at the Greater Milwaukee Open. He tied for 60th place in his pro debut, but would go on to win two events in the next three months, and qualify for the Tour Championship.

Tiger Woods is the only golfer to win the PGA Player of the Year award in the year following his rookie season. The following April, Woods won his first golf major, The Masters, by a record margin of 12 strokes, became the youngest Masters winner, and the first winner of African or Asian descent.

He eventually set a total of 20 Masters records and tied 6 others, and has been the highest-profile golfer in the world ever since. He would go on to win an additional three PGA Tour events that year, and on June 15, 1997, Woods rose to the number one spot in the Official World Golf Rankings for the first time. Tiger Woods achieved this in only his 42nd week as a professional the fastest ever ascent to the No. 1 ranking.

Currently ranked #1 in the world, theres no doubt about it that Tiger Woods is one of the greatest golfers of all time. He has made the game of golf fun again as we all watch to see him continue to break records and win tournaments.

Many people think that the U.S. Open was the first open championship to be founded, but that just isnt true. The British Open was being played 35 years before the United States got in on the open tournament phenomenon. Since the turn of the century, the British Open has included amateurs from all countries. The U.S. Open is currently trying to make a move towards this trend, but for years, The British Open has been known as The World Open.

Originally designed as a way for unknown golfers to make a name for themselves, the opens have long been touted as the greatest chance an amateur has for worldwide fame and fortune as a professional golfer. The British Open was the first tournament to bring forth this amazing idea, and golfers all over the world became excited at the prospect of becoming a pro.

The British Open is one of the four major golf tournaments of the year and winning it is a great honor. Just as with the U.S. Open, it is one of the championships that tournament professionals strive to achieve and wear the honor with pride. However, amateurs should beware. Because the British Open is an open event, the pros can play too.

The last time an amateur won a British Open was back in 1930 when American legend Bobby Jones won with an overall score of 291. Since that time, there have been many amateurs who have made good showings, but as far as winning the open, that hasnt happened in quite some time.

To qualify for the British Open, you must strive for one of the 156 places that are available. Most of the field of players has achieved entry into the open through exemptions by playing well throughout the year on the tour. The rest of the field has won qualifying rounds in local events that lead them to the big show and perhaps the chance of the lifetime!

The British Open just like the U.S. Open is a wonderful way for excellent amateur golfers to break into the professional circuit by doing what they love playing the game of golf. The British Open has a long and storied history and while considered one of the major events in the PGA, still holds a bit of mystery and hope for those who dream of a life as a PGA professional.

The Skins Game differs from most PGA tour golf tournaments for several reasons. First, only four golfers are invited to the tournament and the golfers play to win individual holes or skins in a match play format.

Each hole is assigned a different monetary value and the golfer who has the lowest score on the hole wins the money for that hole. In the event that two or more golfers tie (which is called halving) on a hole, the skin money carries over to the next hole. If two or more golfers would happen to halve the final hole, a playoff begins until one golfer wins the hole outright.

The Skins Game has a long tradition for being highly competitive, but also very fun both to play and to watch. In 2001, the player winning a hole outright had to tie or win the next hole to collect his skins from the previous hole. This was very tough to do. Greg Norman was the only golfer that could back up his win on the previous hole. He won the 17th and tied for low on the 18th to collect $800,000 which was the largest skin ever collected for one hole. He would go on to win $200,000 in a playoff to win the entire $1 million dollar prize money.

In the 2004 Skins Game, the first six holes were worth $25,000 a piece. Holes 7 through 12 were worth $50,000 each. 13 through 17 were valued at $70,000 a pop, and the 18th hole known as the Super Skin carried a value of $200,000.

Fred Couples is given the nickname of Mr. Skins because of his dominance in the Skins Game. He has won $3,515,000 and 77 skins in 11 appearances. He has won five of the Skins Games overall.

You can conduct your own skins game when playing golf. Of course, your holes wont be valued quite as high as the pros are, but you can sure have a blast as you compete to see who can become your own clubs Mr or Ms Skins.

Dedicated to the promotion of the game of golf everywhere, the American Professional Golfers Association (PGA) can trace its origins back to 1916 when a group of New York area golf professionals, accompanied by several prominent amateur golfers attended a luncheon hosted by department store magnate Rodman Wanamaker. The purpose of the gather was to discuss forming a national organization to promote interest in the game of golf.

The PGAs first order of business was to establish the organizations objectives. The members agreed to the following:

* Promote interest in the game of golf
* Elevate the standards of the golf professionals vocation
* Protect the mutual interest of its members
* Hold meetings and tournaments for the benefit of members
* Assist desesrving unemployed members to obtain positions
* Establish a benevolent relief fund for deserving members
* Accomplish any other objective which may be determined by the Association from time to time

The first PGA Championship tournament was held in October of 1916 at the Siwanoy Country Club in Bronxville, NY. Jim Barnes defeated Jock Hutchison. Wanamaker honored his pledge and donated a prize purse of $2,580 and the trophy which today still bears his name.
When the PGA of America was formed, there was no distinction between club and touring professionals. As the PGA began to develop and promote tournaments, it became easier for the touring professionals to devote their efforts to just playing toumaments and exhibitions. In 1968, PGA tournament players, who comprised a small percentage of the membership, broke away from the Association to form a Tournament Players Division and acquire more control of the tournament schedule.
In 1975, the Tournament Players Division was renamed the PGA Tour. Today, the PGA Tour is headquartered in Ponte Vedra, Fla. The PGA Tour and the PGA of America maintain a close working relationship, and most professional golfers maintain dual membership in the organizations.
The PGA of America conducts more than 30 tournaments for its members and apprentices. Through a network of 41 section offices, the Association maintains a total commitment to the club professional, helping the membership meet the demands of today’s marketplace and addressing vital issues such as pace of play, environmental concerns and accessibility.
Since 1916, the PGA of America has established new standards of excellence by expanding educational opportunities, programs and services for its members. However, the Association stands firm and continues to flourish on the principles that were set down by its founders.

Golfers constantly monitor the weather and if the temperature is over 50 degrees, we wonder what shape the course is in. We have The Weather Channel website as number one on our favorites list and check it daily. The ten day forecast is our friend as we plan out our golfing days based on the weather.

We wear the label of golfers with pride and it is reflected in our clothing, our vehicles, and the items we use to decorate our desks. Golfers want the world to know that they love golf and they are not ashamed to admit it and put it out there for everyone to see.

The Golf Channel is a necessary part of television for all golfers. If our cable package doesnt contain The Golf Channel, we switch cable carriers. If they charge for The Golf Channel, we gladly shell out whatever price they ask with no questions.

On Saturdays and Sundays during golf season, golfers are watching whatever tournament is on television that week. That is, after weve already played a round or two. We know that the Masters is one of the most important PGA Tour events, but we also know that its just as much fun to watch the Pebble Beach Celebrity Pro-Am as well.

Golfers always know what the new driver is that has been released by Callaway and we often have heated conversations about whether to use a balata ball or a noodle. Golfers always have golf tees in their pockets and we dont often take them out before the clothes are washed thus wreaking havoc with our washers and dryers.

Golfers know how Freddie Couples swings through on his chip shot. We know that Jim Furyk has a great back swing and that John Daly can drive the ball 400 yards pretty consistently. Golfers can tell you what year Arnold Palmer won his first major and how old Tiger was when he turned pro.

Yes, golfers are a specific breed with their own quirks and personalities. But golfers are proud of who they are and will never apologize for their obsession with golf. Golfers know that golf is a way of life not just something you do.

In 1990, cable and cellular entrepreneur Joseph Gibbs of Birmingham, Alabama, offered to host a professional golfer for the 1990 PGA Championship. Mr. Gibbs was ecstatic to learn he would be hosting Arnold and Winnie Palmer during the week of the tournament. A friendship was instantly born and as the friendship blossomed so did the discussion of a 24-hour cable network devoted entirely to golf.

After conducting a Gallup survey to determine public interest, Joe Gibbs was pleased to realize that there was a strong interest for a golf channel among the general public. The successful entrepreneur and the golf legend were convince that The Golf Channel would flourish with offerings for the golf-loving viewer.

By 1995, the new corporation had raised over $80 million to finance and launch The Golf Channel. It debuted with less than 1,000 cable subscribers. The Golf Channels first live televised tournament was the Dubai Desert Classic which debuted on January 19, 1995.

Since then, The Golf Channel has grown by leaps and bounds in popularity. Many cable and satellite dish systems now carry The Golf Channel as part of their regular lineup of channels. It is now broadcast in Japan and Canada and in 1999, reached a break even status on their financial statements.

Today, The Golf Channel is considered the place to go for golf news and programming. They have a daily golf news show called Golf Central along with College Central which is dedicated to college golf. They air highlight shows of past tournaments and have many programs with professionals handing out golf tips to the eager viewer.

Not to be left behind with the reality TV phenomenon, The Golf Channel has joined in with their reality-based program called The Big Break. This program was designed to help aspiring professionals gain exemptions into PGA Tour and LPGA events. It has proven to be wildly successful.

In 2005, The Golf Channel helped set up a special match play event called Big Stakes Golf, in which teams of two paid a $100,000 entry fee to play in a special tournament where the winning team split a $3,000,000 first-place prize, the largest in golf history. In the end, mini-tour professionals Garth Mulroy and David Ping won the grand prize.

Two guys had a dream one with business savvy, and one with golf savvy and when The Golf Channel was born, that dream became a reality. Many households depend on The Golf Channel for their daily golf news and this authors household is no different. We love The Golf Channel and you will too!

Most instructors claim to be teaching a release but in reality they’re just teaching a manipulation of one form or another.  While rolling the arms and un-cocking the wrists are both important, there are better ways of approaching the ball.

Many manipulations are overdone and exaggerated so that the clubface is closed at impact; this is just as bad as when it is open at impact.  A golfer will then no doubt hook rather than slice.

Notice what an anonymous writer had to say about why golf may be popular among sports fans today, as quoted on www.GolfExpert.com:

“Golf is an honorable game, with the overwhelming majority of players being honorable people who don’t need referees.

Golfers don’t have some of their players in jail every week.

Golfers don’t kick dirt on, or throw bottles at, other people.

Professional golfers are compensated in direct proportion to how well they play.

Golfers don’t get per diem and two seats on a charter flight when they travel between tournaments.

Golfers don’t hold out for more money, or demand new contracts, because of another player’s deal.

Professional golfers don’t demand that the taxpayers pay for the courses on which they play.

When golfers make a mistake, nobody is there to cover for them or back them up.

The PGA Tour raises more money for charity in one year than the National Football League (NFL) does in two.

You can watch the best golfers in the world up close, at any tournament, including the majors, all day, every day for $25 or $30 while the cost for a seat in the nosebleed section at the Super Bowl will cost upwards of $300.

You can bring a picnic lunch to the tournament golf course, watch the best in the world and not spend a small fortune on food and drink. Try that at one of the taxpayer funded baseball or football stadiums.

In golf you cannot fail 70% of the time and make $9 million a season, like the best baseball hitters (. 300 batting average) do.

Golf doesn’t change its rules to attract fans.

Golfers have to adapt to an entirely new playing area each week.

Golfers keep their clothes on while they are being interviewed.

Golf doesn’t have free agency.

In their prime, Greg Norman, Arnold Palmer and other stars, would shake your hand and say they were happy to meet you. In his prime Jose Canseco wore T-shirts that read “Leave Me Alone.”

You can hear birds chirping on the golf course during a tournament.

At a golf tournament, (unlike at taxpayer-funded sports stadiums and arenas) you won’t hear a steady stream of four letter words and nasty name calling while you’re hoping that no one spills beer on you.

Tiger Woods can hit a golf ball three times as far as Barry Bonds can hit a baseball.

Golf Courses don’t ruin the neighborhood.”

Whatever your thoughts are about these statements, one thing is sure – golf is a lot harder than it looks!