United States Golf Association (USGA) and Women’s Golf

Introduction

Since its founding in 1894, the United States Golf Association (USGA) has been the governing body for amateur golf in the United States, responsible for the Rules of Golf, handicapping, and national championships. While its origins were overwhelmingly male, women’s golf quickly found its own footing — often in parallel, sometimes under its shadow — before the two spheres formally aligned in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.

Early Relationship with Women’s Golf

In 1895, just one year after the USGA’s creation, the first U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship was held, making it one of the oldest continuous women’s championships in the world. Yet, despite this early inclusion, women’s golf remained largely peripheral to the USGA’s central governance for decades.

The Women’s Amateur was the USGA’s primary recognition of female competition, but it operated within structures that reflected the gender norms of the time: limited visibility, modest funding, and few pathways for leadership. Most organisational and social development of women’s golf in the U.S. took place outside the USGA — through women’s golf associations, clubs, and collegiate programs founded and run by women themselves.

The Women’s Organizations

Parallel to the USGA’s activities, the Women’s Golf Association of America (WGAA) and various state and regional women’s golf associations led the real growth of women’s amateur golf from the 1910s onwards.
These associations — typically volunteer-run — organised tournaments, handicapping, and social events for female players across the country, maintaining independence and a distinctly women-led ethos.

By the mid-20th century, a strong culture of women’s golf existed, yet structural integration with the USGA remained minimal. As with the Ladies’ Golf Union in Britain, women’s associations provided the foundation — and often the unpaid labour — on which the broader golfing world was built.

Integration and Expansion

From the 1970s onward, the USGA began to broaden its remit toward women’s golf, gradually expanding the championship programme to include the U.S. Women’s Open (conducted since 1953), U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur (1987), U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links (1977–2014), and U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur (1962).

In 2018, the U.S. Senior Women’s Open was introduced — finally offering elite senior women professionals and amateurs a parallel to the men’s Senior Open. This marked a significant, if long-overdue, acknowledgment of women’s lifelong participation and competitiveness.

Leadership and representation also evolved: women now hold executive and committee roles within the USGA, including championship management, rules, and governance positions. However, much like other governing bodies, women with deep roots in amateur or senior golf remain underrepresented at the strategic level.

Modern Initiatives

The USGA has more recently introduced programmes aimed at equity, participation, and visibility, such as:

USGA’s Women’s Golf Leadership Symposium, promoting pathways for women in golf administration.
Partnerships with LPGA*USGA Girls Golf, supporting youth engagement and early participation.
The “Celebrating 125 Years of Women’s Golf” initiative (2020), highlighting historical milestones and current leaders.

These steps signify progress but also underline the long gap between women’s foundational work and institutional recognition.

The Senior Women’s Experience

Although the USGA now oversees senior women’s national championships, independent Senior and Veteran Women’s Golf Associations in the U.S. — much like those in the U.K. — continue to thrive outside of national governing structures.
Their events, networks, and leadership represent an enduring parallel culture of women’s golf that has sustained itself for more than a century without formal affiliation or support.

While the USGA recognises senior competition through championships, it does not formally integrate or represent the broader community of senior women’s associations. These groups remain vital self-governing communities — preserving the continuity and spirit of women’s amateur golf through friendship, fairness, and service.

Commentary

The evolution of women’s golf under the USGA reflects both progress and omission. Women have gained access to greater visibility and opportunity, yet their historical autonomy — and the independent networks that sustained women’s golf for decades — are rarely acknowledged.

As with the R&A, the modern USGA narrative often begins with institutional inclusion, not with the women who built the game long before inclusion was offered. Senior and amateur women continue to carry that legacy — not as a separate chapter, but as the heartbeat of golf’s history in the United States.