The four major championships in golf are the Masters, the US Open, The Open Championship (often called the British Open) and the PGA Championship. They are played in that order every season, from spring through to midsummer, and it is these four titles that determine who counts among the sport's true greats.
A major victory carries more weight than anything else a golfer can achieve over a career. That is why the number of majors is the only figure genuinely used to compare generations against one another, and why a player who wins all four at some point during their career is said to have completed a career grand slam.
The four major championships and what sets them apart
Each major has its own identity. One is decided on the same course every year, another moves around between the world's oldest links courses, and the two American majors place entirely different demands on the game. Here are the four, in the order they are played.
Masters
The Masters opens the major season in April and is the only one of the four always played on the same course, Augusta National in the US state of Georgia. The course is known for its fast, undulating greens and for the blooming azaleas that frame the closing holes. The winner gets to put on the green jacket, perhaps golf's most famous symbol, and keeps the right to play the tournament for the rest of their life. The field is the smallest of all the majors, which gives the Masters an exclusive, almost closed character that sets it apart from the rest.
PGA Championship
The PGA Championship is played in May and is organised by the PGA of America. It moves between different American courses and has historically attracted one of the strongest fields of all the majors, since a large proportion of the places go to club professionals. For a long time it was played late in the season as the final major, but it was moved forward to May and is now the second in order. The tournament is decided as stroke play over four days, just like three of the four majors.
US Open
The US Open is played in June and is run by the United States Golf Association. It is notorious for being the toughest major to win, with narrow fairways, high rough and greens that make par an excellent result. The philosophy is to identify the most complete player by pushing every part of the game to the limit. Another distinctive feature is accessibility: the US Open has an extensive qualifying system that, in theory, makes it possible for anyone with a sufficiently low handicap to make it into the field.
The Open Championship
The Open Championship is the oldest of the four and the only one played outside the United States, on classic links courses in Great Britain. It is decided in July and is organised by The R&A. Links golf means a hard, windy coastal environment where the wind, the deep bunkers and the firm ground demand an entirely different game from the American majors. The winner lifts the Claret Jug, the silver jug that is the tournament's trophy. Because the weather plays such a large role, The Open can produce some of the most dramatic and unpredictable finishes in the whole golfing year.
Why these four in particular count as majors
There is no rulebook that formally stamps a tournament as a major. The status has grown over time and rests on tradition, prestige and the fact that the sport's best players throughout history have valued these four most highly. The Open and the US Open have the oldest roots, while the Masters and the PGA Championship established themselves as majors during the 20th century. The term grand slam, which originally meant something else, came over time to refer to precisely these four titles.
What makes the question of what the majors in golf are so central is that no other tournament carries the same weight. A win on an ordinary tour event is a credit, but a major victory changes how a player is regarded for the rest of their career.
Grand slam and career grand slam
Winning all four majors in one and the same calendar year is called a calendar grand slam and has never been achieved in the modern era on the men's side. The closest parallel is the career grand slam, which means a player has won each of the four titles at some point during their career. It is an exclusive group, and that is precisely why it is the feat most often heard about when golf's very greatest names are discussed.
Women's golf majors
On the women's side there is a separate major system, and the number of majors has varied over the years. Several of today's women's tournaments hold major status and are decided during the season, with their own traditions and courses. It is worth keeping the two systems apart - when someone talks about the four classic majors, they almost always mean the men's game's Masters, PGA Championship, US Open and The Open. If you want to read more about the world elite on the women's side, we have a rundown of professional golfers women.
Following the major weeks and dressing accordingly
The major weeks are the highlights of the golfing year, and for many they are also the starting signal for their own season. When the pros play at Augusta in April, most Swedish golfers start counting down to when the golf season gets going. If you want to understand the field and the background even better, it may be worth reading about Swedish golfers on the European Tour and the path towards the international elite.
The game on the course itself also places demands on clothing, and the majors have set the standard for how golf looks. A well-tailored polo shirt is still the staple garment on most courses, and Local Rule's tech polo - dark navy combines the classic silhouette with a technical fabric that breathes during a long round in the heat. When the evenings turn cooler, as they often do even during a Swedish midsummer, a mid layer like the midlayer q-zip - navy serves its function without compromising on style.
Whether you follow the majors from the sofa or take inspiration with you out onto your own course, it comes down to the same thing at heart: respect for the game, for tradition and for the details. If you are looking for garments that work just as well during a warm June round as on the way home from the club, you can see the full range at Local Rule and build a wardrobe that lasts the whole season.
