First Female R&A Captain Drives in a New Era for the Club

On Friday 25 September, Claire Dowling stepped onto the first tee of the Old Course and drove her ball down the fairway as a gaggle of caddies scrambled to catch up. With one ceremonial shot, she became the first woman to captain The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews (The R&A) since its inception in 1754.

Dowling takes up the role eleven years after joining as one of the club’s first-ever female members, in 2015. Members had only voted to admit women in September 2014, having received pressure from public figures such as former Prime Minister Gordon Brown and former University of St Andrews Principal, Louise Richardson. Dowling will spend the next year as an ambassador, representing the club at championships and supporting the game’s development around the world.

Dowling’s record in golf is extensive. She has won five Irish Championships and made four appearances for Great Britain and Northern Ireland in the Curtis Cup, including the 1986 team that won on American soil for the first time. She went on to captain Ganton in 2000, later chaired England Golf’s Handicap and Course Rating Committee, and became a respected referee. 

In an interview on the R&A Instagram page, Dowling humbly stated on taking up the role that “it is an enormous honour for any amateur golfer, let alone a woman.” 

For golfers at the University of St Andrews, the appointment carries extra weight. Clara Goldstein, Women’s Vice Captain of the University of St Andrews Golf Club, said she felt “nothing but delight.” 

“Claire’s appointment is a historic moment for women’s golf,” she said. “I’m sure she will inspire many more women to get involved in the game, and I genuinely believe we are entering a new era for golf.”

Watching the drive in person made it feel more personal for Goldstein. “She is a role model for every woman playing golf in St Andrews,” Goldstein said. “Seeing a woman lead an institution as traditional and historically male-dominated as the R&A means a great deal.”

Goldstein knows leadership firsthand. In 2024, her friend, Joelle Millar, former Vice-Captain of the University Golf Club, founded the Scottish Women’s University Golf League (SWUGL), and Goldstein now serves as Vice-President. The League aims to bring women together through golf across Scotland’s universities. “Claire’s appointment could not have come at a better time,” she said. 

Despite the celebration, Goldstein is clear about how much work remains to be done. “Golf still has a long way to go before more women feel confident taking up the game,” she said. “Things are improving, but women make up only around 13% of golf club members in Scotland. I feel this gap every time I play in women’s BUCS events in Scotland. We are so far from a 50/50 balance between women and men competing.” She described this as the legacy of decades in which women were kept on the margins of the game. 

The captain’s role is mainly ambassadorial, but Goldstein believes that is where its strength lies. “That visibility is what makes Claire’s year so powerful,” she said. She hopes Dowling will use it to bring more women into the sport, both recreationally and competitively. “Having a woman at the head of such an influential club is already the first step.”

While the role includes plenty of international travel representing the club at a variety of events, St Andreans will have the opportunity to witness Dowling present the Claret Jug to the ‘Champion Golfer of the Year’ at The Open in St Andrews next year.  

Photo Credit: Joseph Hall