St Andrews golf collectors' conference moved to bigger venue due to demand

A ground-breaking golf conference being held in St Andrews has proved so popular that a bigger venue to accommodate all the delegates wanting to attend has been sourced.

Organised by the R&A World Golf Museum and the British Golf Collectors’ Society (BGCS), the two-day conference titled ‘Looking Back, Moving Forward – Making the Most of Your Golf Club’s Heritage’ was due to be held at Forgan House but has been switched to the Hotel du Vin in the Fife town to satisfy the demand.

The popularity of next week’s conference is believed to reflect the growing interest in golf club heritage. “The interest in this has been much more than we anticipated,” said Jim McArthur, chairman of the R&A World Golf Museum Board. “Having more people than we can accommodate is a tremendous response to our first attempt at this type of conference.

Pictured outside The R&A World Golf Museum in St Andrews are, from left, British Golf Collectors’ Society duo Richard Williams and Mike Morrison and The R&A World Golf Museuim’s Jim McArthur and Angela Howe | Contributed

“That’s very much down to the detailed organisation that’s been done plus the quality of the speakers and the range of topics. I think it clearly demonstrates we have identified a need for more information and co-operation in the heritage area and bodes well for the future, but we don’t want to get ahead of ourselves.”

The conference will cover a broad spectrum of topics that include cataloguing memorabilia, valuations, insurance and protecting collections against theft or damage.

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The presenters include Jane Jamieson, the consultant archivist at Royal Troon; John Mullock, an auctioneer and valuer specialising in golf memorabilia; Tony Norcott, an accredited Lloyd’s broker, who has been responsible for the insurance affairs of several hundred golf clubs, as well as the St Andrews Links Trust; and David Wright, who set up the full catalogue of The PGA’s collection of memorabilia.

“It’s a huge game-changer for us to get involved with The R&A in terms of the reputation of St Andrews and of the people we’re working with,” said Richard Williams, Royal Blackheath’s archivist and curator and the British Golf Collectors’ Society honorary secretary. “It has absolutely transformed the whole operation.”