Golf Compendium

Has Tiger Woods be a good playoff player over his career? Yes — in fact, Woods has been great in playoffs. That probably doesn't surprise you. But the fact is, a golfer's overall greatness isn't necessarily an indicator of playoff success: Arnold Palmer's playoff record and Jack Nicklaus' playoff record are both good, but not great. And Ben Hogan had a losing record in playoffs .

Who holds the record for most career holes-in-one made on the PGA Tour? How about the LPGA Tour, the European Tour, the Champions Tour?

"Fairways and Greens" is the name of a golf game that can be played by an group of golfers (foursome, threesome, twosome), but it is best played by golfers of similar skill levels. That's because it pays out to the golfer in the group who is best at hitting ... fairways and greens.

Which teams (USA, Europe, Great Britain/Ireland) have posted the biggest blowout wins and suffered the worst losses in the history of the Ryder Cup? In the current era, the biggest blowout is by 10 points: a 10-point margin of victory for the winning side. But earlier in Ryder Cup history, when different formats were used, even bigger blowouts occurred.

The Open de Baleares was a golf tournament on the European Tour from the late 1980s through the mid-1990s. It was played in the Balearic Islands of Spain, and a Spanish legend was the event's biggest winner.

Big Break X: Michigan was the name of the 10th season of the Golf Channel reality/competition television series. As with all other seasons of The Big Break franchise, golfers on the show competed in challenges and matches to advance to the final episode, where a winner was crowned. Or, in the case of Big Break X: Michigan , winners, plural.

Which golfers have pulled off the largest margins of victories (and suffered the biggest losing margins) in Ryder Cup matches? Asked another way, which golfers have had the biggest blowout wins and the worst losses in singles, foursomes and fourballs at the Ryder Cup?

One of the words golfers use and golf fans sometimes hear in match play is "halve." Which, let's be honest, is a weird word! Not "half," but "halve." What does it mean? A halve is a tie.

Who put the "Ryder" in the Ryder Cup? Why is this every-other-year competition, one of the biggest events in golf, named the Ryder Cup? The namesake who seeded the idea of the Ryder Cup happens to have been a man who made his fortune selling ... seeds.

Fred Wampler was a professional golfer whose PGA Tour playing career took place mostly in the 1950s. He won one tour event and had several other near-misses, but, before that, he was a record-setting college golfer.

For decades, the Vardon Trophy was one of the biggest and best-known awards in golf. It was awarded annually by the PGA of America to the golfer who had the lowest season scoring average on the PGA Tour. But the Vardon Trophy is no more — the PGA of America discontinued the award after last giving it out in 2022. But all the past recipients still have their names written in golf history (as well as written below).

Let's say Team Europe and Team USA are playing a hard-fought, very closely contested Ryder Cup. It comes down to the final match, and when that match ends, both teams have the same number of points. It's a tie score. What happens?

In the golf game named Woof or Boo, two golfers are playing a match, with the less-accomplished of the two getting to use his handicap. But that golfer doesn't get his traditional handicap. No, instead he gets to distract his more-accomplished foe at critical moments in the match. He does this by invoking his "woof handicap" or "boo handicap" — literally by shouting "woof!" or "boo!" just as his opponent is about to strike the ball.

The Walker Cup is a biennial (every other year) competition for top amateur men golfers, one team representing Great Britain & Ireland, the other representing the United States. The 2023 Walker Cup was the 49th time the event was played. After Team USA's victory, the overall standings (the tournament dates to 1922) were 39 for the American side, nine wins for Team GB&I, with one tie.

"Dormie" is a term used in match play in golf, and it means that the golfer or side that is leading the match is ahead by the same number of holes as remain to be played. A golfer who is 1-up with one hole to play, for example, is dormie.

The 2023 Ryder Cup was the 44th time this biennial competition was played. It matched a team of male professional golfers representing Europe against one representing the United States, in several forms of match play over three days. It was the first Ryder Cup played in Italy.

The 2022 Presidents Cup is the 14th time this tournament has been played. Following the Team USA victory, the all-time standings are 12 wins for the U.S., one win for Team International, and one tie.

Beatrix Hoyt was the best woman golfer in America in the 1890s. But when the century turned, so did her golf success. Hoyt won three consecutive U.S. Women's Amateur Championships, but her entire golf record happened before she was 21, from age 16 to age 20.

Imagine you are playing a match with money on the line. But it hasn't been your day, and your opponent beats you, 6 and 5. The match is over, yet there are five holes on the golf course you haven't yet played. Do you just walk in to the clubhouse? Wouldn't you rather go ahead and play those remaining holes — and with a chance to win back at least part of the betting amount you just lost to the opponent who beat you 6 and 5?

Below is the list of golfers who were most successful in Ryder Cup play — at least as measured by their total number of matches won. So far in Ryder Cup history, there are nine golfers who have won 20 or more of their matches played.

Which golfers have led the PGA Tour's Scrambling statistic each year? The list is below. But first, let's explain what the Scrambling stat actually tracks.

Total Strokes Gained (officially named "Strokes Gained: Total") is a PGA Tour scoring statistic. It was introduced only in 2016, but has been calculated back to the 2004 season. The Tour's own definition of Total Strokes Gained is this:

On this page, we'll look at the golfers on the PGA Tour who make the most birdies, but we'll consider that question in two different ways. Or, rather in two different PGA Tour statistical categories: Birdie Average and Total Birdies.

Marvin "Bud" Ward was an American golfer who won big amateur titles in the 1930s and 1940s, including two U.S. Amateur Championships. He later turned pro and won multiple state and regional pro tournaments, but never played on the PGA Tour. He was a legend in his time in his home region, the Pacific Northwest.

In the history of the Solheim Cup, which golfer has won the most matches? Two golfers share the record, and those two are both from Team Europe.

The Hennessy Ladies Cup was a top tournament on the Ladies European Tour in the first couple decades of that tour's existence. It was first played in France before moving to Germany.

Hitting a "banana ball" is something no golfer wants to do. You might even say that the banana ball is a golf shot that is very, ahem (forgive us) una peel ing. That's because a banana ball is a very bad slice.

Who holds the record for most losses in Solheim Cup singles matches? Which golfer has suffered the most singles defeats in the biennial Team USA vs. Team Europe competition?