1920's Golf History

1920 The USGA founds its famed Green Section to conduct research on turfgrass. The first practice range is opened in Pinehurst, North Carolina. "The Professional Golfer of America" is first published which, today known as "PGA Magazine", is the oldest continually-published golf magazine in the United States. 1921 The R & A (Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews) limits the size and weight of the ball. 1922 Walter Hagen becomes the first native American to win The Open Championship. He subsequently becomes the first professional golfer to open a golf equipment company under his own name. The Walker Cup Match is instituted. Two direct descendants of Walker Cup founder George Herbert Walker would become President of the United States—his grandson George H. W. Bush, the 41st President, and his great-grandson George W. Bush, the 43rd President. The Prince of Wales is elected Captain of the R & A. The Texas Open is inaugurated, the second-oldest surviving PGA TOUR event. Pine Valley Golf Club opens in New Jersey. 1923 The West and East courses at Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, New York open for play, designed by A.W. Tillinghast. 1924 Joyce Wethered wins her record fifth consecutive English Ladies' Championship. The Olympic Club in San Francisco opens for play. The USGA legalizes steel shafted golf clubs. The R & A does not follow suit until 1929, widening the breach in The Rules of Golf. 1925 The first fairway irrigation system is developed in Dallas, Texas. Deep-grooved irons are banned by both the USGA and the R & A. 1926 Jesse Sweetser becomes the first native-born American to win the British Amateur. Bobby Jones wins the British Open. Gate money is instituted at the British Open. Walter Hagen defeats Bobby Jones 12 and 11 in a privately sponsored 72-hole match in Florida. The Los Angeles Open is inaugurated, the third-oldest surviving PGA TOUR event. The L.A. Open is also the first tournament to offer a $10,000 purse. 1927 The inaugural Ryder Cup Matches are played between Britain and the United States. Creeping bentgrass is developed for putting greens by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. 1928 Cypress Point Club opens, designed by Alister Mackenzie. 1929 Walter Hagen wins The Open Championship for the fourth time. Seminole Golf Club opens in Palm Beach, Fla., from a design by Donald Ross. 1930 Bobby Jones completes the original Grand Slam, winning the U.S. and British Amateurs and the U.S. and British Opens in the same year. Since Jones is an amateur, however, the financial windfall belongs to professional Bobby Cruickshank, who bets on Jones to complete the Slam, at 120-1 odds, and pockets $60,000. The Minehead Club makes Captaincy elective. They had been the last club to award the Captaincy to the winner of the annual competition. The Duke of York (later King George VI) is elected Captain of the R & A. Shinnecock Hills Golf Club opens its modern course on Long Island, NY. Bob Harlow is hired as manager of the PGA's Tournament Bureau, and he first proposes the idea of expanding "The Circuit," as the TOUR is then known, from a series of winter events leading up to the season ending North & South Open in spring, into a year-round TOUR.

U.S. OPEN

Year - Site - Winner - Score

1920 Inverness C. Edward Ray 295
1921 Columbia C.C. James M. Barnes 289
1922 Skokie C.C. Gene Sarazen 288
1923 Inwood C.C. a-R.T. Jones Jr.* 296
1924 Oakland Hills (South) Cyril Walker 297
1925 Worcester C.C. Wm. Macfarlane* 291
1926 Scioto C.C. a-R.T. Jones Jr. 293
1927 Oakmont C.C. Tommy Armour* 301
1928 Olympia Fields C.C. Johnny Farrell* 294
1929 Winged Foot (West) a-R.T. Jones Jr.* 294
1930 Interlachen C.C. a-R.T. Jones Jr. 287

a-Amateur. * Won playoff.

BRITISH OPEN

Year - Site - Winner - Score

1920 Deal George Duncan 303
1921 St. Andrews Jock Hutchison* 296
1922 Royal St. George's Walter Hagen 300
1923 Troon Arthur Havers 295
1924 Hoylake Walter Hagen 301
1925 Prestwick James Barnes 300
1926 Royal Lytham a-R.T. Jones Jr. 291
1927 St. Andrews a-R.T. Jones Jr. 285
1928 Royal St. George's Walter Hagen 292
1929 Muirfield Walter Hagen 292
1930 Hoylake a-R.T. Jones Jr. 291

a-Amateur. * Won playoff.