First woman captain of the Royal and Ancient officially takes office

First woman captain of the Royal and Ancient officially takes office

Claire Dowling, the first woman to be captain of the world's most prestigious golf club, the Royal and Ancient Golf Club in Scotland, was officially welcomed at a traditional driving-in ceremony last month.

Caption: Claire Dowling, the new captain of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews, presents a gold sovereign to caddie Dillon McCarron who successfully returned the ball to Claire.  Photo credit: The R&A.

At precisely 8am on September 25, a cannon fired and Dowling launched her opening drive on the first tee of the Old Course at St Andrews to officially commence her term. 

A large gathering of members, former captains and members of the public assembled to share in the time-honoured tradition. 

As captain of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews, Dowling will be an ambassador for the club and one of golf's world governing bodies The R&A, engaging with members at events around the world and championing the sport as The R&A brings its new opening golf to the world strategy to life.  

Throughout her year in office Dowling will represent the club at many of The R&A’s professional and amateur championships and international matches, meeting those who contribute to golf at every level. 

After hitting her tee shot, Dowling said: “To begin my year as captain here in St Andrews, surrounded by friends and fellow members, is a very special moment. It is a huge privilege to serve as captain of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews and I am honoured to be the first woman to take on the role. The club has such a remarkable history and tradition but it is continuing to evolve which is so important for any institution.  

“I am really looking forward to representing the club and to everything the year ahead will bring. I'm also excited to be supporting The R&A as it continues its important work to develop and promote golf around the world while celebrating everything that makes our sport so special.” 

A distinguished amateur golfer, Dowling represented Great Britain and Ireland in the Curtis Cup on four occasions and was part of the team which made history in 1986 by securing the first GB&I victory over the United States on American soil, winning 13-5 at Prairie Dunes in Kansas. 

Born and educated in Dublin, she won five Irish Championships, the first in 1983, as well as the Ladies’ British Open Amateur Strokeplay Championship in 1986 and the Spanish Amateur Championship in 1987.  

After a successful playing career, Dowling captained the GB&I Curtis Cup team in its narrow 10-8 defeat to the US at Ganton, England, in 2000. She was among the first women to become members of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club in 2015 and has served on several committees.  

An experienced referee, she has officiated at The Open on seven occasions, including at Royal St George’s in 2021 when she and her husband Peter, a retired district court judge, became the first married couple to referee at the same championship. He handicap index is 7.6.  

In the past, the club captaincy was bestowed on the winner of the annual Challenge for the Silver Club but by the early 19th century the captaincy had become an elected office. Part of the tradition is that the new captain buys her golf ball back from the caddie who retrieves and returns it with a gold sovereign. The sovereign bears the head of His Majesty King Charles III. 

Caddie Dillon McCarron successfully returned the ball to Dowling. 

“It’s pretty cool to collect the ball,” said the 30-year-old who is from Nova Scotia, Canada. “With Claire being the first female captain, it’s quite an honour. I didn’t really know where the ball was going to go but it came over my buddy’s head and then came right to me. 

“This is my second season caddying here so I learned about this tradition last year. I was excited to come down this morning and I didn’t think there would be much chance of winning with there being so many caddies so it’s quite the honour for sure.” 

The retrieved ball will be cast in silver and displayed on the Silver Club.