R&A World Golf Museum Facts for Kids

The R&A World Golf Museum

The R&A World Golf Museum
Former name	British Golf Museum
Established	1989 (opened in 1990)
Location	Bruce Embankment, St Andrews, Scotland
Architect	Richard Murphy Architects (renovated in June 2015)
Owner	The R&A

The R&A World Golf Museum is a cool place to learn about golf! It used to be called the British Golf Museum. You can find it in St Andrews, Scotland. It's right across from the famous Royal and Ancient Golf Club. The R&A organization owns and runs this museum.

The museum first opened its doors in 1990. It tells the whole story of golf, from olden times to today. This includes both men's and women's golf. You can learn about golf in Britain and around the world. It covers both professional and amateur players.

Discover Golf History
- How the Museum Grew
Women's Golf Collection
Images for kids
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Discover Golf History

Inside the museum, you'll find lots of interesting things. There are old golf clubs and balls. You can see special items and amazing artwork. The museum also has many documents and pictures. You can learn about the history of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club. Plus, you'll discover the rules and words used in golf.

How the Museum Grew

The museum started in 1989 in a building behind the Clubhouse. Later, the building got a big makeover and became much larger. It now has a total area of about 580 square meters (6,243 square feet). This includes a cafe on the roof where you can grab a bite. The building work began in the summer of 2014. It was finished in June 2015.

The museum got a new name and reopened on June 21, 2021. It changed from the British Golf Museum to The R&A World Golf Museum.

Women's Golf Collection

The museum also shows a special part of the Women Golfers' Museum (WGM) collection. Many of its books and photos are kept at the University of St Andrews Library. The WGM first opened in London in April 1939. Important women like Issette Pearson and Mabel Stringer helped start it.

Over the years, the WGM collection moved around. It was shown in different clubs in London. From 1977 to 1980, it was at Colgate-Palmolive's offices. Then, from 1982 to 1984, it was in the National Museum of Antiquities in Edinburgh. Finally, it found its home at the current museum. This collection shares the full story of women's golf. It includes cool items like golf balls that belonged to Rhona Adair and shoes worn by Poppy Wingate.