One of golf’s oldest and most important resources, the World of Professional Golf presented by Rolex, is launching its website to support the latest and future editions of the 50-year-old publication. This historic book is moving into the digital era and transforming itself into an online reference point where golf enthusiasts can enjoy the main features and stories from each issue for the previous ten years.
The World of Professional Golf books have been published since 1967 and was originally inspired by Arnold Palmer. It was created by IMG founder Mark H McCormack with the intention to be a “running history, a chronology written at the time, which serves both as a record of the sport and as a commentary upon it in any given year”.
This significant book has provided golf journalists with a great reference tool covering every major tour around the world produced on an annual basis. The books include extensive, in-depth reports of the game’s majors and team competitions, as well as recaps and scores from every single tournament on tour. They also feature, unique to the publication, the World Money Lists for men’s, women’s and senior golf compiled from every event worldwide, along with the complete Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings and the Official World Golf Ranking.
“I have every issue of The World of Professional Golf since I began my golf writing career. They are brilliant reference books for any golf writer or fan wanting to research the history of professional golf tournaments. The world money list is a particularly good aspect of the books, since it reflects the global impact of the world’s top golfers rather than just the money made on home tours.” said Alistair Tait, writer at alistairtaitgolf.com and former writer for Golfweek, Golf Monthly and contributor to many leading British and Irish Newspapers.
Edited since 2020 by Andy Farrell, a contributor for three decades, recent enhancements include significantly expanded coverage of women’s golf and the introduction of additional feature articles. Longtime contributors include Marino Parascenzo, a former sportswriter for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, since 1980, and Doc Giffin, who worked with Mark McCormack on the creation of the World of Professional Golf and has written for every edition to date.
Recent guest contributors include some of the game’s top writers including Doug Ferguson, golf writer at Associated Press; Lewine Mair, writer at Global Golf Post and former golf correspondent of The Daily Telegraph; Beth Ann Nichols, senior writer at Golfweek/USA Today and president of the Golf Writers Association of America; Alistair Tait, writer at alistairtaitgolf.com and former Golfweek senior writer; Matt Cooper, freelance golf journalist for various outlets which include Global Golf Post, ESPN and The Guardian; Robert Green, writer at robertgreengolf.com and author of ‘Seve: Golf’s Flawed Genius’; Mitchell Platts, former golf writer of The Times; and Bill Fields, who writes the golf newsletter TheAlbatross.Substack.com.
This tool is widely recognised from golf media around the world and will continue to be a staple on many bookcases. The World of Professional Golf Annual main features and stories archives will be available online at www.worldofprofessionalgolf.com and will allow visitors to explore the previous ten years ‘Year In Retrospect’ alongside a range of feature articles from each issue, but not the whole book. The full edition of the book will continue to be published annually and anyone wishing to receive a copy can make this request online.
Ross Hallett, SVP, Golf at IMG added, "The books are one of the game’s most important resources, and we are excited for the archives to reach a new audience and demographic of golf fans, through an easily available and accessible platform available to all. This is something that has been a year in the making and we are thrilled to finally launch The World of Professional Golf Archives. Rolex has been a long-time supporter of the annual and we are extremely grateful for their continued support.”