Golf Compendium

R.H. Sikes was a golfer on the PGA Tour who played in the 1960s and 1970s. Before that, as an amateur golfer, he won two USGA national championships as well as the NCAA Championship.

The Madrid Open was a professional golf tournament played in Spain over the course of 40 years, from the late 1960s into the 2000-aughts. It predated the formation of the modern European Tour, but was part of the European Tour from that circuit's launch in 1972.

Dots is the name of a golf game in which the players earn points (called dots) for each of a series of achievements made during the round. At the end of the round, the golfer with the most dots on her scorecard is the winner.

How many holes-in-one have been made by golfers in the Presidents Cup? The answer might surprise you.

There are five golfers in Presidents Cup history who top the list of golfers with the most appearances in the tournament, and also the list of golfers who played the most matches in the competition. And they even appear in the same order on both lists.

Louis Tellier was a French golfer who emigrated to the United States in the mid-1910s. Although he won no big tournaments in France, the French Golf Federation calls him "one of the most important French golfers of the early 20th century." That's because Tellier was the first golfer from France to win in America on the circuit that grew into the modern PGA Tour. Tragically, Tellier took his own life at age 35, dying on the Boston-area golf course where he was the head pro.

The Scandinavian TPC Hosted by Annika was a 72-hole, professional golf tournament played in Sweden. Part of the Ladies European Tour schedule, it was played from the mid-1990s until the late 2000-aughts, with Sorenstam's name added to the event title in the latter stages.

"24-Second Clock" is the name of a game that, several times in a round, gives a golfer who hits a poor shot the opportunity to replay that shot without penalty. The catch? They have to retrieve their original shot, place it back where it was, and play the new stroke all within 24 seconds.

The phrases "in relation to par," "scoring in relation to par," "relative to par," and "scoring relativeto par" pop up with regularity in the golf world. If you're not sure what they mean — or why it matters — read on for an explanation.

"Disaster" is the name of a golf game or side wager within a group of golfers, in which the players "earn" points for doing things golfers try to avoid (for example, 3-putting). The goal is to end the round with the fewest "Disaster points" (just like in regular stroke play, in the Disaster game the low score wins).

Wally Ulrich was a pro golfer beginning in the late 1940s, but before that, as an amateur, he won the national collegiate championship. As a pro, he played on the PGA Tour full-time during a roughly 10-year stretch, his one tour victory happening in 1954.

The basics of the golf game named Irons Only are right there in the name of the game. This game requires the golfers playing to only use their irons to play shots from anywhere other than the putting green.

The Kansas City Open was a men's professional golf tournament played on the PGA Tour from the late 1940s to the late 1950s. It was a 72-hole, stroke-play tournament. It took place in the Greater Kansas City, Missouri, area, although several times on the Kansas side of the border.

Hollywood is the name of a game in which four golfers pair off into two sides (2-vs.-2), and then change partners after every six holes. That way, each golfer partners each other golfer for six holes over an 18-hole round: one round, three partners.

William (Bill) Hyndman III was a lifelong amateur golfer from Pennsylvania who once beat Jack Nicklaus in U.S. Amateur match play, but never actually won the U.S. or British Amateur titles. He did win dozens of other important amateur tournaments, represented the United States numerous times in international team events, and once hit what Bobby Jones said was "the greatest clutch shot" he ever saw. And when he finally did win a USGA championship, Hyndman set a record as oldest USGA champion.

The largest margin of victory in any foursomes match played in the Solheim Cup is 6-and-5. And that score has been registered five times so far.

The largest winning margin in any fourball match at the Solheim Cup is 7-and-5. That score has been recorded twice. And it means that the winning side ended the match after just 13 holes.

What are the biggest margins of victory in singles matches at the Solheim Cup? The largest winning margin in a Solheim Cup singles match is 8-and-7.

"Gritty par" can be either a slang expression for a specific type of golf score, or it can refer to a type of side game (side bet) played by golfers. In either case, though, it is really just a synonym of sandie/sandy.

The 2026 Presidents Cup will be the 16th time this tournament is played. Played on an every-other-year basis, it was first contested in 1994. Today, it takes place in even-numbered years. The Presidents Cup is a team, match-play tournament, between two squads:

Helen Holm was one of the top British golfers of her era, winning the British Women's Amateur twice in the 1930s. But she also reached the championship match of the Scottish Women's Amateur 10 times, winning half of them. Today, a major U.K. women's amateur tournament is named in her honor.