R&A will build women’s changing facilities for the first time

Five years after a historic 2014 Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews vote to allow women as members, plans are being made to construct women’s changing facilities in the clubhouse at St. Andrews for the first time, according to a report by BBC Sports.

The proposal to include women as members passed by an overwhelming majority back in 2014, as a reported 85 percent of the R&A’s 2,400 male members approved the proposal. It was an important moment for the 260-year-old organization, as club members have significant perks, like getting the first crack at booking tee times at the Old Course, as well as temporary lodging during their stay. The club also has input on how the facility is managed (by the St. Andrews Links Trust) and both acquires and preserves golf artifacts.

Now, for the first time ever, women will soon be afforded a place of their own inside the clubhouse. According to the BBC, even after the membership proposal passed, women could not change in the clubhouse but instead had to use the nearby Forgan House, which is near the 18th green of St. Andrews.

The construction is part of a wider refurbishment, with a completion timeline of a several years.

“We are in the early stages of planning upgrades, including the installation of women’s changing rooms,” said the R&A. “We are consulting with members on the proposed changes before we finalize our plans. There is no firm timetable at this stage but it will be a phased program which will take several years to complete.”

To receive GOLF’s all-new newsletters, subscribe for free here.