Western Pa. Golf Association celebrates 125th anniversary

Mother’s Day wasn’t the only thing being celebrated Sunday.

The Western Pennsylvania Golf Association, which was founded in 1899, celebrated 125 years of existence.

It has grown from the five founding clubs to more than 200 member clubs and 35,000 players.

An open house was held Thursday at the WPGA office on the North Side’s Allegheny West district, just a Rory McIlroy drive away from Acrisure Stadium.

The office and museum have been at the 930 North Lincoln Ave. location since 2017. The office previously was in Fox Chapel and Blawnox.

The five founding clubs were the Allegheny Country Club, Edgewood Country Club, the Edgeworth Club, the Pittsburgh Golf Club and the Pittsburgh Field Club. Edgeworth and Pittsburgh Golf Club do not have courses.

The Pittsburgh Golf Club course is now the Bob O’Connor golf course in Schenley Park, but the course is not affiliated with the club.

The WPGA Hall of Fame exhibit is located at the office, and the staff has collected memorabilia from every period. A photo of Arnold Palmer hitting a bunker shot at the 1954 U.S. Amateur Championship highlights the exhibit.

“I feel we all feel history when you walk into this place every day,” WPGA executive director Terry Teasdale said. “It’s a historic building, and just the warmth and the ambience of this place in really nice. It’s a great place to learn about the history of the game from Western Pennsylvania and the WPGA.”

The WPGA is the fifth-oldest golf organization in the country and only five years younger than the USGA.

Teasdale said the WPGA has grown 37% since the coronavirus pandemic in 2020. The pandemic was a turning point as many people took up the game because golf was one thing people were allowed to do during shutdown periods.

The WPGA has grown from 27,000 to 38,000 members.

“The story of the history of the WPGA is interesting, and it’s something we’re proud of,” Teasdale said. “I’d like to think we had an impact on the game.”

Palmer was in the Hall of Fame’s first class, but he’s not the only great golfer who has been honored.

Others include:

• Carol Semple Thompson, one of the greatest amateurs of all time from Western Pennsylvania. She won seven USGA Amateur Championships.

• Frank Fuhrer III, a Walker Cup player who won the Western Amateur.

• Sean Knapp, who won the U.S. Senior Amateur and teamed up with Mike Van Sickle and Nathan Smith to win the USGA State Team championship.

• Nathan Smith, who won four Mid-Am Championships.

• Neal Shipley, a Central Catholic grad who played in the 2024 Masters.

Another special group was in 2017 when the team of Palmer Jackson, Mark Goetz, Brady Pevarnik and Louis Olsakovsky won the 54th Williamson Cup title. Until that year, WPGA teams were 0-53 in the competition but went on to win three straight.

The WPGA also is celebrating the 124th Amateur Championship on June 15-16 at Chartiers Country Club and the 121st Open Championship on July 22-24 at Indiana Country Club.