The R&A World Golf Museum — formerly the British Golf Museum — is on the Bruce Embankment, opposite the clubhouse of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club and beside the first tee of the Old Course.
It opened in 1990, is owned and run by the R&A, and it covers the history of golf from medieval times to the present: the men’s and women’s games, British and international, professional and amateur.
The Open Championship collection — the Claret Jug, the Championship Belt that preceded it, and material on the Open’s history since 1860.
Early equipment — feather balls (leather stuffed with boiled feathers, made one a day by hand and costing more than a club), gutta-percha balls, long-nosed wooden clubs, and the whole evolution of the ball and the shaft.
The women’s game, which the museum covers considerably better than most golf institutions — from the Ladies’ Golf Union’s foundation in 1893 onwards.
Player material — clubs, clothing, medals and trophies belonging to the great players, from Old and Young Tom Morris through Vardon, Jones, Hogan, Nicklaus, Player and the modern era.
The Royal and Ancient’s own history as the game’s governing body, and how the rules developed.
Interactive displays and — the bit visitors most often mention — a putting exhibit where you can try historic clubs and balls.
The museum divides opinion along a simple line: how much you like golf.
If you are a golfer, it is excellent. The collection is deep, the objects are genuine and important, and the presentation is good. Golfing visitors rate it highly and consistently.
If you are not, it is a small museum with a substantial ticket price, and you will be done in forty-five minutes. Several visitors say exactly that — nice inside, friendly staff, fun putting exhibit, and you must really like golf to make it worthwhile.
Both assessments are accurate. Judge by which one you are.
Time: ninety minutes for a golfer; forty-five minutes otherwise.
Admission charged; check for combined tickets with other St Andrews attractions.
Location: first floor, Bruce Embankment, beside the Old Course’s first tee and opposite the R&A clubhouse. Five minutes from the town centre.
Facilities: shop — good for golf books and memorabilia — and a rooftop café with a view over the Old Course and West Sands, which is worth knowing about independently of the museum.
Access: the museum is on the first floor with lift access; the galleries are level.
Opening: year-round with seasonal hours; check in winter.
The Old Course first tee and the Swilcan Bridge are immediately outside, and the course is free to walk on Sundays.
West Sands, the two-mile beach from Chariots of Fire, runs alongside.
St Andrews Aquarium is a few minutes along The Scores.
St Andrews Castle and Cathedral are ten and fifteen minutes east.
The R&A, which owns and operates the museum. It opened in 1990.
Yes — the Open Championship trophy and the Championship Belt that preceded it are in the collection.
Honestly, less so. It is a small museum with a substantial ticket, and non-golfers typically get forty-five minutes out of it.
Yes, and better than most golf institutions.
Yes — a rooftop café with a view over the Old Course and West Sands.