The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews is one of the oldest and most prestigious golf clubs in the world (the oldest being the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers at Muirfield). It is based in St Andrews, Fife, Scotland, and is regarded as the worldwide "Home of Golf".[1] Formerly, it was also one of the governing authorities of the game, but in 2004 this role was handed over to a newly formed group of companies, collectively known as The R&A.
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The organisation was founded in 1754 as the Society of St Andrews Golfers, a local golf club playing at St Andrews Links, but quickly grew in importance. In 1834, King William IV became its patron and the club became known under its present name. In 1897, the Society codified the rules of golf, and, gradually over the next 30 years, was invited to take control of the running of golf tournaments at other courses.
The R&A is the ruling authority of golf throughout the world except the United States and Mexico, where this responsibility rests with the United States Golf Association (USGA). It works in collaboration with national amateur and professional golf organisations in more than one hundred and ten countries.
The R&A cooperates with the USGA in producing and regularly revising the "Rules of Golf", and the two bodies have issued the rules jointly since 1952. They also collaborate on the corresponding exegetic work, the "Decisions on the Rules of Golf". The R&A is also involved in formulating technical specifications for golfing equipment. Dr Steve Otto is the technical Director at the R and A. The R and A is based in St Andrews, Fife, Scotland.
The R&A founded what is now the Official World Golf Ranking for male professionals in 1986, and the World Amateur Golf Ranking for male amateurs in 2007.
The R&A organises 11 championships and international matches:
Apart from the Junior Open Championships all of these events are for men and boys. The Ladies Golf Union organises a similar range of events for women and girls, most notably the Women's British Open. The R&A is also involved in the organisation of the two World Amateur Team Championships - the Eisenhower Trophy for men and the Espirito Santo Trophy for women - through its role in the International Golf Federation.
The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews itself is now simply a golf club. It has 2,400 members from all over the world. Although the clubhouse is situated just behind the first tee of the Old Course, the club does not own any of the St Andrews courses, despite the common misconception, and must share the tee times with members of other local clubs, residents and visitors alike. Responsibility for the management of the courses is undertaken by the St Andrews Links Trust, a charitable organization that owns and runs seven golf courses at St Andrews.
Media related to [//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:The_Royal_and_Ancient_Golf_Club_of_St_Andrews The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews] at Wikimedia Commons
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