A Meeting with History

A scene I witnessed Sunday morning captured in a single frame the intersection of history and culture and gender at the first Women's British Open at St Andrews this week. A little before 11 a.m., I was standing on the stone terrace in front of the imposing, grey stone Royal and Ancient Golf Club, watching the twosome of Yuri Fudoh and In-Bee Park tee off. In just two hours, at 12:55 Scotland time, the tournament leader, Mexico's Lorena Ochoa would embark on her final round—and with a six shot lead—an anticipated appointment with history.

I looked behind me into the big window of the clubhouse. There, sitting in the usually all-male Members Room watching the action, was one of the LPGA Tour's founders, Louise Suggs, now in her 80s, sitting with Commissioner Carolyn Bivens and several female Tour officials. Bivens left the building a few minutes later and stopped to chat. "As we were sitting there, I said to Louise, 'Did you ever think you'd be watching the final of the Women's British Open on the Old Course from an armchair in the all-male R&A clubhouse?' Louise answered, 'Not only did I never think I'd be here seeing this, I never imagined there would be a woman player changing her baby's diaper in the locker room as there was this week."

The experience of being in St. Andrews this week to watch women professionals compete for the first time on the Old Course, the "home of golf," has been a fascinating one, full of awe and wonder and contradictions. Here are a few scenes and anecdotes that will hopefully give you a sense of the the different perspectives of the players, the women golfers of St. Andrews, and the members of the R&A.

Tuesday and Wednesday: It's a sunny, blustery day and the players are out on the course for their  practice rounds. Even as they test the shots they will need in the coming days—blind drives over huge gorse bushes,  hundred yard putts, pinpoint irons—they are giddy tourists who are stopping to snap photos of each other on the famous Swilcan Bridge. "It's amazing," gushes Cristie Kerr who I run into after her round. "To be here is such an incredible experience. Playing this course, having the R&A give women the run of the clubhouse for the first time during this tournament. They've even put plates with our names on the lockers. It feels incredible."

Friday: I ring the bell next to the red door of the St Rule Club which sits catty corner from the R&A clubhouse, just across the vast 18th green. The St Rule is one of two all-women's social and golf clubs in St Andrews, and I've made an appointment to meet some of the members to get their view on the Women's British Open and its place in history. I sit down with Marigold Spier, the club's unofficial historian, Seonain McAainsh, and Dr. Eve Soulsby. While McAinsh and Soulsby are recreational golfers, Marigold Spier was one of Scotland's top amateurs, and behind us, there are exhibits of the history of women's golf in Scotland that show her competing in various famous Scottish and European competitions. There are also photos of Annika Sorenstam and Catriona Matthew winning the famous St. Rule Trophy, a top amateur competition.

St Rule was founded in 1896, first as a social club for women who came into town to shop and who needed a place to gather and, literally, to wait for their husbands who were playing golf across the way. "Some of the members got bored and started a golfing section of the club about six months later," says Spier. "Today, golfers make up the majority of the membership. We have about 500 golfers and 300 non golfers."

They explain that St Rule has the same rights as the R&A to the Old Course and the other courses of St Andrews, which are all open to the residents of the town. I ask them what they think of the Women's British Open being played on the course, and about the fact that the R&A does not accept women members.  "Having the professinal women here is a significant event, but it's not really a breakthrough," says Spiers. "Women have played on the Old Course for more than a hundred years. There have been lots of amateur competitions here.

She adds, "They're always trying to stir [the issue] up, and we don't want it stirred up. We're very happy. We don't want to be members of the R&A. We have lots of interaction with them. We help them and they help us and it's very satisfactory to everybody."

Friday: I've arranged to borrow two "official" badges that will allow myself and writer Lauren St John (author of GFW's current story, "Pilgrimage to St Andrews") into the R&A clubhouse. Lauren, who used to cover men's golf for The Times of London, watched a female colleague, Liz Kahn, being bodily evicted from the R&A in 1990 when she dared cross the threshold of the locker room to ask for a player interview. We pass the barriers and guards and cross the threshold. I feel as if we're entering the Vatican of golf, and in many ways, we are. 

The R&A celebrated its 250th anniversary in 2004, and is the governing body for the sport for the entire world, excepting North America and Mexico. We cross the threshold and politely ask if we can have a tour. Discussion ensues, and a woman tells us that her husband, an R&A member, will put on his tie (required) and escort us round the rooms. The member, John Gibson, is lovely and knowledgeable, but I have to say the tour is oddly unsettling. It's as if we are suddenly back in the glorious days when the sun never set on the British Empire. We enter the Trophy Room and Mr. Gibson points out various Trophies in the display cases. There is The Silver Beaver, a large silver cup that is given for an annual competition between the R&A and Canada. There is The Kangaroo's Paw, a rather incredible "trophy" for the regular tournament between the R&A and Australia that is made of a preserved portion of a kangaroo leg and hoof (yes, still with hair), attached to a long silver rod. The "piece de resistance" is called The Captain's Balls. This is a large silver golf club (actually there are two) with many silver golf balls hanging off the shaft from small hooks. "Each new Captain is presented with a silver ball," explains Mr. Gibson. "All the captains of the R&A are represented here. And see this one gold one? That was given to Prince Andrew, a former R&A captain."

In the same room are several card tables with glass display tops that hold R&A memorabilia. Lauren and I particularly note a postcard that was created when the first British Woman summited Everest. Along with a slightly comedic drawing of a woman mountaineer, there are the words: "British Woman Summits Everest. Next thing you know they'll be joining the R&A."

We wander through the building, looking at memorabilia that literally represent the history of golf. There are clubs made and played by Old Tom Morris, who was custodian of the links from 1865 to 1903. There is a portrait of of Francis Ouimet above the staircase, painted by Dwight Eisenhower. There are photographs and mementos and trophies spanning hundreds of years. The tour is mesmerizing, but as we exit the building, Lauren says, "Do you realize that of all the things we just saw, there was not one mention or reference or representation of women. Where are Mary Queen of Scots and Glenna Collett and Joyce Wethered and Mickey Walker and Annika Sorenstam?"

When the Women's British Open champion is crowned this afternoon on the steps of the R&A, it will be a historic occasion. The first woman to win a professional tournament at the "home of golf" may very well be a woman from a non-European country. Whoever she is, her trophy and photograph will hopefully join those of golf's other champions on the shelves of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club.