Pakistan Golf Federation

Golf was introduced in the Indian subcontinent during the British during their colonial rule there. At the time of independence of Pakistan in 1947, Lahore Gymkhana golf course was the oldest course in the West wing, located at Mian Mir and containing only 9 hole holes. Peshawar Golf Course was also in existence then, and had hosted the Deane Cup in 1906. All the major cities in West Pakistan had a golf course. On the other hand, East Pakistan only had the Kurmitola Golf Course in Dhaka.[2]

The pioneers of golf in the country were Tajuddin Salimi of the Lahore-based Pakistan West Railways Club, Rashid Habib of Karachi Golf Club, and Major Mohsin Ali (from East Pakistan). Until 1958, the main centres of golf activities were the Lahore Gymkhana, Pakistan West Railways Golf Club (both in West Pakistan), and Tea Estate Golf Clubs in East Pakistan.[3]

During the initial years of independence, golf was only played by civil service or military personnel. To promote the game among the general population, Pakistan Golf Union was formed in 1960 with Justice Alvin Robert Cornelius serving as its first President, and Tajuddin Salimi its first secretary. Pakistan's first participation in an international competition came in the 1962 Eisenhower Trophy, with the four-member team of Habib, Salimi, M.M. Hashim Khan, and M. Ibrahim Musa representing their country.[4] Following this, two domestic tournaments were established - the National Amateur Golf Championship (NAGC) in 1961, and the Pakistan Open in 1967.

The introduction of domestic tournaments helped promote the game in the country. In 1961, J.G. Donwine won the first men's National Amateur Golf Championship, held at the Rawalpindi Golf Club, while Mrs. Hastings won the ladies' tournament. Ibrahim Musa was the first Pakistani to win the championship, when he won the 1962 edition held at Lahore Gymkhana Golf Club, while Ghazala Ansari became the first Pakistani woman to lift the championship, when she did so in 1964.[5] Aameen Taqi Butt won the inaugural Pakistan Open in 1967 at the Lahore Gymkhana.

The late 1960's saw the emergence of Taimur Hassan Amin. He reached the final of the Ceylon Amateur Championship in 1967, and later became the first Pakistani to win a championship abroad. He won the Sri Lanka Amateur Championship in 1975. Two years later, he won the individual position at the Asia Amateur Team Championships at Kuala Lumpur. Domestically, Amin won 17 NAGC's (including 12 in a row from 1971 to 1981), and 3 Pakistan Opens.[5] In 1971, he became the youngest player to win the National Amateur Golf Championship at the age of 18, a record that stood for 50 years.[6]

Pakistan Golf Union was replaced by Pakistan Golf Federation under a new sports policy introduced in 1982. Lt. General (Retd) Faiz Ali Chishti served as its first president.[2]

In 2004, Lt. Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani was elected as the president of the PGF, with Taimur Hassan as the secretary. Kayani was re-elected in 2009, the same year Pakistani golfers, Mohammed Shabbir Iqbal and Mohammed Munir, qualified for the Golf World Cup for the first time by finishing in the top three at the Asian qualifiers.[7][8] In the World Cup, held in China, Pakistan beat Spain and Canada on its way to a 22nd-place finish.[9]