As we look back on the four majors played on the 2011 professional golf calendar, it’s going to be hard to imagine future years matching the level of excitement and drama that we saw this year at the Masters, the U.S. Open, the British Open, and the just-completed PGA Championship. I mean, think about it: if you recall, the back nine at The Masters provided some of the greatest excitement ever seen at a major, with the fate of no less than eight golfers seemingly hinging on a single swing, and everyone (announcers included) clueless as to what would happen next. Then, at the U.S. Open at Congressional we saw young Rory McIloy not only live up to all the hype to capture his first major, but avenge his Masters meltdown (a final round 80).

The Open Championship at Royal St. George’s last month lived up to every expectation with the rain, the wind, and a Mickelson charge that fell short, allowing sentimental favorite Darren Clarke to take home the claret jug. And then, to top it all off, this past weekend at the PGA where it seemed a true changing of the guard was taking place – Tiger Woods missing the cut and a 3rd-round leaderboard filled with a bunch of fearless young guns. Watching Keegan Bradley rebound from triple-bogey disaster at the 15th and Jason Dufner struggle to hold on through a brutal last four holes made for as compelling golf as one will ever see.

I’m not sure there is much to be learned from each of these events in total – each had its own drama and unique tale to tell – but it would be hard to ignore the fact that 2011 (at least as far as the majors are concerned) ends with three extremely talented youngsters (Charl Schwartzel, McIlroy, and Bradley) winning their first majors and giving us a glimpse into what should be years of exceptional golf to come, eclipsing both those at the top of world rankings (Luke Donald, Lee Westwood, Martin Kaymer, etc.) and those greats of majors past who seem to have shown their first signs of golf mortality (Woods, Mickelson).

There’s a lot of leaves and snow to fall before the first 2012 major, but I can’t wait for Augusta to see how the golf world looks at that time.