Golf

Golf was on the programme of the 1900 and 1904 Olympic Games. In 1900, men and women competed in separate individual events. In 1904, a men’s individual match-play event and a team stroke-play event were contested. Golf was on the Olympic schedule in both 1908 and 1920 but was not contested in either year, and an exhibition was held in 1936, in Baden-Baden, during the Olympics.

The International Golf Federation (IGF) (formerly the World Amateur Golf Council, the name being changed in 2003), which is recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), is headed by the executive directors of the United States Golf Association (USGA) and the Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews (Scotland). As of 2024, the IGF had 152 national federation members and 21 professional members.

In the new millennium, golf began a push to again be included as an Olympic Sport. It was approved for addition to the Olympic Programme at a meeting of the Executive Board in 2001, but the proposal was tabled, and a vote by the IOC Session occurred in July 2005, at which time golf was not approved. However, in October 2009, at the 13th Olympic Congress in København, golf was re-instated to the Olympic Programme, and individual events for men and women were held at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Golf remains on the Olympics programme as of 2024, and the sport is currently on the schedule for Los Angeles 2028.

Olympic Golf is dominated by the United States, with 12 medals and six golds through 2024. Three male American golfers have won two medals at the Olympic tournament, but only one of them, Chandler Egan, has a gold among his medals. From New Zealand, Lydia Ko is the only golfer with more than one medal in the women’s Olympic competition, winning a full set of medals from 2016-2024, more than any other golfer in Olympic history, male or female.