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British Golf Museum
British Golf Museum, Scotland
The British Golf Museum is close to the famous 18th hole of St Andrews Old Course in Fife. The museum tells the story of golf from its origins in the Middle Ages through to the present day. This is a story without a clear beginning. There is a possible Dutch origin, with the word "golf" perhaps deriving from a Dutch word for club. But the earliest documented recordings of golf relate to Scotland. The earliest known written reference to golf dates to 1457 when King James II of Scotland banned golf and football because both sports were distracting men from their archery practice. Golf was played on scrubby, sandy coastal ground, which was not worth using for any other purpose. Today golf courses throughout the world, expensively created, mimick the scrubby coastal landscape of St Andrews, which from the first days of golf was a centre for the game.
St Andrews Old Course, 18th Hole
The Golf Museum describes the development of golf chronologically, from the Origins of Golf Gallery, through the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, to interwar golf and modern golf. There are also changing topical displays. The museum includes a shop selling golfing items.
Naturally a visit to the museum can be combined with a visit to the famous St Andrews Old Course which lies close by. There is a library dedicated to golf which is open to the public.
Directons: From the centre of St Andrews, go to the top end of North Street, turn into Golf Place, which leads into Bruce Embankment. The museum will be on your left. Click here for an interactive map centred on the British Golf Museum.
Address: British Golf Museum, Bruce Embankment, St Andrews, Fife, KY16 9AB
Opening Times: January to March open daily 10am - 4pm.
April to October, Monday - Saturday 9.30am - 5pm and Sunday 10am - 5pm.
November and December open daily 10am - 4pm.
Access: There is wheelchair access to all areas, braille information, and adapted toilet facilities.
Contact:
telephone: 01334 460046
fax: 01334 460064
e-mail: judychance@randa.org
web site: http://www.britishgolfmuseum.co.uk/index.html