Spring activities for families at The R&A World Golf Museum

The R&A World Golf Museum is featuring new exhibitions and other events for all the family this spring, as well as the chance to enjoy the Niblick restaurant.

Storytelling, fascinating exhibitions, lectures, family tea parties, Lego sessions and a retail shop are all on offer to visitors over the coming weeks and months. The Museum galleries display some of the most comprehensive collections of golf history in the world, bringing the rich heritage of the sport to life. 

Fairways and Railways

This year the Museum is staging two temporary exhibitions with the first, Fairways and Railways, opening earlier this month and running until 13 August.  It focuses on the connection between golf and railways, highlighting a collection of colourful posters produced by LNER between 1920-50 and designed by prominent artists of the time to encourage people to purchase train tickets to travel and play golf. “They really are stunning posters and quite evocative of the 20s and 30s,” said curator Rebecca Prentice.

Walker Cup

After it ends, an exhibition on the Walker Cup will be launched to coincide with the 49th staging of the match being played between Great Britain and Ireland and the United States of America over the Old Course in St Andrews on the first weekend of September. Several of the game’s greatest players have participated, including Bobby Jones, Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy and the exhibition will explore the match’s most iconic moments with notable objects. It will continue to run until the end of the year.

Lecture Series

The museum’s successful lecture series has also returned, recently beginning with renowned golf writer Lewine Mair who shared her personal stories of working in golf, as well as her most recent book Tapping Feet which charts her experience of her husband’s dementia.  Other topics in the series will look at golfers with disabilities with Dr Tony Bennett, the development and influence of the railways in golfing tourism and the boom of English golf, while PhD Student Lauren Beatty will be sharing her research into the experience of women club golfers in Scotland. The monthly Golf Memories sessions (occurring on the fourth Wednesday of every month from 2 –3.30pm) in the Museum continue and are for anyone with a keen interest in the sport but are of particular benefit for those living with dementia.   There is also a new group called St Andrew Memories, a collaborative meeting held with the St Andrew Heritage Museum and Garden, which utilises their wonderful photograph archive of the town.  

Family events at the museum

Family events are also coming up, including regular drop-in craft activities, Lego free play sessions and a story-telling morning with local historian and author, Roger McStravick.    Then, on 21 May, comes a family tea party to celebrate International Tea Day, featuring the story of how St Andrews and Alice in Wonderland are connected and a chance to create some colourful crafted teacups and teapots. Running from 2 – 3.30pm, this is free of charge with donations accepted for refreshments. The Museum shop offers visitors an extensive selection of products, quality souvenirs and gift ideas to suit all. The 2023 clothing range includes leading brands like Adidas, Abacus and Marbas and will house collections from The Open, the AIG Women’s Open and the Walker Cup. The Niblick, run by Craig Sneddon, Executive Head Chef at The R&A, is gloriously situated on the top floor of the Museum with exceptional panoramas of the Old Course and West Sands and is perfect for food and drink. It can also be hired as a flexible event space for celebrations like pre-wedding meals and graduations.  The Niblick menu has been extended further for 2023 and features brunch options on a Saturday and Sunday roasts, as well as dinner service on Friday and Saturday evenings from 5.30pm – 9.30pm. View more information: https://www.worldgolfmuseum.com/