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.
English Golf Union
The English Golf Union (EGU) has served as the governing body of male amateur golf in England since it was founded in 1924. Based at the National Golf Centre in Woodhall Spa, Lincolnshire the EGU looks after the interests of over 1,900 golf clubs and 680,000 club members. It is a non-profit organisation run for the benefit of the game and its players. The EGU works to increase the interest and participation in golf through the golf development programme 'Get into Golf' which includes initiatives to promote the game to both juniors and adults. This programme is supported by the England Golf Partnership of which the EGU is a member.
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 EGU maintains a uniform system of handicapping, administering and applying the Rules approved by the Council of National Golf Unions.
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.
Welsh Golfing Union
The Golf Union of Wales (GUW) was established on 1 January 2007 at which time it inherited a combined history and tradition of more than 200 years following the merger of the Welsh Ladies Golf Union and the Welsh Golfing Union. The GUW is recognised by the Sports Council of Wales and International Golf Federation as the governing body for golf in Wales.
The GUW is committed to the principles of equality of opportunity and seeks to encourage participation and excellence at all levels and for all golfers whilst maintaining and preserving the traditions of honesty, integrity and fair play.
The main objectives of the GUW are to: Achieve success on the international stage; create a network of excellent clubs that will contribute to making golf accessible to all; run high quality championships and provide competition opportunities for golfers of all ages and standards and ensure governance suits the modern day environment
The Scottish Golf Union
The Scottish Golf Union (SGU) is the governing body for amateur golf in Scotland incorporating more than 630 golf clubs across the country representing a total membership of approximately 260,000 golfers.
Based at the Home of Golf in St Andrews, the SGU's responsibilities span across most aspects of the game in Scotland, from its original core business of staging national amateur championships and managing Scotland's national teams, expanding to encouraging more youngsters to play golf and providing support services to member clubs.
The game of golf is one of Scotland's greatest assets. A national icon, thousands of golfers from across the world descend upon the Home of Golf each year to take up the challenge of some of the planet's most famous courses and some of the game's finest hidden gems. Golf is a vital part of Scotland's economy and vitally important to the nation's psyche.
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.
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 Women's Golf Association
The English Women's Golf Association (EWGA) came into existence on 31 December 2007 after the English Ladies' Golf Association, an unincorporated body, was dissolved.
The English Ladies' Golf Association was formed in 1952. Before that golf in England came under the jurisdiction of the Ladies' Golf Union which generally deals with British women's championships and selection of teams to compete in International events.
The headquarters of the EWGA are based at 11 Highfield Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham and has been based in the Birmingham area since 1988. There are over 1,790 ladies' sections of golf clubs affiliated to the Association in England, resulting in a membership of over 121,000.
The work of the Association is very varied but its overall objective is to further the interest of women's golf in England. This involves the Association particular trying to raise the profile of EWGA thereby keeping us to the fore of women's golf.
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.
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.