About the USGA:

    the USGA is a non-profit organization made up of golfers whose goal is to help continue and enhance golf's rich tradition. Since 1894, the USGA has been the nation's governing body for the sport of golf ("About Us"). It carries out its mission by hosting championships for professionals and amateurs, maintaining the Rules of Golf, funding course maintenance practices, nurturing grass roots programs and much more ("About Us").

USGA Handicaps:

    The USGA Handicap system is designed to enable golfers of different skill levels to compete against one another on a level playing field ("Handicaps"). So, if your friend wants to play a competitive round with you but isn't as good, you can still compete with both of you having the same chance of winning. A USGA Handicap is easy to calculate. Just turn in your scorecard wherever you play, and it is done for you (McCord). If you are interested in how your golf club calculates your handicap, be prepared for some math. If you don't like math or don't care about how your handicap is calculated, at least know that on a very simplified level your handicap is an average of the best 10 of your last 20 scores, minus par ("Handicap System Manual").
    If you are interested, here's an example of how a USGA handicap can be calculated. Say you shot an 85 on a par 70 course for 10 of your last 20 rounds and those 85s were your best scores. To calculate your USGA handicap, start by adding the 10 scores of 85 together, which equals 850. Then you subtract the total of the 10 pars, which is 700, from the sum of your 10 scores. That would be 850 minus 700, which equal 150. Next you divide that difference by the number of rounds you played, which would be 10. Now you have 15, which must then be multiplied by 0.96. After completing that long process, you come up with your USGA handicap of 14.4. That means that your 14.4 over par is equal to a scratch golfer shooting actual par. If all of that seemed overly complicated, you are in the majority. That's why it is much easier to have the club and their computerized system do the math for you.

USGA Championships:

    The most famous championship managed by the USGA is the US Open, which is one of the four major tournaments in men's golf. In addition, the USGA hosts the US Women's Open, the US Senior Open, 10 amateur tournaments and the State Team Championships ("Championships"). On the international level, the USGA organizes the Walker Cup Match, the Curtis Cup Match and the Men's and Women's World Amateur Team Championships.

USGA Rules and Regulations:

    The USGA along with R&A, St. Andrews in Scotland establish and oversee the Rules of Golf ("Playing the Game"). From establishing whose turn it is after a whiff to proper etiquette to which clubs and balls are legal, the USGA affects every aspect of the game. The rules were last updated January 1, 2004, and the newest version of the rules will be released January 1, 2008 ("Rules"). If you are interested, the complete Rules of Golf can be found on the USGA Web site.

    The important services provided by the USGA are essential for the health and wellbeing of the sport of golf. Knowing about what the USGA is and what it does are necessary for understanding and playing golf. The more you know, the better equipped you will be out on the course.