Golf Compendium

Alexa Stirling, also known as Alexa Fraser and Alexa Stirling Fraser, was one of the best players in women's golf in the late 1910s to the early 1930s. A childhood friend of Bobby Jones, she won three U.S. Women's Amateur Championships.

The 1950 Curtis Cup was the sixth time this tournament was played, and the fifth time it was won by the United States. Following the result, the all-time standings were five wins for the USA, none for Great Britain & Ireland, with one tie.

Have you heard of the Red Tee Rally? It's a golf format. Two golf formats, actually: One game that goes by the named Red Tee Rally is a quick(er) and quirky version of a skins game. A second format called Red Tee Rally is a closer-to-standard association, league or playday format. In both versions, though, the common theme is golfers play all holes from the red tees (meaning the forward tees) and the competition is over nine holes rather than 18.

The 1948 Curtis Cup was the fifth time this competition was played, but, due to World War II, the first time since 1938. Following Team USA's victory, the all-time standings to this point were four wins for the United States, none for Great Britain & Ireland, with one tie.

The 1938 Curtis Cup was the fourth time this tournament was played. Following the USA's victory, the all-time standing was three wins for the United States and none for Great Britain, with one tie.

The 1936 Curtis Cup was the third time this tournament was played. Following the tie score here, the all-time standing was two wins for the United States and none for Great Britain, with one tie.

Some things never change. For example, complaining about the pernicious effects of new equipment on golf and, specifically, golf courses. Even Bobby Jones complained. The sainted Jones once proposed that the Haskell ball be rolled back and replaced with ... gutties!

The 1934 Curtis Cup was the second time the event was held and the first time it was played in the United States. Following Team USA's win here, the United States held a 2-0 lead over Team Great Britain in the series.

The 1932 Curtis Cup was the inaugural match in the Curtis Cup tournament's history, pitting teams of amateur women golfers representing Great Britain and the United States.

Vic Ghezzi was a winner on the PGA Tour in the 1930s and 1940s, including one major championship, and is still considered by many today the best male golfer out of New Jersey.

I was looking at this list of yearly sand save leaders on the PGA Tour earlier, and a thought occurred to me: Just how bad was Jack Nicklaus out of the sand?

The PGA Grand Slam of Golf was an exhibition "tournament" with a field of four golfers staged annually from the late 1970s through the early 2010s by the PGA of America. Those four golfers were the year's four major championship winners, or alternates.

Which golfers have won the Player of the Year Award on the Ladies European Tour? The full list is below. The full name of this award is "The Player's Player of the Year Award" because it is based on a vote of LET member golfers.

Which golfers have been named Rookie of the Year on the Ladies European Tour? The full list of those winners is below, and it includes many familiar names.

Jo Ann Washam played on the LPGA Tour in the 1970s and '80s and, in addition to several wins, holds another distinction: She was the first golfer in LPGA history to score two aces in the same tournament.

What is a "bail-out area" on a golf course? First, let's explain what a "bail out" or "bail-out shot" is: Those terms refer to, for example, when a golfer plays well to the left because there is trouble on the right side of the hole. A "bail-out area" is a part of a golf hole that is specifically designed to provide the option of playing away from trouble.

The Bob Jones Award is presented annually by the United States Golf Association and is the USGA's highest award. It is given to an individual "who demonstrates the spirit, personal character and respect for the game exhibited by Jones." That would be Bobby Jones, of course.

The Founders Award is handed out annually by the LPGA Tour to one its golfers who, in the estimation of her peers, exemplifies "the spirit, ideals and values of the LPGA."

The Glens Falls Open was a pro golf tournament, now classified as a PGA Tour event, played in New York eleven times, mostly in the 1930s.

If you're anything more than an infrequent recreational golfer, you've probably, at some point, visited a driving range that requires golfers to hit off artificial turf mats rather than real grass. And you might have heard that hitting shots off golf mats rather than real grass can change the specs of your irons — specifically loft and lie. Is that true?

Walter Burkemo was a major championship winner in golf, but also the answer to a trivia question: In 1953, when Ben Hogan won three of the four majors, who won the fourth?