PGA (Professional Golfers’ Association)

What is the PGA in golf?

PGA means Professional Golfers' Association, “Professional Golfers” Association.” It is not a single organization: every major golfing nation has its own PGA, which brings together its golf professionals. Contrary to popular belief, the vast majority of their members are not tournament champions, but rather teachers, club officials, and industry professionals.

Their role is primarily to train and represent these professionals: training future teachers, continuing education, advocating for the profession, and organizing a few competitions reserved for club professionals.

The World's Leading PGA Chapters

• The British PGA (The PGA, Great Britain and Ireland): the oldest, founded in 1901. Its headquarters are at The Belfry in England.
• The PGA of America: founded in 1916 in the United States. It organizes the PGA Championship, one of the four major men's tournaments, and the Ryder Cup on the American side.
• PGA France: the French Association of Golf Professionals, which includes golf instructors. This is the organization people turn to when looking for a certified pro.

Other countries have their own PGA (Australia, Canada, Japan, etc.), and the European PGAs are organized under the PGAs of Europe.

What is the difference between the PGA and the PGA Tour?

This is the most common source of confusion. The PGA Tour is the leading professional men's golf tour in the United States. It was founded in 1968 following a split: tournament players, who wanted greater control over prize money, left the PGA of America to form their own division, which later became the PGA Tour.

In other words, a PGA Championship winner has not won “a PGA Tour event organized by the PGA Tour”: he has won a major organized by the PGA of America, which the PGA Tour recognizes as part of its schedule.

What about the DP World Tour, the LPGA, or LIV Golf?

• The DP World Tour (formerly the European Tour) is Europe's premier men's golf tour. Founded in 1972 as part of the British PGA, it has been independent since 1984: no PGA organizes it today.
• The LPGA Tour is the leading U.S. women's professional golf tour. Despite the similarity in the acronym, it is affiliated with neither the PGA of America nor the PGA Tour.
• LIV Golf is a rival circuit launched in 2022, funded by Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, featuring a team-based format. It has no connection to the PGA.

Why does the PGA matter to amateurs, too?

For an amateur golfer, the PGA in their country is, first and foremost, a guarantee: an instructor who is a member of PGA France has completed a recognized training program. So when you’re looking for a coach, this is a more useful guide than the PGA Tour, which people mostly follow on television.