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Golf Trivia Questions and Answers

3 October 2026 · 5 min read

Here are 20 golf trivia questions with answers, split into four rounds of five: rules and equipment, history, champions, and golf words. Every answer is checked against the record books, so you can read them out at a quiz night, a golf party or the 19th hole without starting an argument.

Each question is followed by the answer in bold and a short note you can read out after.

Round 1: Rules and equipment

1. What is the most clubs you're allowed to carry in a round under the Rules of Golf? 14. You can carry fewer, but never more.
2. How wide is a golf hole? 4.25 inches (108 mm). That size has been the standard for well over a century.
3. What is the smallest a golf ball is allowed to be across? 1.68 inches (42.67 mm). There is no maximum size, only a maximum weight.
4. What do golfers shout to warn people that a ball is heading their way? "Fore!" Shout it loudly and early.
5. What is the name for a score of three under par on one hole? An albatross, also called a double eagle in the US.

Round 2: Golf history

1. How many holes did the Old Course at St Andrews have before it was reduced to 18 in 1764? 22. The change helped make 18 the standard round.
2. Where was the first Open Championship played, and in what year? Prestwick, in 1860. Willie Park Sr won it.
3. Which Scottish king's parliament banned golf in 1457, because it distracted men from archery practice? James II.
4. Who hit golf balls on the Moon? Alan Shepard, during the Apollo 14 mission in 1971, using a club head fixed to a tool handle.
5. What material replaced feathers in golf balls from 1848? Gutta-percha, a tree sap, which gave the "gutty" ball its name.

Round 3: Champions

1. Who has won the most men's major championships? Jack Nicklaus, with 18. Tiger Woods is second with 15.
2. What does the winner of the Masters receive to wear? A green jacket.
3. Who became the youngest winner of the Masters in 1997, aged 21? Tiger Woods. He won by 12 strokes.
4. Who holds the record for the most women's major championships? Patty Berg, with 15.
5. What is the famous trophy awarded to the winner of the Open? The Claret Jug.

Round 4: Golf words

1. What is a hole called that bends left or right partway along? A dogleg.
2. What name is given to the 11th, 12th and 13th holes at Augusta National? Amen Corner.
3. Which old hickory-shafted iron was roughly equal to a modern 5 iron? The mashie.
4. In which year did golf return to the Olympic Games after more than a century away? 2016, in Rio de Janeiro.
5. Which two sides compete in the men's Ryder Cup today? The United States and Europe. Before 1979, the American team played Great Britain and Ireland, and earlier still Great Britain.

Scoring your quiz

Tips for running a golf quiz

• Read each question twice and give a set time to answer, such as 30 seconds.
• Play in teams of two to four, so beginners can join in.
• Use a tie-breaker that needs a number, such as "In what year did Jack Nicklaus win his sixth and final Masters?" (1986). Closest wins.
• Mix in a golf challenge between rounds, like a putting contest or a round of a golf game.

Want more questions? Golf fun facts is full of material for extra rounds, and our golf terms glossary will help you write your own word round.

Try it in Mashy

A quiz pairs well with a quick game. Between rounds, have every team play a hole of Mashy on a phone, or set a closest to the pin round where the lowest total feet from the hole earns a bonus point. It's free in the browser, and guests can tee off without signing up.

Planning a whole evening? See golf party games.