Got the post-holiday blahs? Cheer up, friends: You can forget about the winter blues for a bit when the 2015 PGA Tour heads to Hawaii for the Hyundai Tournament of Champions.

It’s September 20, 1969, and the match is all tied-up—wait a second, what is Nicklaus doing? Tying his shoe? No, it appears that Nicklaus has just picked up Jacklin’s marker, conceding the putt that would have finalized the tie, allowing the American team to keep the Ryder cup! The crowd of several thousand was silent when Jack Nicklaus, an American, chose to concede and secure the tie instead of letting Tony Jacklin, a Brit, take the putt on the off-chance he would miss it. America, already in possession of the cup, was allowed to keep it.

In the neighborhood of East Lake in Atlanta, Georgia, a paper boat sails towards the first island green ever built in America. On the sixth, East Lake Golf Club’s signature hole, the southeastern breeze blows the boat onto the edge of the green. The boat is not made of newspaper. No, if you unfold it, you’ll discover your invitation to the 2014 Tour Championship. The Tour Championship, a stroke play, par-seventy tournament, is the final event of the FedEx Cup Playoffs. It is for an exclusive group of players: only the top thirty qualify to compete. The Championship is the pinnacle of the season and conclusion of the four-tournament FedEx Cup Playoffs. The Tour Championship will start on Thursday, September 11 and end on Sunday, September 14.

It was about six o’clock in the morning. The sun had not yet risen, but there were already a thousand people in line. In the darkness of jittery anticipation, the headlights of a bus rounded the corner. It had come to take the crowd of avid golf fans, including the winner of a pair of two-day tickets, to the big tents and an immaculate course–the Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky for the 2014 PGA Championship.

As the leaves were beginning to turn brown on an afternoon in September, Tiger Woods walked out onto the teebox at the East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Georgia for the Tour Championship of the FedExCup Playoffs. As he eyed the course, it was the shine of the early-autumn sun, and later the shimmer of the prize trophy, which was reflected in the eye of the tiger. Today, almost seven years after its inauguration, the playoffs and the FedExCup Trophy are highly sought after by many players and lovers of golf.

There are almost 20,000 golf courses in the United States today, but a century ago, there were just 41. With two unofficial, amateur national championships, and one professional championship in 1894, the stage was set for the creation of the PGA—and the popularization of golf. In January of 1916, Rodman Wanamaker, a wealthy department store owner, hosted a luncheon at the Wykagyl Country Club to formalize the conception of the PGA with other golf professionals in the North East. The Professional Golfers’ Association of America officially initiated in February. The first PGA Championship took place at Siwanoy Country Club in Eastchester, NY. For his victory, Jim Barnes received $500 and a diamond-studded gold medal, courtesy of Mr. Wanamaker. Last year at Oak Hill Country Club, Jason Dufner won $1,445,000.

This year marks the 114th United States Open Championship. The first US Open was held in 1895 at Newport Country Club in Newport, Rhode Island and consisted of 36 holes. It was played on a nine hole course and all four rounds were played in a single day.

This week the PGA Tour will tee it up at the 57th FedEx St. Jude Classic, held at TPC Southwind in Memphis, Tennessee (a course we provide retrieval service for). Always a draw for strong players, the FedEx St. Jude Classic debuted in 1958 as the Memphis Open. In 1969, Danny Thomas agreed to

There are many talented golfers out there. Some take lessons for years and years, others just have that natural talent. An extremely talented Jack Nicklaus got a speedy start to his golf game shooting a 51 the first time he ever played nine holes. He survived polio at 13 and the only handicap he came away with was a +3 on the golf course. At just 15, five years after picking up his first club, he shot a 66 at Scioto Country Club. A short three years later, at 18, this young man brought his natural, but now masterfully refined, ability to the PGA Tour. Nobody knew at the time that he was also bringing with him the moniker of his Upper Arlington High School mascot: The Golden Bears.