Collection: The R&A World Golf Museum

Collection-level records:

• Collection history (Collection development policy)

  The Museum’s origins go back to 1864 when The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews granted its Committee powers:

  “to collect such articles relative to the game as they may think necessary and to make such arrangements to render them accessible to members as may be consistent with their due preservation.”

  By 1884, the collection was on display in the Clubhouse in what was described as “a cabinet of curiosities”. The collection grew with display space always limited, eventually leading to the Club opening the British Golf Museum in 1990.

  As the British Golf Museum (1990 to 2020) the basic objective of the Museum’s collecting policy was to assemble the finest possible collection of objects relating to the history of men’s and women’s golf in Britain and British influence abroad, from the Middle Ages to the present day. Also included were items representing other sports and their relationship to golf. This brief was interpreted in the widest possible sense so as to include objects relating to golf that could be construed as social history or the history of sports in general.

  As the R&A World Golf Museum (2021), this collecting policy has broadened: to assemble the finest possible collection relating to the history of golf as it evolved in Britain from the Middle Ages onwards, spread and grew around the world through British influence and latterly independently, and as is now played in all its forms by all abilities.

  Source: Collection development policy

  Date: 2023

  Licence: CC BY-NC

• Collection overview (Collection development policy)

  Themes represented within the collection include the origins of golf; early comparative ball and stick games; social and cultural evolution; golfing societies and clubs; club and ball design and manufacture; grassroots, elite amateur and professional golf; worldwide spread and adoption; The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews; The Open and the AIG Women’s Open; The R&A championships and international matches; the Rules of Golf.

  Core Collections

  Clubs and Club Heads

  The Museum holds an outstanding collection of clubs ranging from the 18th century to the present day. Priority in collecting focusses upon three areas: acquiring examples of design, technological and manufacturing evolution; examples designed by or otherwise associated with prominent clubmakers or manufacturers; and clubs used by champion golfers. A champion golfer is defined as a golfer who has won a significant national or international championship (professional or amateur) and/or has represented their country in international competition.

  Clubmaking Equipment

  The Museum has a good collection of clubmaking equipment. The bulk of the collection is associated with wooden club manufacture, deriving from the workshop of St Andrews clubmaker and collector Laurie Auchterlonie. A smaller collection of iron clubmaking equipment is also representative of the trade. Items predominantly date from the late 19th to late 20th century, and range from small woodworking tools to band saws – due to size and storage considerations, the Museum cannot collect large items of machinery associated with industrial mechanised clubmaking.

  Balls

  The Museum has an outstanding collection of feather balls, gutta percha balls, rubber-core balls and modern multi-core balls. As with clubs, the Museum’s collecting priority focusses upon significant developments in ball design; prominent ballmakers and manufacturers; or balls used by champion golfers as defined above.

  Ballmaking Equipment

  The Museum has a small but extremely important collection of feather and gutta percha ballmaking equipment. Considerations of size and storage make it almost impossible to collect machinery associated with the mechanised manufacture of balls from the rubber-core era and beyond.

  Equipment

  The Museum has an expanding collection of golf equipment, reflecting the introduction and increasing prominence of club bags, tees, markers and other accessories from the late 19th century onward. The Museum focusses upon collecting items demonstrating the design development of these items; their association with champion golfers; or role in commemorating key golfing events or institutions around the world.

  Artwork and Photographs

  The Museum has an expanding collection of artwork (original mediums and prints) and photographs (prints, slides and digital), widely represented in the Museum’s displays and publications, and covering themes such as championships, champion golfers, golf courses and clubhouses. Where necessary, due to conservation and/or setworks considerations, material from this classification chosen for display or research may be digitised and reproduced in an appropriate format.

  Medals and Trophies

  The Museum has a large and extremely important collection of medals and trophies. The Museum actively collects items won by champion golfers at national and international level, alongside items considered significant in relation to the social and cultural development of the game around the world, club prizes being the most common and representative symbols of golf’s global spread.

  Decorative Art / Memorabilia

  This is a broad classification within the collection. The Museum actively collects in this area to build on an already strongly representative collection, reflecting a wide picture of golf and its place within and influence upon society and popular culture from the late 19th century onwards, and societal changes in the game itself. This classification includes a diverse range of materials including textiles, ceramics, bronzework, metalwork, glassware and printwork.

  Documents

  The Museum has an extensive archive of contextual and research material, including autograph books, Rules books, minute books, scorecards, programmes and other championship ephemera, alongside a large collection of original club and ball patents from the late 19th century to the early 20th century.

  Costume

  The Museum’s costume collection reflects the development of specialised golfwear from the late 19th century onwards. The Museum actively collects costume, with an emphasis on clothing worn by champion golfers; the evolution of golfwear (design and perceived standards of dress); and its adoption by popular fashion.

  Film and Audio

  The Museum holds a collection of digitised film and audio material for reference, display and to support engagement and interpretation. The Museum maintains access to the original format material, and is only interested in collecting moving image or audio that comes with copyright clearances.

  Books and Periodicals

  The Museum has a large collection of golf publications covering general golf history, club histories, course design and architecture, and periodicals.

  Source: Collection development policy

  Date: 2023

  Licence: CC BY-NC