The R&A

The R&A
The R&A headquarters, Beach House,
Golf Place, St Andrews, Scotland.
SportGolf
Founded2004
AffiliationUnited States Golf Association
Regional affiliationWorldwide, except the United States, Mexico
HeadquartersBeach House, Golf Place, St Andrews, Scotland
56°20′37″N 2°48′10″W / 56.343565°N 2.802801°W / 56.343565; -2.802801
ChairmanIan Pattinson
CEOMark Darbon
Official website
www.randa.org
Scotland
The R&A World Golf Museum

The R&A (formally the R&A Trust Company (No. 1) Limited) is the collective name of a group of companies that together play a significant role in the game of golf. Historically, "the R&A" was a colloquial name for the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews; in 2004, the club spun off its previous governance and tournament organisation roles into the current R&A group, and the club itself reverted to a private members-only club. The R&A is based in St Andrews, Scotland, and is the sole owner of three subsidiary companies: R&A Rules Limited, R&A Championships Limited, and R&A Group Services Limited.

R&A Rules Limited is one of the governing bodies of golf worldwide, alongside the United States Golf Association (USGA). The USGA governs in the United States and Mexico, while the R&A governs in the rest of the world. They share a single code for the rules of golf, rules of amateur status, equipment standards and the World Amateur Golf rankings.

R&A Championships Limited organises The Open Championship, which is the world's oldest international men's major golf championship; the Women's British Open; the Senior Open Championship; as well as the Walker Cup and Curtis Cup.

The Royal and Ancient Golf Club founded what is now the Official World Golf Ranking for male professionals in 1986, and the R&A introduced the World Amateur Golf Ranking for male amateurs in 2007. The R&A also owns and operates the R&A World Golf Museum.

Rules of golf

The R&A cooperates with the USGA in producing and regularly revising the rules of golf, and the two bodies have issued rules jointly since 1952. The rules are revised on a four-year cycle. From 1990 for the first time a single set of rules applied throughout the world. The two bodies also collaborate on the corresponding interpretive publication "Decisions on the Rules of Golf", which is reviewed on a two-year cycle. Additionally, the R&A is involved in formulating technical specifications for golf equipment, which were first issued 1 January 2019.

Championships

The R&A organises 21 championships and international matches, which were previously organised by the Royal and Ancient Golf Club. After the Ladies' Golf Union, the former governing body for women's golf in Great Britain and Ireland, merged into The R&A in late 2016, The R&A took over organisation of all events formerly under the auspices of the LGU.

References

  1. 1 2 Tim Breitbarth; Sebastian Kaiser-Jovy; Geoff Dickson (20 July 2017). Golf Business and Management: A Global Introduction. Taylor & Francis. p. 265. ISBN 978-1-317-35158-0.
  2. ↑ "Written evidence submitted by the R&A". Parliament of the United Kingdom. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
  3. ↑ "The R&A appoints Mark Darbon as Chief Executive". The R&A. 1 July 2024. Retrieved 5 May 2025.
  4. 1 2 "The R&A and USGA announce new rules of amateur status for 2012" (PDF). Malta Golf Association. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 August 2021. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
  5. ↑ "Anchored putting decision due". ESPN. 17 May 2013. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
  6. ↑ "British Open". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
  7. ↑ "Trump and Turnberry continue to wait their turn". Golf Today. 2 March 2020. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
  8. ↑ "COVID-19 crisis forces R&A to move Open at Royal St George's back to 2021". Golf South. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
  9. ↑ "Rutherford Cross is delighted to be retained by The R&A to appoint a Finance Business Partner". Rutherford Cross. 17 June 2020. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
  10. 1 2 "A Brief History of Revisions to the Rules of Golf: 1744 to Present". United States Golf Association. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
  11. ↑ "Golf history… Rules, Superstar career". Highlysports. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
  12. ↑ "Ever Heard of the Decisions on the Rules of Golf?". Florida State Golf Association. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
  13. ↑ "The Equipment Rules by The R&A and USGA" (PDF). United States Golf Association. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 April 2019. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
  14. ↑ "Event Calendar". The R&A. Archived from the original on 4 January 2017. Retrieved 1 November 2020.

Further reading