World Golf Hall of Fame

History

The World Golf Hall of Fame was originally located in Pinehurst, North Carolina, and was 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 began in 1996 and the new facility opened on May 19, 1998.

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 are 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.

A 20-member selection sub-committee will choose from among the eligible candidates and select ballots for a selection committee. There will be five names each on the male and female ballots and three names each on the veterans and lifetime achievement ballots. A separate 16-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.

Qualification details

A player must have turned 50 years old prior to January 1 of the year the ballots are constructed (2016 for the 2017 induction). The "active competition" requirement will be determined by each "approved tour" that the player is/was a member of.

Male

Female

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):

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.

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):

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.

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.