For male professionals, there are four major golf tournaments that are held each year. They are:

1. The Masters 2. The U.S. Open 3. The British Open 4. PGA Championship

Female professionals have their own four major golf tournament each year. They are:

1. Kraft Nabisco Championship (formerly the Dinah Shore Tournament) 2. LPGA Championship 3. U.S. Women's Open 4. Women's British Open

Of course, amateur golfers will have golf tournaments as well including the U.S. Amateur Championship for men and women as well as juniors. Amateur seniors and amateur professionals also have specific golf tournaments they participate in to gain experience and even notoriety.

Professional golf tournaments are almost all held the same way. There are two days of qualifying rounds after which the bottom players are cut. Then there are two more days of competition. Each round is 18 holes.

Open golf tournaments, such as the U.S. Open, are held to try and give amateurs the chance to break into the field of professional golf. Golfers participate in a series of smaller tournaments to qualify for the Open where they proceed to the big tournament where they compete against professionals. The last amateur to win a U.S. Open was back in 1933.

Amateurs also get the chance to play in the big golf tournaments. The Masters Golf tournament invites the winners of several prestigious events to participate in the big one. That includes the winner of the U.S. and British Amateur Championships.

Most local golf tournaments are held to raise money for specific organizations or for charities. Anyone can participate and they can be quite fun. Most of the local golf tournaments are one, maybe two, day events and consist of one 18 hole round. Prizes maybe awarded for skins, long drive, and long putt, to name a few. A lot of local golf tournaments are flighted - meaning that participants are separated into classes according to ability. Many are also scramble or best ball format.

When you are a regular participant in golf tournaments, you can see why the pros love them so much. Although you won't be receiving the same big paycheck that they do, you can sure have a lot of fun!