The magazine started by John F. Barnett in 1950 in Chicago,[2][3] moved to Connecticut in 1964 and was sold to The New York Times Company in 1969.

On May 13, 2019, Discovery, Inc. acquired Golf Digest from Condé Nast, in order to integrate with GolfTV.

This is created using information from national golf associations, plus votes by the same panelists supplemented by some additional ones with international knowledge.

In 2010, Golf Digest produced its inaugural ranking of "America's Top 50 Courses for Women".

In creating the ranking, the magazine used nominations and evaluations by its panel of over 100 female raters as well as the woman-friendly criteria established by the editors.