Royal and Ancient
The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews is the Scottish traditional club from which the worldwide rules authority The R&A emerged.
The club was founded in 1754 in St Andrews and shaped modern golf like hardly any other institution. For over two centuries it issued the Rules of Golf, first for itself, later for almost the whole world. In 2004 the rules and tournament duties were outsourced into a separate organisation that operates as The R&A. The club itself continues as a private golf club. Together with the USGA for the USA and Mexico, The R&A forms the rules under which you play everywhere in the world.
For your everyday life on the course The R&A is present above all through the rules. Every edition of the rules, every decision on equipment or manner of play carries this signature. An example: The three-minute search time, knee height for the free drop and the treatment of penalty areas go back to the joint rule reform by the R&A and the USGA. The World Handicap System, which makes your Handicap Index comparable worldwide, was developed by these two organisations.
A widespread misconception is equating the club with the rulebook. The Royal and Ancient Golf Club is a members' club, The R&A the rules organisation — two separate bodies in the same place. Equally wrong: The club does not "belong" to the world; St Andrews is a public complex of courses that every golfer can play for a green fee. Anyone who wants to go deeper into rules questions finds the basics in the frequently asked questions.
FAQ
Who decides on the Rules of Golf today — the Royal and Ancient club?
No, the club itself no longer does. The rules duties were outsourced in 2004 into a separate organisation that operates as The R&A. Together with the USGA for the USA and Mexico, The R&A publishes the rules under which you play worldwide.
Where do rules like the three-minute search time or knee height for a drop come from?
Such rules go back to the joint rule reform by the R&A and the USGA. The World Handicap System, which makes your Handicap Index internationally comparable, also comes from these two organisations. They thus directly shape your everyday life on the course.
Can I play in St Andrews as a normal golfer?
Yes. St Andrews is a public complex of courses that every golfer can play for a green fee — the Royal and Ancient Golf Club, by contrast, is a private members' club in the same place. Club, rules organisation and course are therefore three different things that are often confused.