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Golf is a game of Rules, so start with The R&A, which used to stand for the Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews but is now a much broader sobriquet. The USGA and the R&A work in collaboration to govern the sport worldwide, which includes one set of Rules for playing, equipment standards, amateur status and the administration of the World Handicap System. Each of the two governing bodies runs a series of championships – 15 in the case of the USGA. The most prominent of these are the U.S. Open and U.S. Women’s Open for the USGA, and the Open Championship and AIG Women’s Open, aka the “British” Opens, for The R&A.
Those majors are augmented by national championships for golfers at every stage of the game: junior, senior, mid-amateur, and those with disabilities. The USGA and The R&A also conduct two biennial international team matches, and the USGA Green Section works closely with golf course superintendents and facilities to provide innovative solutions and research.
Speaking of majors, ANGC (Augusta National Golf Club) runs the first men’s major of the season, the Masters Tournament, and the PGA of America operates the second major, the PGA Championship, as well as the KPMG Women’s PGA (the latter in tandem with the LPGA Tour). The PGA of America (not the PGA Tour) also handles the Ryder Cup when it takes place on U.S. soil – the PGA European Tour takes charge “when in Rome,” or anywhere in Europe, for that matter. Beyond the above competitions, the PGA of America’s main emphasis is representing the 29,000 club professionals around the country who give lessons, manage the golf shop, organize club events, and so much more.
As far as places to play, the organizations involved are interdependent and self-explanatory. The ASGCA (American Society of Golf Course Architects) owes a debt of gratitude first to the GCBAA (Golf Course Builders Association of America) and later the GCSAA (Golf Course Superintendents Association of America).
And all three of those groups want to stay in the good graces of the NGCOA (National Golf Course Owners Association). Meanwhile, the whole industry is monitored by the NGF (National Golf Foundation), which measures everything from the number of course openings and closings, to rounds played to average green fees.
Then there are those who play for pay, the men of the PGA Tour, who strive to climb the OWGR (Official World Golf Ranking), and the women of the LPGA Tour, whose results are measured by the Rolex Women’s World Rankings. Each tour runs all of the events on their calendars, except for the majors noted above. Their players, no doubt, are all striving to eventually reach the WGHOF (World Golf Hall of Fame).
They can’t all make the Hall of Fame, of course, but anyone who wants to can join their local Allied Golf Association (AGA), with all the benefits and privileges that entails.