Museums Galleries Scotland has announced that a museum collection which illustrates the story of the nation’s golfing history has become the 38th Recognised Collection of National Significance.
The British Golf Museum, located beside The Royal and Ancient Clubhouse in St Andrews, documents the history of golf from medieval times to the present, including the men’s and women’s games, British and international, both professional and amateur. Exhibits include historic equipment, memorabilia and art work, and archive documentation relating to the history of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club and the Rules of the game. Collection highlights include the oldest known set of golf clubs in the world, the first Open Championship Gold Medal and visitors can watch the oldest known footage of a golf match dating from 1894.
Minister for Commonwealth Games and Sport, Shona Robison, presented the museum with a Recognised Collection plaque. Ms Robison said: “Golf is one of our greatest cultural and sporting assets with a long history firmly rooted in Scotland. Achieving Recognised status demonstrates the quality and significance of theBritishGolfMuseumcollection which tells a fantastic story of our love for the great game.
It is fitting that the British Golf Museum has become the 38th Collection of national significance. These collections are of great value to the people ofScotlandand to the millions of visitors we welcome from around the world every year.”
Chair of Recognition Scheme, Ray Macfarlane, said: “To gain Recognised status a museum must prove that their collection is of national importance and I congratulate the British Golf Museum on their achievement. Recognised status brings many advantages for a museum. It is a valuable ‘stamp of quality’ which tells visitors that the collection inside is of national and, quite often, international importance. It also opens up access to Recognition funding from Museums Galleries Scotland- increasing their ability to conserve the collection and to explore new ways to deliver their visitor experience.”
Angela Howe, Director of the British Golf Museum, said: “We are delighted that our collection has been awarded the status of Recognised Collection of National Significance. It is testament to the important role that golf has played in Scottish society and culture for centuries past. We are fortunate to care for a continually expanding collection that represents so comprehensively the growth of a game which can be shown to have developed in Scotland before spreading around the world, and to be in a position where we can safeguard it and make it accessible for future generations.”
The 38 Recognised are located in towns and cities across Scotland. From Orkney to Dumfries and from Dundee toAyr, visitors are inspired by collections of remarkable historic and social significance. Since the scheme launched in 2006, over £4m has been invested in supporting improvement or capital projects by the Recognised Collections and thirty-four staff posts have been created in the sector through the Recognition Fund.
Managed byMuseums GalleriesScotlandon behalf of the Scottish Government, the Recognised Collections ensureScotland’s most important collections are identified, cared for, protected and promoted to wider audiences.
British Golf Museum www.britishgolfmuseum.co.uk