A history of women's golf.

The earliest women golfers

George White's history for Golf Channel names Mary, Queen of Scots as one of the first known golfers of either sex. The specific story of her playing at Seton Palace in 1567 is unproven, as the National Library of Scotland points out, so the first firm evidence comes later. White says a 1792 letter from Musselburgh mentions women golfers, and that in 1810 a proposal was made at Musselburgh to give gifts to the winning woman golfer. An often-repeated story of an 1811 competition for Musselburgh fishwives could not be found in any source we read.

The first ladies' club, 1867

The St Andrews Ladies' Golf Club, now the St Andrews Ladies' Putting Club, was formed in 1867. Its history says Old Tom Morris laid out a 15-hole course and that the first competition was over 45 holes. The club took in hilly ground to the north in 1893, which gave the course its nickname, the "Himalayas", and by 1900 it had about 400 women members and 200 gentlemen associates.

Whether it was truly the first ladies' club depends on how you read the record. White says St Andrews appears to have had the first, while the earlier Musselburgh references to women competing are sometimes cited as earlier evidence.

National bodies and championships

• 1893, Britain: according to Wikipedia, the Ladies' Golf Union was founded that year, with Issette Pearson as a founder and its first secretary. Thirty-one women entered the first British Ladies Championship, a match-play event won by Lady Margaret Scott, says White. Wikipedia adds that the first was played at Lytham and St Annes, and that Scott won the first three, in 1893, 1894 and 1895.
• 1895, United States: the first U.S. Women's Amateur had 13 entries playing one 18-hole round, a nine-hole course played twice, and was won by Mrs Charles S. Brown of Shinnecock Hills with 132, according to White. More detail is on the golf in America page.
• 2017: the Ladies' Golf Union merged with The R&A at the start of the year, according to Wikipedia.

The Curtis Cup and the interwar stars

National Club Golfer traces the Curtis Cup to 1905 at Royal Cromer, where informal matches between women from England, Scotland, Ireland and the United States were played before the Ladies' British Open Amateur. The American sisters Margaret and Harriot Curtis lost their singles and afterwards offered a cup for future internationals. Talks began in 1924, the sisters gave the trophy in 1927, and the first Curtis Cup was played at Wentworth in 1932, won by the United States 5.5 to 3.5.

White says Joyce Wethered and Cecil Leitch dominated British women's golf for about two decades after the First World War, and describes Glenna Collett Vare as the outstanding American woman golfer of her era. Yahoo Sports says Helen Hicks became the first woman hired by a manufacturer, Wilson, in 1934; that is a single source's claim.

The professional game in America

The first attempt at a women's tour did not last. White says the Women's Professional Golf Association was formed in America in 1944 and folded after about six years over revenue problems. It did run the first U.S. Women's Open, in 1946 at Spokane, the only edition played at match play: Patty Berg beat Betty Jameson 5 and 4 in the final, according to Wikipedia. Wikipedia also says the USGA began running the U.S. Women's Open in 1953.

The LPGA, 1950

White credits Babe Didrikson Zaharias, an Olympic track athlete and outstanding amateur who turned professional in 1947, with driving the creation of the Ladies Professional Golf Association. Yahoo Sports says Fred Corcoran organised the new tour after a meeting in Florida in winter 1949, and that the name came from an attorney's suggestion. Its 13 founders were:

Alice Bauer, Patty Berg, Bettye Danoff, Helen Dettweiler, Marlene Bauer Hagge, Helen Hicks, Opal Hill, Betty Jameson, Sally Sessions, Marilynn Smith, Shirley Spork, Louise Suggs and Babe Zaharias.

Berg was the first president and Sessions the first secretary. The first season ran in 1950: the amateur Polly Riley won the opening event, the Tampa Open, and Zaharias won eight of the 15 events, including the 1950 U.S. Women's Open. Details of the founding itself vary. A search summary of Wikipedia places it at Rolling Hills in Wichita, and Britannica, also per a search summary, dates the incorporation to August 1950.

White says Mickey Wright joined the tour in 1955 and brought it much-needed publicity. Sky Sports says Wright won 13 majors, and that her great rival Kathy Whitworth won a record 88 LPGA events, the first at the 1962 Kelly Girls Open.

On 10 June 2024, at Pinehurst, the World Golf Hall of Fame inducted all 13 founders in the contributor category, after their deaths. Seven were newly enshrined; the other six were already members as players. Wikipedia, per a search summary, says the founders were elected as a group in 2023, so the year depends on whether you count the election or the ceremony.

Europe's professional tours

The Ladies' Golf Union established the Women's British Open in 1976 as a four-round stroke-play event. The first, at Fulford in Yorkshire, was won by the amateur Jenny Lee Smith with 299; she turned professional in 1977. The Ladies European Tour credits Vivien Saunders, a former LPGA player, with founding the British women's professional tour. Its forerunner, the WPGA, became official on 1 November 1978, and its first tournament was at Tyrrells Wood on 26 April 1979.

The Solheim Cup, 1990

The first Solheim Cup was played in 1990 at Lake Nona Golf and Country Club in Orlando, Florida. The United States, captained by Kathy Whitworth, beat Europe, captained by Mickey Walker, 11.5 to 4.5, The Golf News Net records. According to Wikipedia, the cup is named for Karsten and Louise Solheim, founders of Ping. In September 2026 Europe won the match 15 to 13 in the Netherlands, LBC reported.

Modern milestones

• 2003: Annika Sorenstam played the PGA Tour's Colonial event. Golf Channel and the USGA say the last woman to play a PGA Tour event before her was Babe Zaharias in 1945; the World Golf Hall of Fame, per a search summary, says 1946.
• August 2012: Augusta National, which opened in 1933, admitted its first women members, Darla Moore and Condoleezza Rice.
• 18 September 2014: the Royal and Ancient Golf Club voted to admit women, as told on the St Andrews and the R&A page.
• 6 April 2019: Jennifer Kupcho won the first Augusta National Women's Amateur by four strokes from Maria Fassi, the first women's title contested at the club.
• 2026: the five women's majors were shared by three players. Nelly Korda won the Chevron Championship and the U.S. Women's Open, Haeran Ryu the KPMG Women's PGA Championship and the Evian Championship, and Shiho Kuwaki the AIG Women's Open. The women's majors page has the results.

The careers of Sorenstam, Whitworth and others are summarised on the notable players page, and the story of Althea Gibson, Renee Powell and Ann Gregory on the access and integration page.