- Harry Vardon- First pro to play in knickers-won the British Open 6 times- In 1900 was the first foreign born golfer to win U.S. Open

- L.F.F.- Engraved on the bottom of Tommy Armour's driver was short for his motto, "Let the F---er Fly"

1759- Stroke play format is born

1764- Society of St. Andrews Golfers define a round of golf as 18 holes

1830- First patent for a lawn mower

1888- First U.S club founded- St. Andrews in Yonkers, NY

1894- USGA formed December 22

1903- Oakmont Country Club, Oakmont, PA opens for play- designed by Henry Fownes

1905- Inventor William Taylor discovers balls with dents fly higher and farther- The "Dympl" is born

1907- Pinehurst (#2), Pinehurst, NC opens for play

1910- Steel shafts interduced- USGA legalizes them in 1926

- Bobby Jones- Won 13 of the 20 tournaments he entered before he retired at age 28

- Walter Hagen- America's first full-time touring pro

- Gene Sarazen- First to win all four of the modern Grand Slam events

1916- PGA of America founded on January 17

1919- Pebble Beach, Pebble Beach, CA opens for play

1922- NJ dentist William Lowell introduces the wooden precursor of todays tee, called the Reddy Tee, he pays Walter Hagen to endorse it at golf shows

1927- U.S Dept of Ag introduces Agrostis stolonifera, commonly called bentgrass

1929- Arnold Palmer born September 10

1931- Stableford scoring introduced

1931- Shinnecock Hills, Southhampton, NY opens for play

1933- Augusta National, Augusta, GA opens for play- designed by Alister MacKenzie and Bobby Jones

- Sam Snead- Slammin' Sam won more than 140 events worldwide, with 82 Tour titles including 7 majors

- Byron Nelson- Helped develop the modern golf swing, he will always be remembered for his reign in 1945 when he won 18 tournaments including 11 in a row- he retired at age 34

- Babe D. Zaharis- most versatile female athlete of all time, captured 10 majors after taking up golf on a day off from the 1932 Olympics(she won 2 Gold metals in track and field)

1934- First Masters played- Horton Smith wins

- Gene Sarazen- Designs a flat-faced wedge that slides through the sand. He wins the '32 U.S and British Open, everyone wants a sand wedge

1949- Tom Watson born September 4

1950- LPGA founded- plays first ever event (Tampa Open) with 13 founding memebers- 14 tournament season- avg. purse $3,500

1955- Greg Norman born February 10

1956- USGA establishes parameters for par- Holes up to 250 yds are par-3's, 251-470yds are par-4's and holes longer than 471yds are par-5's

1957- Nick Faldo born July 18

- Mickey Wright- Collected 13 majors in less than a decade and a total of 82 LPGA titles

1960- USGA allows lifting,cleaning and replacing balls on the putting surface, creating a need for ball markers

1960- USGA limits one caddie per golfer

1961- Gary Player is first foreign born Masters champ

1965- Belly putters patented, used by Phil Rogers in '68

1966- British Open goes from three to four days

1968- Arnold Palmer- first golfer to earn $1 million

1969- Walter Hagen dies at age 76

1973- Graphite shafts make their first appearance

1974- Players Championship first played

- Gary Player- The "Black Knight" won 44 times in eight countries during the 1970's

1975- Cobra Baffler is introduced, it is the first utility club

1975- Tiger Woods born December 30

1976- First Women's British Open debutes at Fulford Golf Club

1976- Bob Gore develops Gore-Tex, fewer golfer have wet feet because of it

1977- Stimpmeter first used at U.S Open- invented by Eddie Stimpson in 1935

1980- U.S Senior Open played for the first time

1980- Sergio Garcia born January 9

- Greg Norman- Winner of two British Opens and 90 international titles- worlds #1 for 6 years

1981- USGA introduces Slope Rating

1985- Anthony Kim born June 19

1986- Paula Creamer born August 5

1990- First Solheim Cup played- Nancy Lopez led the U.S squad

1991- Callaway rolls out a 190cc steel head driver called Big Bertha, paving the way for todays 460cc behemoths

1993- Golf spikes go soft

1996- Tiger Woods turns pro- wins twice

1997- Ben Hogan dies at 84

1999- Sand wedge pioneer Gene Sarazen dies at 97

1999- Payne Stewart killed in an October plane crash

2000- 100th U.S Open played- Tiger Woods wins by 15 strokes

2002- Top-Flite debutes the Strata, the first solid, multilayer golf ball

2004- Arnold Palmer competes in 50th career Masters

2004- USGA sets maximum driver volume at 460cc

2004- KnickNAC Tour founded by Bill Holtry, JR. it is a way to honor Payne Stewart- For Fun! For Tradition!! For Payne!!!

2010- PB Knickers is founded in February- plays first outing May 1, at Black Rock Golf Course

$100-- Original 1891 cost to join Shinnecock Hills, the first incorporated golf club in the nation. Membership today-if invited-costs more than $500,000

16-- Courses in the U.S in 1893, a number that would balloon to more than 1000 by 1900

$1-- Cost of a ticket to the 1922 U.S open, the first time tickets were sold for the event

$500-- Jim Barnes prize money for capturing the first PGA Championship, in 1916

14-- Clubs in a bag by a 1938 USGA ruling- player often used up to 25 clubs

72-- Extra holes it took Billy Burke to win 1931 U.S Open, longest playoff ever

13-- Victories by Mickey Wright during 1963 season, a LPGA record that still stands

$31,269-- Wrights total earnings in 1963

2-- Strokes Robert Impaglia was penalized for slow play at 1978 U.S Open- the first in tournament history

17-- Consecutive seasons Kathy Whitworth had at least one LPGA victory

14-- Consecutive years Davis Love III earned at least $1 million- Tour record

7-- Wins in seven countries for Seve Ballesteros

$10.9-- Millions in Tour earnings for Vajay Singh in 2004- still highest single season total

29.5-- Millions of golfers in America

289- Strokes taken by 2007 Masters champ Zach Johnson, tying for the highest winning score at Augusta

20-- Thousand of spectators who jam the stands at the 162 yd par-3 16th at TPC Scottsdale