The R&A
The R&A is synonymous with The Open Championship (the only major golf championship outside the US) and golf's rules.
It operates with the consent of more than 125 national and international, amateur and professional organizations, from over 110 countries and on behalf of an estimated 28 million golfers in Europe, Africa, Asia Pacific and the Americas (outside the USA and Mexico).
The R&A takes its name from The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews, which has continuous records dating back to its foundation in 1754, and although the Club continues its long history with 2,400 members throughout the world, The R&A has become a separate entity to focus on its governance role.
- The R&A took over the running of the Amateur and Open Championships in 1920
- Authority for administration of the Rules was accepted by The R&A in 1897
- Since 1952, it has jointly issued the Rules with the United States Golf Association
With the profits made from the Open Championship The R&A invests grassroots development projects around the world.
The R&A places particular emphasis on the encouragement of junior golf, on the development of the game in emerging golfing nations, on coaching and the provision of open-to-all courses and practice facilities.
United States Golf Association
The USGA is the governing body of the game of golf in America and Mexico.
It exists to preserve and protect golf's tradition, monitoring the rules of golf and equipment standards in an effort to ensure that skill rather than technology represents the essence of the game.
The USGA also conducts turfgrass and environmental research, maintains a National Handicap and Course Rating System and preserves an extensive collection of golf memorabilia at its museum and library.
On behalf of all golfers, both amateur and professional, the USGA conducts three Open championships each year - Men's, Senior Men's and Women's - and 10 amateur championships.
English Golf Union
The English Golf Union has served as the governing body of male amateur golf in England since it was founded in 1924.
It's based at the National Golf Centre in Woodhall Spa, Lincolnshire and looks after the interests of over 1,900 golf clubs and 740,000 club members.
It is a non-profit organisation run for the benefit of the game and its players. In 1995 the EGU acquired Woodhall Spa Golf Club and built an additional course and academy to create the National Golf Centre. The National Golf Centre is now the home of English amateur golf and provides a top class coaching environment for the National Squads as well as excellent golfing facilities that are available to all players, whatever their handicap.
The EGU works to increase the interest and participation in golf through their golf development programme 'Get into Golf' which includes initiatives to promote the game to both juniors and adults.
The EGU's Associate Membership Programme provides a facility whereby players who are unable to join an affiliated club can maintain a recognized handicap and take part in competitions and events with like minded golfers.
The EGU organises all the major men's English amateur championships including the English Amateur, the English Open Amateur Stroke Play Championship (the Brabazon Trophy) and other International matches hosted by England.
The majority of EGU funding comes from affiliation fees paid by golfers. Members of each affiliated club pay an annual subscription to their County Union and to the English Golf Union.
Golfing Union of Ireland
The nine original clubs, which formed the Union, were located in Ulster, but golf in Ireland at the time of the establishment of the Union was not confined to that province.
In all, 28 'greens', as golf courses were then designated, had been opened for play by the time the Union was founded on 12th October 1891.
Golf in those early years was enjoyed by comparatively small groups, and while the number of clubs gradually grew, the staging of the Canada Cup, now known at the World Cup in Ireland at Portmarnock Golf Club in 1960, really set the scene alight in Ireland.
More and more new golf courses opened throughout the country to meet the demand of the golf-hungry enthusiasts, and even today that trend is continuing at an ever growing pace.
For example, there were 248 golf clubs affiliated to the Golfing Union in 1986, catering for 123,000 golfers. Today there are 408 affiliated clubs, with over 250,000 members.
In addition there are many public pay-as-you pay courses throughout the country, and the Golfing Union of Ireland, as part of its aims to promote and develop the game has provided financial assistance to the building of many of these courses through means of grants and interest free loans.
Welsh Golfing Union
The Welsh Golfing Union was founded in 1895 and is the second oldest of the four National Unions. The WGU is an association of golf clubs and golfing organisations with membership at 159.
The Scottish Golf Union
The Union is a federation of Area Committees formed from Golf Clubs in Scotland. These Clubs fall into two categories namely, course-owning and non course-owning.
Course-owning Clubs means those Clubs who own, rent or lease their Golf Courses.
Golf Clubs who are identified with a particular Course where permission has been received to play all Club Competitions from Medal Tees.
Non Course-owning are golf Clubs which are formed by trade associations, schools former pupils, etc. and which are not in any way identified with a particular golf course or courses.
The aims of the SGU are to foster and maintain a high standard of Amateur Golf in Scotland and to administer and organise and generally act as the governing body of Amateur Golf in
Scotland.
To institute and thereafter carry through annually a Scottish Amateur Championship, a Scottish Open Amateur Stroke Play Championship and other such competitions and matches as considered appropriate.
To administer and apply the Rules of the Standard Scratch Score and Handicapping Scheme as approved by the Council of National Golf Unions.
Ladies Golf Union
The LGU was founded in 1893 and is the governing body for ladies' amateur golf in Great Britain and Ireland.
The LGU consists of the National Organisations (English Ladies' Golf Association, Irish Ladies' Golf Union, Scottish Ladies' Golfing Association and the Welsh Ladies' Golf Union), ladies' golf clubs and ladies' sections of recognised golf clubs and every annual playing member of those clubs within GB&I.
At present there are around 2,750 clubs representing some 220,000 lady members.
The LGU organises a number of events including British Championships and Home International Matches which include the Curtis Cup and Vagliano Trophy.
It also organises the Women's British Open and trains the GB&I Elite Squad.
Much of the Union's income is generated by membership subscription. This is a small annual fee incorporated within each lady golfer's golf club membership fee. This income provides the Union with the resources to manage the affairs of the Union for the benefit of the members.
English Ladies' Golf Association
ELGA was formed in 1952. Before that golf, in England, came under the jurisdiction of the Ladies' Golf Union, which as the governing body of women's golf in Britain, decides essential policy regarding golf generally and deals with International events.
ELGA headquarters are at Edgbaston Golf Club in Birmingham.
There are over 1,780 ladies' sections of golf clubs affiliated to the Association in England, resulting in a membership of over 135,000.
The work of ELGA is very varied but its overall objective is to further the interest of women's golf in England.
In 2004 ELGA adopted the CONGU system of handicapping, which now means it now has the same handicapping system for women and men in GB&I.
The Association is also responsible for the organisation of several handicap events. The winners of the Silver and Bronze Medal competitions organised in the clubs are invited to take part in one of eight National Finals. The Australian Spoons competition is organised for Bronze Division players and every club is entitled to enter the Rose Spoon competition and Open Challenge Bowls meeting. The Abraham Trophy competition is for girls of any handicap who have not reached their 18th birthday before the 1st January each year and aims to find the most improved player.
Funding of the work of the Association is from contributions from every female member of an affiliated golf club in England.
Council Of National Golfing Unions Handicap System
Handicaps measure a golfer's skill in playing a course in relation to par. An 18 handicapper will need a stroke extra per hole when playing a par 72 course.
Playing to scratch means a golfer doesn't require any strokes to play to par.
In 2004 the Council of National Golf Unions (CONGU) introduced the Unified Handicapping System (UHS).
From that date, and for the first time, the same set of rules for calculating and regulating handicaps applied to golfers, male and female, who are members of clubs affiliated to one of the eight Unions/ Associations.
The Council of National Golf Unions (CONGU) is a collection of representatives from the English Golf Union, English Ladies Golf Association, Scottish Golf Union, Scottish Ladies Golfing Association, Welsh Golfing Union, Welsh Ladies Golf Union, the Golfing Union of Ireland and Irish Ladies Golf Union.
In addition, the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews and the Ladies Golf Union each have a representative on the Council.