How many golf clubs have the name ‘Royal’ in the title?
There are just 64 golf clubs around the world with the bona fide right to a ‘Royal’ title, bestowed by a member of the United Kingdom royal family.
The latest clubs to receive the honour are:
• In April 2013, the Homburger Golf Club, founded in 1899 near Frankfurt in Germany, was granted the Royal title by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II;
• In September 2010 a warrant of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II granted the status to Auckland Golf Club;
• In October 2005, the Mayfair Golf & Country Club in Edmonton, Canada, was granted Royal status by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II;
• ln 2004, Wellington Golf Club received the Royal title from HRH The Duke of York, himself a keen, single-handicap golfer.
All the Royal Golf Clubs are located in the United Kingdom (34 clubs) or the Commonwealth (26 clubs), with four exceptions:
• Royal Dublin, awarded the title in 1891 by Queen Victoria.
• Royal Curragh in County Kildare, Ireland, originally granted the title in September 1910.
• Marianske Lazne Golf Club in the Czech Republic, which was honoured in 2003. This club had historically strong connections with British Royalty, having been a favourite holiday destination for King Edward VII who visited the course on ten occasions after performing the opening ceremony on August 21, 1905.
• Royal Homburger, the third oldest club in Germany, awarded the title on April 8, 2013 in commemoration of the role of English visitors and members of the Royal Family, and in particular the Prince of Wales, to the town of Homberg and its spa, in the founding of the Club. The first President was Field Marshall HRH The Duke of Cambridge, a cousin of Queen Victoria, and the Prince of Wales, by now His Majesty King Edward VII, was the first Honorary Member.
All the Royal Golf Clubs are located in the United Kingdom (34 clubs) or the Commonwealth (26 clubs), with four exceptions:
• Royal Dublin, awarded the title in 1891 by Queen Victoria.
• Royal Curragh in County Kildare, Ireland, originally granted the title in September 1910.
• Marianske Lazne Golf Club in the Czech Republic, which was honoured in 2003. This club had historically strong connections with British Royalty, having been a favourite holiday destination for King Edward VII who visited the course on ten occasions after performing the opening ceremony on August 21, 1905.
• Royal Homburger, the third oldest club in Germany, awarded the title on April 8, 2013 in commemoration of the role of English visitors and members of the Royal Family, and in particular the Prince of Wales, to the town of Homberg and its spa, in the founding of the Club. The first President was Field Marshall HRH The Duke of Cambridge, a cousin of Queen Victoria, and the Prince of Wales, by now His Majesty King Edward VII, was the first Honorary Member.
The oldest golf club to bear the Royal name is The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews, founded in 1745 and granted Royal status by King William IV in 1834. It was not however the first club to receive the title; that honour belongs to Royal Perth Golf Club, founded in 1824, which received the patronage of King William IV a year earlier, in 1833.
The 64 clubs, in alphabetical order, are:
• Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews, founded in 1745, granted Royal patronage by William IV in 1834.
• Royal Aberdeen, founded in 1780, granted Royal patronage in by Edward VII in 1903 (although Leopold had given patronage in 1872 without the “Royal” title being applied).
• Royal Adelaide, Australia, founded in 1892 and granted Royal patronage by George V in 1923.
• Royal Ascot, founded in 1887 and granted Royal patronage the same year by Queen Victoria, and again by Elizabeth II in 1977.
• Royal Ashdown Forest, founded in 1888 and granted Royal patronage by Queen Victoria in 1893.
• Royal Auckland, New Zealand, founded in 1894, and granted Royal patronage by Elizabeth II in 2010.
• Royal Belfast, founded in 1881 and granted Royal patronage by Edward, Prince of Wales in 1885.
• Royal Birkdale, founded in 1889, granted Royal patronage by George VI in 1951.
• Royal Blackheath, founded in 1766 and granted Royal patronage in 1857.
• Royal Burgess, founded in 1773 and granted Royal patronage by George V in 1929.
• Royal Calcutta, India, founded in 1829 (the oldest golf club in the world ooutside the British Isles), granted Royal patronage by George V in 1911.
• Royal Canberra, Australia, founded in 1926 and granted Royal patronage by George V in 1933.
• Royal Cape, South Africa, founded in 1885, granted Royal patronage by George V in 1910.
• Royal Cinque Ports, founded in 1892, granted Royal patronage by George V in 1910.
• Royal Colombo, Sri Lanka, founded in 1879 and granted Royal patronage by George V in 1928.
• Royal Colwood, Canada, founded in 1913 and granted Royal patronage by George V in 1931.
• Royal County Down, founded in 1889, granted Royal patronage by Edward VII in 1908.
• Royal Cromer, founded in 1888 and granted Royal patronage by Edward, Prince of Wales (Iater Edward VII) in 1887.
• Royal Curragh, founded 1858, originally granted the title in September 1910, club’s Royal status reinstated in 2013.
• Royal Dornoch, founded in 1877, granted Royal patronage by Edward VII in 1906.
• Royal Dublin, founded in 1885 and granted Royal patronage by Queen Victoria in 1891.
• Duff House Royal Golf Club, founded in 1909, granted Royal patronage by Princess Louise, Dowager Duchess of Fife, in 1925.
• Royal Durban, South Africa, founded in 1892 and granted Royal patronage by George V in 1932.
• Royal Eastbourne, founded in 1887, granted Royal patronage by Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence, and Queen Victoria in 1887.
• Royal Epping Forest, founded in 1888 and granted Royal patronage the same year by Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught.
• Royal Fremantle, Australia, founded in 1905 and granted Royal patronage by George V in 1930.
• Royal Guernsey, founded in 1890, granted Royal patronage by Queen Victoria in 1891.
• Royal Harare, Zimbabwe, founded in 1898, granted Royal patronage by George V in 1929.
• Royal Hobart, Australia, founded in 1901 and granted Royal patronage by George V in 1925.
• Royal Homburger, Germany, founded in 1899 and granted Royal patronage by Elizabeth II in 2013.
• Royal Jersey, founded in 1878, granted Royal patronage by Queen Victoria in 1879.
• Royal Johannesburg, South Africa, founded in 1890, granted Royal patronage by George V in 1931.
• Royal Liverpool, founded in 1869 and granted Royal patronage by Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught, in 1871.
• Royal Lytham, founded in 1886, granted Royal patronage by George V in 1926.
• Royal Malta, Malta, founded 1888 and granted Royal patronage byPrince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, in the same year.
• Royal Marianske Lazne, Czech Republic, founded in 1905 and granted Royal patronage by Elizabeth II in 2003.
• Royal Mayfair Golf & Country Club, Canada, founded in 1922 and granted Royal patronage by Elizabeth II in 2005.
• Royal Melbourne, Australia, founded in 1891, granted Royal patronage by Queen Victoria in 1895.
• Royal Mid Surrey, founded in 1892 and granted Royal patronage by George V in 1926.
• Royal Montreal, Canada, founded in 1873 and granted Royal patronage by Queen Victoria in 1884.
• Royal Montrose, founded in 1810 and granted Royal patronage by Prince Albert in 1845.
• Royal Musselburgh, founded in 1774 and granted Royal patronage by Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught, in 1876.
• Royal Nairobi, Kenya, founded in 1906, granted Royal patronage by George V in 1935.
• Royal North Devon, founded in 1864, granted Royal patronage by Edward, Prince of Wales, in 1865.
• Royal Norwich, founded in 1893, granted Royal patronage by the Duke of York (later George V) in 1893.
• Royal Ottawa, Canada, founded in 1891 and granted Royal patronage by George V in 1912.
• Royal Perth (Scotland), founded in 1824 and granted Royal patronage by William IV in 1833.
• Royal Perth, Australia, founded in 1895, granted Royal patronage by George VI in 1937.
• Royal Port Alfred, South Africa, founded in 1924 and granted Royal patronage byGeorge V the same year.
• Royal Porthcawl, founded in 1891 and granted Royal patronage by Edward VII in 1909.
• Royal Portrush, founded in 1888 and granted Royal patronage by the Duke of York in 1892.
• Royal Quebec, Canada, founded in 1874 and granted Royal patronage by George V in 1934.
• Royal Queensland, Australia, founded in 1920 and granted Royal patronage by George V in 1921.
• Royal Regina, Canada, founded in 1899 and granted Royal patronage by Elizabeth II in its centenary year.
• Royal Selangor, Malaysia, founded in 1893 and granted Royal patronage by Elizabeth II in 1953.
• Royal St Davids, founded in 1894, granted Royal patronage by Edward VII in 1908.
• Royal St Georges founded in 1887 and granted Royal patronage by Edward VII in 1902.
• Royal Sydney, Australia, founded in 1893, granted Royal patronage by Queen Victoria in 1897.
• Royal Tarlair, founded in 1925, granted Royal patronage by Princess Louise, Dowager Duchess of Fife, the following year.
• Royal Troon, founded in 1878 and granted Royal patronage by Elizabeth II on it scentenary.
• Royal Wellington, New Zealand, founded in 1895 and granted Royal patronage by Prince Andrew in 2004.
• Royal West Norfolk, founded in 1892 and granted Royal patronage by Edward, Prince of Wales (later Edward VII) the same year.
• Royal Wimbledon, founded in 1865, granted Royal patronage by Edward, Prince of Wales (later Edward VII) in 1882.
• Royal Winchester, founded in 1888, granted Royal patronage by Edward VII in 1913.
• Royal Worlington & Newmarket, founded in 1893 and granted Royal patronage by Queen Victoria in 1895.
