A less charitable observation came from a cantankerous St. Andrews
colonel who, having had his regular game disrupted once too often,
declared,
“The links is not a place for women. They talk incessantly,
they never stand
still, and if they do, the wind won’t allow their
dresses to stand still.”
He expressed that view in 1867, a year that would prove to be
important in the history of women’s golf. At the time, the St. Andrews
caddies
had set up a primitive four-hole putting course on the ground
now occupied by
Rusacks Hotel. It seems that a group of women, then
relegated recreationally to
archery and croquet, had taken an interest
in golf. To further that interest,
they began to avail themselves of
the wee links, venturing on at first when the
caddies were at work,
then later more brazenly in full view of the lads, who
could only look
on in sullen disapproval.
At length a few R&A members became sensitive to the situation
and suggested that some corner of St. Andrews’ linksland be set aside
for women.
On a hummocky plot of land on the seaward side of the 1st
hole, Old Tom Morris
laid out a putting course, and the world’s first
women’s golf club—the St.
Andrews Ladies’ Golf Club—was born.
Among its original rules:
1. No member shall be permitted to play with any club except a
putter, the head of which must be made of wood or aluminum.
2. During competitions, no relative of a player may keep that
player’s score. (Since the first prizes included earrings, necklaces
and
brooches, we can only conclude that some of the early competitors
were a bit
overzealous.)
The initial membership was restricted to 100 regular members and
50 associate members, the latter group being persons of the male
persuasion. It
turns out many of the founding members were young and
unattached, so the putting
course provided a sort of open-air parlor
where the lassies could be courted
without need of chaperones. Within
five years the club was holding an annual
ball at a town hotel, with
dancing until dawn, and by 1887 the membership had
grown to more than
500.
By the turn of the century there were more than 100 women’s clubs
in Scotland, including St. Andrews’ own St. Rule Club, which still
maintains an
avid golf section. (In 1990 Annika Sorenstam won the St.
Rule Trophy, a 54-hole
amateur event staged annually over the Old and
New courses.)
Inevitably the St. Andrews Ladies’ Golf Club underwent some
changes, starting with its name. In 1948 it became the St. Andrews
Ladies’
Putting Club. About the same time, it also opened its course to
the public.
Today, more than 50,000 people each year putter across its
billowing two acres.
For my money, the Himalayas, as it’s known, is the
second-most fun course in
town (after the Old), and with a green fee of
just 70 pence, it’s also the best
deal. (I hope at least a few of the
Women’s Open competitors will give it a
try.)
Meanwhile the St. Andrews Ladies’ Putting Club is still going
strong at age 140. There’s even a modest clubhouse, complete with
veranda,
overlooking the course. The current membership is restricted
to 200 regular
members and 50 associates, who have the course to
themselves each evening from 5
to 6 p.m., their matches often followed
by cocktails at members’ homes. The club
has a waiting list of three to
four years, and my good wife is on that list. So
am I.
