World Golf Hall of Fame

History

The World Golf Hall of Fame is located in Pinehurst, North Carolina, and was originally privately operated by Diamondhead Corp., then owners of the Pinehurst Resort. It opened in September 1974 with an initial class of 13 members. Initially it was a local project, but the PGA of America took over management in 1983 and acquired full ownership in 1986.

Two other halls of fame have been merged into the World Golf Hall of Fame. The PGA of America established one in 1940, which was merged into the Pinehurst Hall in the 1980s. The Hall of Fame of Women's Golf was established by the LPGA in 1951, with four charter members: Patty Berg, Betty Jameson, Louise Suggs, and Babe Zaharias. It was inactive for some years, but in 1967 it moved into its first physical premises, which were in Augusta, Georgia and was renamed the LPGA Tour Hall of Fame. In 1998 it merged into the World Golf Hall of Fame.

In 1994 the global golf industry established a non-profit making body called the World Golf Foundation to promote the sport, with the creation of an enhanced Hall of Fame as one of its main objectives. Construction at the new site in St. Johns County, Florida began in 1996 and the new facility opened on May 19, 1998, and closed in September, 2023.

The new USGA Pinehurst Golf House, now housing the hall of fame is scheduled to open in 2024.

Membership categories

In October 2013, the Hall announced that it was reviewing its selection process and that there would be no induction ceremony in 2014. A new process was announced in March 2014.

Starting in 2014, members were inducted into the Hall of Fame in one of four categories: Male Competitor, Female Competitor, Veterans, and Lifetime Achievement categories. Elections are held every other year with induction ceremonies in odd number years beginning in 2015. The process has changed from that used from 1996 to 2013. The minimum qualifications for male and female competitors are: minimum of 40 years old, or five years removed from "active competition" and 15 or more wins on "approved tours" or two "major wins". The veterans category is primarily for those golfers whose careers ended before 1980 and includes both amateurs and professionals. The lifetime achievement category remains from the old system.

The Hall again revised the criteria in 2020 and now recognize two categories: Competitor and Contributor.

A 30-member nominating sub-committee composed of Hall of Fame members, World Golf Foundation Board organizations and members of the media will choose from among the eligible candidates and nominate a total of 10 individuals (four male competitors, four female competitors, and two contributors). A separate 20-member selection committee will then vote on all four ballots. Election to the Hall of Fame will require 75% of the vote and each year's election class is limited to two from each ballot and five total.

In 2016, the Hall announced that the age requirement would be raised to 50 from 40 years old. In 2020, the age requirement was lowered from 50 to 45.

Qualification details

Male

• Approved tours (15 wins total)
  • PGA Tour
  • European Tour
  • Japan Golf Tour
  • Sunshine Tour
  • Asian Tour
  • PGA Tour of Australasia
• Majors or Players Championship (two wins)
  • Masters Tournament
  • U.S. Open
  • The Open Championship
  • PGA Championship
  • The Players Championship

Female

• Approved tours (15 wins total)
  • LPGA Tour
  • Ladies European Tour
  • LPGA of Japan Tour
  • LPGA of Korea Tour
  • ALPG Tour
• Majors (two wins)
  • U.S. Women's Open
  • Women's PGA Championship
  • The Women's Open Championship (2001−current)
  • Chevron Championship (1983−current; formerly known as the Dinah Shore, Kraft Nabisco Championship, and ANA Inspiration)
  • The Evian Championship (2013−current)
  • du Maurier Classic (1979−2000)
  • Titleholders Championship (1937-1966, 1972)
  • Women's Western Open (1930-1967)

Categories from 1996 to 2013

From 1996 to 2013, members were inducted into the Hall of Fame in one of five categories: PGA Tour/Champions Tour, LPGA Tour, International, Lifetime Achievement, and Veterans.

PGA Tour/Champions Tour ballot

Current and former PGA Tour and Champions Tour players were eligible for this ballot if they met the following requirements (beginning with 1996 election):

• PGA Tour
  • Minimum of 40 years old
  • PGA Tour member for 10 years
  • 10 PGA Tour wins or two wins in the majors or Players Championship
• Champions Tour
  • Champions Tour member for five years
  • 20 wins between PGA Tour and Champions Tour or five wins in the majors (regular or senior) or Players Championship

Election requirements:

Voters voted for up to 30% of the players on the ballot. If a player was named on less than 5% of the ballots for two consecutive years, they were dropped from the ballot. Players not elected could remain on the ballot indefinitely (prior to 2007 the limit was 10 years, from 2007 to 2009 the limit was 15 years).

LPGA point system

LPGA Tour golfers were eligible through a point system. Since 1999, LPGA members automatically qualified for World Golf Hall of Fame membership when they meet these three criteria:

1. Must be/have been an "active" LPGA Tour member for 10 years.
2. Must have won/been awarded at least one of the following – an LPGA major championship, the Vare Trophy or Player of the Year honors; and
3. Must have accumulated a total of 27 points, which are awarded as follows – one point for each LPGA official tournament win, two points for each LPGA major tournament win and one point for each Vare Trophy or Rolex Player of the Year honor earned.

Before 1999, players had to win 30 tournaments, including two majors; 35 tournaments with one major; or 40 tournaments in all to automatically qualify. At one time, players had to win two different majors to qualify with 30 wins, but this was changed earlier in the 1990s.

This point system is still used for selection to the LPGA Hall of Fame. However, in March 2022, the ten-year requirement was scrapped, and a point for winning an Olympic gold medal was added to the criteria.

International ballot

Men and women golfers not fully eligible for PGA/Champions Tour ballot or the LPGA Tour point system were eligible for the International ballot if they met the following requirements (beginning with the 1996 election):

• Minimum of 40 years old
• Cumulative 50 points earned as follows:
  • Men
    • 6 points – Major victories
    • 4 points – Players Championship win
    • 3 points – Other PGA Tour win, European Tour win
    • 2 points – Japan Golf Tour, Sunshine Tour, PGA Tour of Australasia, Champions Tour win
    • 1 point – Other national championship win; Ryder Cup, Presidents Cup participation
  • Women
    • 6 points – Major victories
    • 4 points – Other LPGA Tour win, Women's British Open win prior to 2001
    • 2 points – LPGA of Japan Tour win, Ladies European Tour win
    • 1 point – Other national championship win, Solheim Cup participation

Election requirements: same as PGA Tour ballot.

Lifetime Achievement category

There was also a "lifetime achievement" category through which anyone who had made a major contribution to the organization or promotion of the sport may be selected, for example, Bob Hope. These members were chosen by the Hall of Fame's Board of Directors. Most played golf, in some cases with some competitive success, but it was not their play alone which won them a place in the Hall of Fame.

Veteran's category

The last category was created to honor professional or amateur players whose career concluded at least 30 years ago. These members were also chosen by the Hall of Fame's Board of Directors.

Membership

New members are inducted each year on the Monday before The Players Championship (previous to 2010 in October or November), and by May 2013 there were 146 members. Beginning in 2010, the ballots are due in July with the results announced later in the year. New entrants in the Lifetime Achievement and Veteran's categories are announced at irregular intervals. For example, Frank Chirkinian was elected in the Lifetime Achievement category in an emergency election in February 2011, with the vote presumably held because he was then terminally ill with lung cancer; when it became clear he would not live to attend his induction, he videotaped his acceptance speech in late February, less than two weeks before his death.

Men

Unless stated otherwise these men were inducted mainly for their on-course success. The exceptions mostly correspond with the lifetime achievement category, but not quite. For example, Charlie Sifford was notable as a player but was inducted for lifetime achievement.

• 1974 USA Walter Hagen
• 1974 USA Ben Hogan
• 1974 USA Bobby Jones
• 1974 USA Byron Nelson
• 1974 USA Jack Nicklaus
• 1974 USA Francis Ouimet
• 1974 USA Arnold Palmer
• 1974 ZAF Gary Player
• 1974 USA Gene Sarazen
• 1974 USA Sam Snead
• 1974 Jersey Harry Vardon
• 1975 SCO Willie Anderson
• 1975 USA Fred Corcoran – many-faceted promoter and administrator
• 1975 USA Joseph Dey – executive director of the USGA and the first commissioner of the PGA Tour
• 1975 USA Chick Evans
• 1975 SCO Young Tom Morris
• 1975 ENG John Henry Taylor
• 1976 SCO USA Tommy Armour
• 1976 SCO James Braid
• 1976 SCO Old Tom Morris
• 1976 USA Jerome Travers
• 1977 ZAF Bobby Locke
• 1977 ENG John Ball
• 1977 USA Herb Graffis – golf writer and founder of the U.S. National Golf Foundation
• 1977 SCO Donald Ross – golf course architect
• 1978 USA Billy Casper
• 1978 ENG Harold Hilton
• 1978 USA Bing Crosby – celebrity friend of golf who founded his own PGA Tour event
• 1978 USA Clifford Roberts – co-founder of the Augusta National Golf Club and the Masters Tournament
• 1979 USA Walter Travis
• 1980 ENG Henry Cotton
• 1980 USA Lawson Little
• 1981 USA Ralph Guldahl
• 1981 USA Lee Trevino
• 1982 USA Julius Boros
• 1983 USA Jimmy Demaret
• 1983 USA Bob Hope – celebrity friend of golf who founded his own PGA Tour event
• 1986 USA Cary Middlecoff
• 1987 USA Robert Trent Jones – golf course architect
• 1988 USA Bob Harlow – promoter who played a key role in the early development of the PGA Tour
• 1988 AUS Peter Thomson
• 1988 USA Tom Watson
• 1989 ENG Jim Barnes
• 1989 ARG Roberto De Vicenzo
• 1989 USA Raymond Floyd
• 1990 USA William C. Campbell – two-time President of the USGA
• 1990 USA Gene Littler
• 1990 USA Paul Runyan
• 1990 USA Horton Smith
• 1992 USA Harry Cooper
• 1992 USA Hale Irwin
• 1992 PRI Chi-Chi Rodríguez
• 1992 USA Richard Tufts – ran Pinehurst and served as President of the USGA
• 1996 USA Johnny Miller
• 1997 ESP Seve Ballesteros
• 1997 ENG Nick Faldo
• 1998 USA Lloyd Mangrum
• 2000 USA Jack Burke Jr.
• 2000 USA Deane Beman – Commissioner of the PGA Tour 1974-1994
• 2000 ENG Michael Bonallack – British golf administrator
• 2000 ENG Neil Coles – first Chairman of the PGA European Tour
• 2000 ENG John Jacobs – first Tournament Director of the European Tour
• 2001 DEU Bernhard Langer (inducted with 2002 class)
• 2001 AUS Greg Norman
• 2001 USA Payne Stewart
• 2001 SCO Allan Robertson
• 2001 USA Karsten Solheim – golf equipment manufacturer and founder of the Solheim Cup
• 2002 USA Ben Crenshaw
• 2002 ENG Tony Jacklin
• 2002 USA Tommy Bolt
• 2002 USA Harvey Penick – golf instructor
• 2003 ZWE Nick Price
• 2003 USA Leo Diegel
• 2004 USA Charlie Sifford
• 2004 JPN Isao Aoki
• 2004 USA Tom Kite
• 2005 ENG Bernard Darwin – golf writer
• 2005 ENG Alister MacKenzie – golf course architect
• 2005 SCO Willie Park Sr.
• 2005 FJI Vijay Singh (inducted with 2006 class)
• 2006 USA Larry Nelson
• 2006 USA Henry Picard
• 2006 USA Mark McCormack – sports agent who represented many top golfers; the developer of golf's first world ranking system, adapted into today's Official World Golf Ranking
• 2007 IRE Joe Carr
• 2007 USA Hubert Green
• 2007 USA Charles B. Macdonald – inaugural U.S. Amateur champion, founding Vice-President of the USGA and "Father of American Golf Architecture"
• 2007 AUS Kel Nagle
• 2007 USA Curtis Strange
• 2008 NZL Bob Charles
• 2008 USA Pete Dye – golf course architect
• 2008 USA Denny Shute
• 2008 USA Herbert Warren Wind – golf writer
• 2008 USA Craig Wood
• 2009 IRL Christy O'Connor Snr
• 2009 ESP José María Olazábal
• 2009 USA Lanny Wadkins
• 2009 USA Dwight D. Eisenhower – former U.S. President
• 2011 ZAF Ernie Els
• 2011 JPN Masashi "Jumbo" Ozaki
• 2011 USA Doug Ford
• 2011 SCO USA Jock Hutchison
• 2011 USA Frank Chirkinian – television producer, known as the 'father of televised golf' for the impact he had on golf broadcasting.
• 2011 USA George H. W. Bush – former U.S. President
• 2012 USA Phil Mickelson
• 2012 USA Dan Jenkins – golf writer
• 2012 SCO Sandy Lyle
• 2012 ENG Peter Alliss
• 2013 USA Fred Couples
• 2013 USA Ken Venturi
• 2013 SCO Willie Park Jr.
• 2013 SCO Colin Montgomerie
• 2013 SCO Ken Schofield – Executive Director of the European Tour
• 2015 AUS David Graham
• 2015 USA Mark O'Meara
• 2015 USA A. W. Tillinghast – golf course architect
• 2017 ENG Henry Longhurst – golf writer and commentator
• 2017 USA Davis Love III
• 2017 WAL Ian Woosnam
• 2019 ZAF Retief Goosen
• 2019 USA Billy Payne − Chairman of Augusta National Golf Club
• 2019 USA Dennis Walters − disabled golfer and inspirational speaker and performer
• 2021 USA Tiger Woods
• 2021 USA Tim Finchem – Commissioner of the PGA Tour 1994–2017
• 2023 USA Johnny Farrell
• 2023 IRL Pádraig Harrington
• 2023 USA Tom Weiskopf

Women

The first five women on this list were grandfathered in 1998 from the Hall of Fame of Women's Golf, which was founded in 1951, via the LPGA Tour Hall of Fame, which was inaugurated in 1967. The list shows the years when they were originally inducted into the Hall of Fame of Women's Golf. Unless stated otherwise the women on the list were inducted primarily for their on-course achievements. Players marked with an (f) denotes they were elected twice—once individually, and once collectively for the 2024 nominations announced on March 8, 2023 for the 13 LPGA founders.

• 1951 USA Betty Jameson (f)
• 1951 USA Patty Berg (f)
• 1951 USA Louise Suggs (f)
• 1951 USA Babe Didrikson Zaharias (f)
• 1960 USA Betsy Rawls
• 1964 USA Mickey Wright
• 1975 USA Glenna Collett-Vare
• 1975 ENG Joyce Wethered
• 1975 USA Kathy Whitworth
• 1977 USA Sandra Haynie
• 1977 USA Carol Mann
• 1978 SCO USA Dorothy Campbell Hurd Howe
• 1982 USA JoAnne Carner
• 1987 USA Nancy Lopez
• 1991 USA Pat Bradley
• 1993 USA Patty Sheehan
• 1994 USA Dinah Shore – celebrity friend of the LPGA; founded a tournament that eventually became a major
• 1995 USA Betsy King
• 1999 USA Amy Alcott
• 2000 USA Beth Daniel
• 2000 USA Juli Inkster
• 2000 USA Judy Rankin
• 2001 USA Donna Caponi
• 2001 USA Judy Bell – administrator; first female President of the USGA
• 2002 USA Marlene Bauer Hagge (f)
• 2003 JPN Hisako "Chako" Higuchi
• 2003 SWE Annika Sörenstam
• 2004 CAN Marlene Stewart Streit
• 2005 JPN Ayako Okamoto
• 2005 AUS Karrie Webb
• 2006 USA Marilynn Smith (f)
• 2007 KOR Pak Se-ri
• 2008 USA Carol Semple Thompson
• 2012 USA Hollis Stacy
• 2015 ENG Laura Davies
• 2017 USA Meg Mallon
• 2017 MEX Lorena Ochoa
• 2019 USA Peggy Kirk Bell
• 2019 AUS Jan Stephenson
• 2021 USA Marion Hollins
• 2021 USA Susie Maxwell Berning
• 2023 USA Beverly Hanson
• 2023 USA Sandra Palmer
• 2023 LPGA Founders (those not previously in Hall listed):
  • USA Alice Bauer
  • USA Bettye Danoff
  • USA Helen Dettweiler
  • USA Helen Hicks
  • USA Opal Hill
  • USA Sally Sessions
  • USA Shirley Spork

Notes

References

References

1. "World Golf Hall of Fame Supporting Organizations".
2. "Ralph Appelbaum Associates Project Description".
3. "World Golf Hall of Fame History".
4. (July 20, 2022). "USGA, World Golf Hall of Fame Collaborate to Showcase Golf's Legendary Figures at Golf House Pinehurst – World Golf".
5. (October 8, 2013). "Golf Hall to review selection process". ESPN.
6. McEwan, Michael. (October 8, 2013). "Golf Hall of Fame scrapped for 2014". Bunkered.
7. (March 23, 2014). "World Golf Hall of Fame announces changes to enshrinement process". PGA Tour.
8. Kahoro, Cyrus. (March 7, 2023). "World Golf Hall of Fame Class of 2024 Nominees".
9. (February 22, 2023). "World Golf Hall of Fame Announces Finalists for 2024 Induction Class". LPGA.
10. "Criteria & Process". World Golf Hall of Fame.
11. (March 30, 2016). "World Golf Hall of Fame names Selection Commission Co-Chairs for 2017: Jack Nicklaus joins fellow Hall of Fame Member Co-Chairs, age change to induction criteria". PGA Tour.
12. Harig, Bob. (January 22, 2020). "Golf Hall of Fame lowers age eligibility requirements for induction". ESPN.
13. "World Golf Hall of Fame Releases Ballots for 2011". PGA Tour.
14. (January 31, 2007). "About the PGA Tour Ballot".
15. (23 March 2014). "LPGA Statement on Changes to World Golf Hall of Fame Induction Selection". LPGA.
16. (March 29, 2022). "LPGA Announces Changes to LPGA Hall of Fame Criteria, Including Inductions of Lorena Ochoa and the LPGA's 13 Founders". LPGA.
17. (January 31, 2007). "About the International Ballot".
18. "Hall of Fame to hold 2011 Ceremony on Monday of Players Championship". PGA Tour.
19. Dolch, Craig. (March 4, 2011). "Chirkinian's impact on televised golf can't be overstated". PGA Tour.
20. Dorman, Larry. (March 5, 2011). "At 19th Hole, Recalling an Innovator". [[The New York Times]].
21. "Bernhard Langer". World Golf Hall of Fame.
22. (October 30, 2006). "Nelson, Singh inducted into World Golf Hall of Fame". ESPN.
23. (November 11, 2011). "World Golf Hall of Fame to induct Mickelson in 2012". PGA Tour.
24. (December 14, 2011). "World Golf Hall of Fame to induct Dan Jenkins in 2012". PGA Tour.
25. (December 15, 2011). "Sandy Lyle, Peter Alliss picked for Hall". ESPN.
26. (September 19, 2012). "Couples to be inducted into World Golf Hall of Fame". PGA Tour.
27. (October 8, 2012). "World Golf Hall of Fame adds Venturi to 2013 class". PGA Tour.
28. (November 15, 2012). "Willie Park Jr. selected for World Golf Hall of Fame". PGA Tour.
29. (December 18, 2012). "Montgomerie and Schofield Honoured by Hall of Fame". PGA European Tour.
30. McAllister, Mike. (October 15, 2014). "Class of 2015 Hall of Famers receive surprise calls". PGA Tour.
31. Harig, Bob. (March 11, 2020). "Tiger Woods to be inducted into World Golf Hall of Fame in 2021". ESPN.
32. (April 20, 2020). "Tim Finchem, former PGA Tour commissioner, elected to World Golf Hall of Fame". ESPN.
33. (March 9, 2023). "Padraig Harrington, LPGA founders join '24 Golf Hall of Fame class". ESPN.
34. (November 18, 2011). "Hollis Stacy selected for Hall of Fame". ESPN.
35. (April 17, 2020). "Marion Hollins elected to 2021 class of Golf Hall of Fame". ESPN.
36. (April 22, 2020). "Susie Maxwell Berning elected to World Golf Hall of Fame". ESPN.