The R&A World Golf Museum (previously known as the British Golf Museum) is located opposite the clubhouse of the

Royal and Ancient Golf Club 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 kn ...

St Andrews St Andrews (; ; , pronounced ʰʲɪʎˈrˠiː.ɪɲ is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fourth-largest settleme ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

The R&A The R&A (or more formally, the R&A Trust Company (No. 1) Limited) 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 A ...

owns and operates the museum. The museum, which opened in 1990, documents the

history of golf The origins of golf are unclear and much debated. However, it is generally accepted that modern golf developed in Scotland from the Middle Ages onwards. The game did not find international popularity until the late 19th century, when it spread int ...

from

Medieval times In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and t ...

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. Later, the building was renovated and expanded, for a total area of , including a rooftop

cafe A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café (), is an establishment that serves various types of coffee, espresso, latte, americano and cappuccino, among other hot beverages. Many coffeehouses in West Asia offer ''shisha'' (actually called ''nargil ...

. Construction started in summer 2014 and was completed in June 2015. The museum reopened on 21 Jun 2021 as The R&A World Golf Museum, previously known as the British Golf Museum.

Women Golfers' Museum

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. The WGM was opened in April 1939 at the Lady Golfers' Club in London, with

Issette Pearson Frances Issette Jessie Pearson (2 November 1861 – 25 April 1941) was an English golfer and the first honorary secretary of the Ladies Golf Union (LGU) which was founded in 1893. Personal life Pearson was born at Gatcombe House, Littlehempston, ...

as president and

Mabel Stringer Mabel Emily Stringer (25 September 1868 – 10 February 1958) was a British golf enthusiast and sporting journalist. She founded a number of golf organisations and served on others. Life Stringer was born in New Romney in 1868. Her parents were H ...

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 The Colgate-Palmolive Company, commonly known as Colgate-Palmolive, is an American multinational corporation, multinational consumer products company headquartered on Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The company specializes in ...

's offices. It was shown in the National Museum of Antiquities in Edinburgh from 1982 to 1984, before moving to its current home. The collection "present a comprehensive history of the ladies' game" and includes material such as

Rhona Adair Rhona Kathleen Adair (2 September 1881 – 27 March 1961) was an Irish amateur golfer. She won the British Ladies Amateur twice and the Irish Ladies' Close Championships four times at the start of the twentieth century. Life Adair was bor ...

's golf-balls and Poppy Wingate's shoes.

Images of the R&A World Golf Museum

File:British Golf Museum St. Andrews (3735752973).jpg, The British Golf Museum in 2009 before it was renovated File:British Golf Museum- geograph-6577247-by-Graeme-Yuill.jpg, The museum during renovation in 2014 File:British Golf Museum-geograph-5617749-by-Graeme-Yuill.jpg, The British Golf Museum in 2017 after it was renovated File:The rear of the British Golf Museum, St Andrews- geograph-6167400-by-Richard-Sutcliffe (cropped).jpg, The rear of the British Golf Museum in 2019 File:The R&A World Golf Museum, St Andrews with a closer view of the building.jpg, The R&A World Golf Museum in 2022

References

External links

Official site
Golf in Scotland Golf museums and halls of fame Museums in Fife Sports museums in Scotland St Andrews Museums established in 1990 1990 establishments in the United Kingdom 1990 establishments in Scotland Buildings and structures completed in 2015 Golf in the United Kingdom History of golf Women's golf Women's museums in the United Kingdom {{UK-museum-stub

Women Golfers' Museum

Images of the R&A World Golf Museum

See also

References

External links