The Art Of Golf

The Art of Golf tells the story of the birth and evolution of Scotland’s National Sport by bringing together extraordinary works of art, rare items of memorabilia, and museum pieces of unique significance within the game’s history.

The exhibition begins in the early 17th century, with paintings of the playing of ‘kolf’, the European ancestor of the game we know today. It then goes on to chart the origins of modern Golf in Scotland, including paintings of important early links courses in Bruntsfield, Leith and Musselburgh.

This first section of the show culminates with the greatest golf painting of all time, Charles Lees’ The Golfers (1847), which depicts a match being played on the Old Course at the Royal and Ancient Golf Club, St Andrews.

Moving into the 20th century, The Art of Golf showcases beautiful oils of the course at North Berwick, painted by John Lavery, one of the ‘Glasgow Boys’, as well as rare original golf-themed railway posters.