Globally, there are near to 20 professional golf tours, each managed by a PGA or an independent tour organisation.

Typically a tour has members who are entitled to compete in most of its events and also invites non-members to compete in some of them. Gaining membership of one of the leading tours is in itself a considerable achievement and a feat which the majority of golfers will never manage.

The most widely known tour is the PGA Tour, which tends to attract the strongest fields outside the four Majors and the three World Golf Championships events. This is largely due to the substantial prize money on offer. The European Tour, which attracts a substantial number of top golfers from outside North America, is also a prestigious competition.

The other leading men's tours include the Japan Golf Tour, the Asian Tour (Asia outside Japan), the PGA Tour of Australasia, and the Sunshine Tour which is largely competed for in South Africa.

These four tours, along with the PGA and European Tours, are full members of the trade body of the world's main tours, the International Federation of PGA Tours. All of these tours offer points in the official world golf rankings to those who take part.

There are also several senior tours for men 50 and older, the best known of which is the US-based Champions Tour, and development tours for players attempting to gain their card to compete on the main tours such as the Nationwide (US) and Challenge (Europe) Tours.

Outside of these tours are the four major championships, the three WGC events and other team events such as the Ryder Cup, the President's Cup and the Walker Cup.