From feminist pioneers to putting pros, the historic journey of the St. Andrews Ladies Putting Club

“Who would you back to sink a putt to save your life? Tiger Woods? Jack Nicklaus? Ben Crenshaw? These are all valid 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.”

Established in 1867, the St. Andrews Ladies Putting Club is the oldest ladies golf club in the world. Its existence is the result of some perseverant, golf-loving women and some disgruntled men. The club’s membership is now over 150 years old, and there is an ever-growing waiting list to join the 140-strong membership. This is a testament to the enduring popularity of the club and the important role that it has played in the history of golf.

When the daughters of members of the St. Andrews Royal & Ancient (R&A) Club 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. 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.