Campbell Steven 
For new golf fans, the TV schedule can feel overwhelming: events seem to run almost every week, yet only a handful are treated like a really big deal.
This guide walks through which golf tournaments truly sit at the top, why they matter more than regular weeks, and how you can enjoy them even if you’re just starting to follow the sport.
What Counts as a “Big” Golf Tournament?
Before naming specific events, it helps to understand what makes certain weeks stand out. Regular tour stops offer strong fields and good prize money, but they usually sit a tier below the handful of championships that define careers, shape history and draw in casual viewers.
The biggest weeks tend to offer more world ranking points, tougher setups, deeper international fields, and exemptions that can change a player’s future overnight, which is why the same tournaments keep coming up whenever people talk about the sport’s “must‑watch” events.
When fans talk about the very top tier, they usually mean a small group of historic championships that sit above regular tour stops, and you can see them all laid out clearly in a guide on what are the 4 majors in golf.
The Four Pillars of the Men’s Season
Once you understand the idea of a “bigger” tournament, it becomes clear why four championships dominate the men’s calendar every year. These events are spaced from April to July and blend history, demanding courses, elite fields and massive global TV audiences.
Together, they create a rhythm for the season: players build their schedules around them, fans mark them on the calendar months in advance, and winning one often changes a golfer’s legacy forever.
The Masters Tournament
Every April, the professional season kicks into another gear when the best players arrive at Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia for the Masters. Played at the same course each year, it has a unique atmosphere built on blooming azaleas, slick greens and famous stretches like Amen Corner.
The field is smaller and invitation‑only, which adds to the sense of exclusivity, and the prize every player dreams of is the iconic green jacket presented to the winner in the Butler Cabin on Sunday evening.
The PGA Championship
Soon after the Masters, attention shifts to the PGA Championship, run by the PGA of America and known for having one of the deepest and strongest fields in golf. It traditionally invited a wide range of top professionals, including club pros who qualify through their own championship, while still bringing almost all of the world’s elite.
Course setups are usually demanding but fair, rewarding solid ball‑striking more than tricked‑up conditions, and many players view this event as a pure test of who is playing the best golf at that moment.
The U.S. Open
By June, the U.S. Open arrives with a reputation as one of the toughest tests in the game. Organised by the United States Golf Association, it moves between classic venues like Pebble Beach, Oakmont and Shinnecock Hills, where narrow fairways, deep rough and firm greens are common.
Par is often a great score at this championship, and winning scores are frequently close to level or even over par, which is part of the event’s identity as a brutal but fair examination of every part of a player’s game.
The Open Championship
The Open Championship, often called “The Open” or informally the British Open, is the oldest of the four and showcases traditional links golf across the United Kingdom. Venues like St Andrews, Royal Birkdale and Royal Troon feature firm turf, pot bunkers and constant exposure to wind and weather.
Conditions can change in minutes, so imagination and control of ball flight are just as important as raw power, and lifting the Claret Jug on a windswept Sunday remains one of the most iconic sights in the sport.
Beyond the Big Four: Other Huge Events
While the four championships form the core of the men’s season, they are not the only weeks that feel massive to players and fans. Team events like the Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup generate intense atmosphere because they pit countries or regions against each other instead of focusing on individual glory.
There are also prestigious tournaments such as the Players Championship, major tour finales and historic invitational events that many people casually refer to as “almost majors” because of their strong fields, prize funds and iconic host venues.
For a new fan, the key is to recognise that while many tournaments are important, only a handful truly sit at the top of the pyramid, and those are the ones you will hear referenced again and again when commentators talk about legacy and history.
How the Grand Slam Fits Into the Picture
Once you know the four cornerstone championships, it becomes easier to understand why the phrase “Grand Slam” carries so much weight. In men’s professional golf, it refers to the achievement of winning all four of those events over a career or, in the most demanding version, in a single season.
Very few players have managed to collect every modern major at least once, and no male golfer has completed all four in the same calendar year during the modern era, which is why the concept remains one of the sport’s ultimate benchmarks.
Occasionally you’ll hear commentators say a player is chasing history by trying to win all four of these events in a short span, and that’s where the idea of the Grand Slam in golf comes from, which your dedicated guide explains in more detail.
What Level of Golfer Actually Plays These Events?
Seeing the world’s best compete on the biggest stages naturally raises a question: how good do you have to be just to get into the field? Qualification usually involves a mix of world ranking positions, recent performances on major tours, past results in the same event, and special exemptions for amateurs or former champions.
That mix ensures that, each year, the fields are filled with players who are not only technically skilled but also consistently successful under pressure on demanding courses all over the world.
Most professionals who make it into these fields are far beyond regular club players and would comfortably qualify as a scratch golfer long before they ever see their name on a major leaderboard.
What Watching the Biggest Tournaments Means for Your Own Game
Even if your own golf is limited to weekend rounds with friends, following the biggest tournaments can still be useful, not just entertaining. Watching how top players handle trouble, choose targets and manage their emotions under pressure gives real‑world examples of strategy that amateurs can apply on any course.
You also gain a better feel for how different conditions affect scoring, from baked‑out links to soft parkland layouts, which makes it easier to set realistic expectations for your own rounds instead of just copying TV numbers.
Even if you never play in a championship yourself, following these weeks can motivate you to improve your own index, so it helps to understand how golf handicap works when you compare your numbers to what you see on TV leaderboards.
How to Start Following Big Tournaments as a New Fan
If you’re just getting into the sport, the calendar can seem confusing, but it becomes simple once you know the main landmarks. The four cornerstone championships are spaced from April to July, with team events like the Ryder Cup appearing every two years, usually in late September, and other big events slotted around them.
A good way to begin is to choose one of these weeks and commit to following it from start to finish, watching at least some of each round, reading short previews about the course and checking leaderboards once or twice a day.
Over time, you’ll recognise more names, understand how different setups challenge the field, and develop favourite venues and storylines, turning the golf year from a blur of events into a series of must‑watch weeks anchored by the biggest tournaments in the game.
