Former name | British Golf Museum |
---|---|
Established | 1989 (opened in 1990) |
Location | Bruce Embankment, St Andrews, Scotland |
Coordinates | 56°20′38″N2°48′06″W / 56.343947°N 2.801755°W |
Architect | Richard Murphy Architects (renovated in June 2015) |
Owner | The R&A |
Website | www |
The R&A World Golf Museum (previously known as the British Golf Museum) [1] is located opposite the clubhouse of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club in St Andrews, Scotland. The R&A owns and operates the museum. [2]
The museum, which opened in 1990, documents the history of golf from Medieval times to the present, including the men's and women's games, British and international, both professional and amateur. Exhibits include historic equipment, memorabilia and art work, documentation, the history of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club, and the rules and terminology of the game.
The museum was established in 1989 in an existing, single-storey building behind the Clubhouse. [3] Later, the building was renovated and expanded, for a total area of 580 square metres (6,200 sq ft), including a rooftop cafe. [3] Construction started in summer 2014 and was completed in June 2015. [3]
The museum reopened on 21 Jun 2021 as The R&A World Golf Museum, previously known as the British Golf Museum. [1]
The museum displays part of the collection of the Women Golfers' Museum (WGM), while its books, photographs etc. are housed in the special collections of University of St Andrews Library. [4] The WGM was opened in April 1939 at the Lady Golfers' Club in London, with Issette Pearson as president and Mabel Stringer as chairman. In 1961 the Lady Golfers Club merged with the Golfers Club but by 1968 the museum had to find a new home and was displayed in various London clubs and from 1977 to 1980 at Colgate-Palmolive's offices. It was shown in the National Museum of Antiquities in Edinburgh from 1982 to 1984, before moving to its current home. [5] The collection "present[s] a comprehensive history of the ladies' game" and includes material such as Rhona Adair's golf-balls and Poppy Wingate's shoes. [6]
The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews is one of the oldest golf clubs in the world. It is a private members-only club based in St Andrews in Scotland. It was previously known colloquially as "The R&A", but in 2004, a new organisation known as The R&A was spun off, assuming the club's functions as one of the governing authorities of the game and organiser of tournaments such as The Open Championship. Despite this legal separation, one of the club's objectives remains to contribute, through its members, to the governance, championship organisation, and golf development roles now carried out by The R&A.
St Andrews Links in the town of St Andrews, Fife, Scotland, is regarded as the "Home of Golf". It has one of the oldest courses in the world, where the game has been played since the 15th century. Today there are seven public golf courses: the Balgove, Eden, Jubilee, Strathtyrum, New, and the Old Course all on the links, and The Castle Course, a mile to the east of the town. The famous Old Course is widely considered one of the finest courses in the world. The courses of St Andrews Links are owned by the local authorities and operated by St Andrews Links Trust, a charitable organization.
The Old Course at St Andrews, also known as the Old Lady or the Grand Old Lady, is considered the oldest golf course in the world. It is a public course over common land in St Andrews, Fife, Scotland and is held in trust by the St Andrews Links Trust under an act of Parliament. The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews clubhouse sits adjacent to the first tee, although it is but one of many clubs that have playing privileges on the course, along with some other non-clubhouse owning clubs and the general public. Originally known as the "golfing grounds" of St Andrews, it was not until the New Course was opened in 1895 that it became known as the Old Course.
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Hamilton Grand is a prominent apartment building in St Andrews, Scotland. The building is located on Golf Place, beside the Old Course. It is seen in the coverage of the many golf tournaments played over the Old Course, and was featured in the 1981 film Chariots of Fire.
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The R&A is the collective name of a group of companies that together play a significant role within the game of golf. Historically, "the R&A" was a colloquial name for the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews; in 2004, the club spun off its previous governance and tournament organisation roles into the current R&A group, with the club itself reverting to a private members-only club. The R&A is based in St Andrews in Scotland. The R&A is the sole owner of three subsidiary companies: R&A Rules Limited, R&A Championships Limited, and R&A Group Services Limited.
The Lambton Golf and Country Club is a private golf and tennis club in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The golf club was established by Albert William Austin in 1902. The golf club is presently members with Golf Canada, and the United States Golf Association., and has hosted a number of competitions including the Canadian Open, and the Canadian Amateur Championship.
Kingsbarns Golf Links is a seaside Scottish links golf course along 1.8 miles of shoreline near St Andrews, Scotland. It opened in 2000 and has been rated as one of the best courses in Scotland. It has also been ranked as one of the top 100 courses in the world, and received numerous media and industry awards.
Golf in Scotland was first recorded in the Scottish late Middle Ages, and the modern game of golf was first developed and established in the country. The game plays a key role in the national sporting consciousness.
The Morris County Golf Club (MCGC) is a private, members-only golf club located on 175 acres (71 ha) in the upscale Convent Station section of Morris Township, New Jersey, a suburb northwest of New York City in Morris County. It is one of the 10 founding member clubs of the New Jersey State Golf Association.
The Swilcan Bridge, or Swilken Bridge, or Swilcanth as it was known, is a small stone bridge in St Andrews Links golf course, Scotland. The bridge spans the Swilcan Burn between the first and eighteenth fairways on the Old Course, and has become an important image in the sport of golf. The bridge had previously been known as the Golfers' Bridge for hundreds of years.
Philip Trammell Shutze was an American architect. He became a partner in 1927 of Hentz, Adler & Shutze. He is known for his neo-classical architecture.
St Andrews Golf Club, originally known as St Andrews Mechanics Golf Club, is a private members’ golf club located in St Andrews, Scotland. The club is one of the oldest golf clubs in the world, having been established in 1843.
The Challenge Belt was awarded to the winner of The Open Championship in golf from 1860 until 1870. It was replaced by the Claret Jug for the 1872 Open Championship which is still being used to the present day. The winner of the first Open Championship, Willie Park Sr., in 1860 at the Prestwick Golf Club received no prize money; instead, he was allowed to keep the Belt until the following Open Championship.
St Andrews Ladies’ Putting Club, originally known as the St Andrews Ladies Golf Club when it was first established in 1867 for female golf players to use, now the club is also known as the Ladies’ Putting Club of St Andrews, or simply the Putting Club. The club is still a ladies only golf club based in St Andrews, Fife, Scotland. It is generally known to visitors as The Himalayas putting course, which is where the club's members and visitors play, and is thought to be the first minigolf course ever made. The Himalayas name comes about from the peaks and troughs on the course. It has both 9 and 18-hole courses, and is open to men, women and children visitors alike for a nominal fee. The club is the world’s oldest ladies’ golf club.
The St Rule Club is a woman's golf and social club based in St Andrews, Scotland, and was established at the end of 1896, although it was not until 1898 when the golf section was established.