From feminist pioneers to putting pros, the historic journey of the world’s oldest ladies golf club

A St. Andrews Ladies Golf Club member playing during the late 19th century.

St Andrews Ladies Putting Club

CNN
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Who would you back to sink a putt to save your life? Tiger Woods? Jack Nicklaus? Ben Crenshaw?

There is a plethora of debatable options, but it is unlikely many would look to a group of women in Fife, Scotland, with no professional golfing experience, many of whom are far more mature than the average Tour player.

Yet perhaps they should, because anyone putting their life in the hands of the St. Andrews Ladies Putting Club would be entrusting it to an organization with over 150 years of short game experience.

Golf began in Scotland some 600 years ago and the country represents a bucket list destination for many dedicated addicts. St. Andrews (pictured) is known as the “Home of Golf” and its Old Course is arguably the game’s most hallowed turf.

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St. Andrews: Golf has been played over the dunes and linksland of St. Andrews since the 15th century. The clubhouse of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club stands sentinel over the unique layout which starts and finishes in town.

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St. Andrews: There are six courses squeezed onto St. Andrews’ links, with the Old Course at their heart. The Road Hole 17th and 18th form an iconic finishing stretch.

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St. Andrews: The Old Course is known for its blind drives over seas of gorse, vast greens, and swales, humps and hollows which require imagination and the ability to use the ground to your advantage.

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Turnberry: Now best known for being owned by US President Donald Trump, Turnberry on Scotland’s west coast is a spectacular setting with a famous Edwardian hotel, all of which underwent a multimillion dollar revamp when Trump took over.

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Turnberry: The Ailsa course occupies a sublime location overlooking the Firth of Clyde with sweeping views to the Ailsa Craig rock and the Isle of Arran.

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Trump International: Controversy has dogged Donald Trump’s new course north of Aberdeen since day one — with environmental concerns chief among the criticism — but when it opened in 2012 it was clear that from a golfing point of view it was a new gem. Winding through towering dunes and sunken valleys with tantalizing snapshots of the sea, the course offers the full Scottish links experience, with American hospitality thrown in.

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Trump International: Trump’s Aberdeen venture features two out-and-back loops of nine holes in an authentic natural setting. The modest clubhouse at its heart offers several dining options, including the award-winning MacLeod House Restaurant, and a whiskey bar.

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Royal Troon: This is a classic old links on Scotland’s Ayrshire coast north of Turnberry.

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Royal Troon: The course is famed for its devilish par-three eighth hole, dubbed the “Postage Stamp.” It’s only 123 yards long but provides a stiff test in the wind, with deep bunkers and a thin green.

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Carnoustie: Northeast of Dundee on Scotland’s east coast lies the fearsome links of Carnoustie, known as one of the toughest courses in the British Isles.

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Carnoustie: The Championship course is the main pull and is famed as the venue where Jean Van de Velde paddled in the burn during a final-hole collapse during the British Open in 1999.

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Muirfield: The jewel in the crown of Scotland’s “Golf Coast” of East Lothian, Muirfield is a celebrated if controversial venue.

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Muirfield: The testing track near Gullane was mired in controversy before the club finally voted — at the second attempt — to admit female members.

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Gullane: Close to Muirfield is another revered club with three courses. Gullane No.1 is the pick but all offer a satisfying slice of Scottish golf at its finest.

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North Berwick: Along the coast from Muirfield lies a quirky, historic masterpiece with views over Bass Rock and an upturned “reddan” style green that has been copied the world over.

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The Renaissance Club: Another East Lothian gem with stellar views.

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Royal Dornoch: On the north shore of the Dornoch Firth on Scotland’s northeast coast lies one of its most revered courses. Golf has been played in the seaside town, north of Inverness, since 1616 but the current club has “only” been in existence since 1877.

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Royal Dornoch: The venerable spot hosts two courses — the Championship and the Struie — but it is the former track that draws in visitors from around the world. Winding along sinuous sandy shores and among the dunes behind, the fast-running course features humps, hollows, pot bunkers and gorse of a true links test, sandwiched between the sea and purple heather-clad mountains.

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Kingsbarns: Just along the coast from St Andrews is Kingsbarns, a blockbuster of a modern links in a spectacular cliff-top setting, opened in 2000. Crafted on land that first witnessed golf in 1793, Kingsbarns quickly went to the top of many wish lists for its rugged scenery, testing championship course and lavish hospitality.

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Kingsbarns: It features as one of three top-notch courses used in the European Tour’s annual Dunhill Links Championship along with St Andrews’ Old Course and Carnoustie. Nearby are other Scottish links gems such as Crail, Elie, Leven and Lundin Links.

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Castle Stuart: Although it only opened in 2009, Castle Stuart on the banks of the Moray Firth has become a highlight of golf in the Highlands. The course, overlooked by a towering white art-deco clubhouse, hugs the shore and shelving cliffs on a thin stretch of links land with views to Ben Wyvis mountain, Kessock Bridge, Fort George and Chanonry lighthouse.

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Castle Stuart: The course is 10 minutes from Inverness airport and within a short drive of Speyside’s Malt Whiskey Trail, taking in eight distilleries, including Glenfiddich and The Glenlivet. Other local courses such as Brora, Nairn and Gulspie are worth a trip.

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Loch Lomond: Everything about Loch Lomond oozes luxury. From 18th Century Rossdhu House at its center to a spectacular parkland-style course on the banks of the eponymous loch — Britain’s largest expanse of fresh water — it’s a study in elegance. The rub is, it’s a private club so access is like a golden ticket from Willy Wonka.

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Loch Lomond: It’s a relatively recent addition to Scotland’s golfing repertory, designed by former US golf star Tom Weiskopf and Jay Morrish and opened in 1993, but its setting between mountains and water in the grounds of the ruined medieval castle ensures its a regular in lists of the world’s best courses.

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Gleneagles: A one-stop shop for golf and glamor, Gleneagles offers an inland antidote to Scotland’s normal diet of windswept links courses. With a five-star hotel, three top-notch courses, bags of country pursuits and Scotland’s only restaurant with two Michelin stars — Andrew Fairlie at Gleneagles — this highland estate northeast of Edinburgh offers plenty of bang for its buck.

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Gleneagles: The Jack Nicklaus-designed Centenary course — used for the 2014 Ryder Cup — is the centerpiece of the golf offering, a big, parkland-style layout with soaring views to purple heather-clad mountains. The Gleneagles Hotel opened in 1924, dubbed the “Riviera of the Highlands” and now features 232 bedrooms including 27 suites. More than 50 onsite luxury lodges can also be rented.

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Royal Aberdeen: As with many of Scotland’s finest courses, golf in these parts goes way back — Royal Aberdeen Golf Club was founded on land close to the “Granite City” in 1780, and is said to be the world’s sixth oldest golf club. The historic Balgownie course is the highlight, a classic links layout threading its way through the natural ecosystem of dunes.

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Machrihanish: For golf off the beaten track, this historic club in the village of Machrihanish lies on the long finger of the Kintyre peninsula on Scotland’s west coast pointing towards Northern Ireland. Machrihanish, with a famous opening shot over the sea, is another links in classic Scottish tradition, with undulating fairways, firm turf, pot bunkers, gorse, wind and vast views towards the islands of Islay, Jura and Gigha.

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Established in 1867, the group is the oldest ladies golf club in the world, a title owed to some perseverant, golf-loving women – and some disgruntled men.

When the daughters of members of the St. Andrews Royal & Ancient (R&A) Club – widely regarded as the historic home of the game – decided they wanted to play golf, it was not a conventional activity for women. Croquet and archery were the traditional choices among the limited options available.

When the women ventured onto the caddy’s putting course, which was used by those manning the members’ golf bags between rounds, the caddies wanted them gone almost immediately.

“They didn’t like it at all, and I don’t think the members liked it very much either,” club archivist Eve Soulsby told CNN’s The Jazzy Golfer.

Putting things right

But the caddies had a problem: As employees of the club, they couldn’t complain to the members. A compromise quickly emerged – to give the women a piece of land next to the iconic Swilcan Bridge that they could use as a nine-hole putting course.

It was a rough area, filled with rabbit holes, divots and sand, but it was a start. One month later, 22 women competed at the St. Andrews Ladies Golf Club’s inaugural tournament.

The word quickly spread. By the late 1880s, the membership had grown to 600, including male associate members. Today, there is an ever-growing waiting list to join the 140-strong membership, a number kept low to ensure tournaments run smoothly.

Members of the St. Andrews Ladies Golf Club gather for a picture, taken in the late 19th century.

St Andrews Ladies Putting Club

Soon after, Old Tom Morris, the course’s resident player, and greenkeeper, often referred to as the “founding father of golf,” decided it would be a good idea for the ladies to visit the nearby Himalaya section of the course, so named because of its hilly topography.

Morris prepared the area for the club before retiring in 1895, when he was made an honorary member.

ST ANDREWS, SCOTLAND – AUGUST 14: A general view from behind the green on the par 4, 12th hole on The Old Course at St Andrews on August 14, 2021 in St Andrews, Scotland. (Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images)

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Soulsby believes the club’s early members played a pivotal role in gaining more independence for the women of St. Andrews towards the turn of the century, citing the creation of the women’s course, which – alongside the Himalaya’s putting course – remains playable to this day.

Income raised from visitors to the putting course is donated to local charities, with an exception made last year to give funds to Ukrainian organizations.

Officially named The Jubilee Course and opened in 1897, the fact that the women’s designated 18 holes was coined “The Duffers Course” reflected commonly held attitudes towards women during the period. “We pretend that didn’t happen,” Soulsby added.

Royal roots

Among those carrying the torch for those early pioneers today is Sylvia Dunne, the club’s current president.

A member since 2011, Dunne helps organize the group’s weekly tournaments; a showpiece two-round event on Wednesday afternoons and a one-round competition on Thursday morning for the so-called “oldies” who may struggle to manage multiple rounds.

“It’s the camaraderie and everything too, because if you get older and you can’t play golf, you could be just stuck at home doing nothing all day, and this is really a very social club,” she said.

“The best part is the afterwards because they have coffee and biscuits and a blither.”

Members of the St Andrews Ladies Putting Club before a match against members of the St Andrews Links in 2018.

Sylvia Dunne

Members who won tournaments in the early 20th century may have been lucky enough to take home a royal prize. The club’s first regal donation came from Prince Leopold, youngest son of Queen Victoria, and other trophies later followed from Edward VIII and King George VI.

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At one time, R&A captains also donated trophies, but now they face off against the Ladies Putting Club in an annual 18 vs 18 putting competition.

Dunne is one of the most prolific putters at the club, sweeping six trophies in a single season during her best year. However, she admits the putting green can be a cruel mistress, even for her.

“One day recently I was so exasperated,” she said. “We have a prize at the end of the season for the most holes in one – so I suggested, isn’t it time we had a prize for the most near misses?

“There is a lot of skill involved, but there’s also a lot of luck. Some days the ball rolls for you and other days it will not drop in the hole.”