Gentry Links ...

Medal Day at St Andrews, 1894, (The Captain Driving In), one of the most significant paintings in the collection of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews, by artist Alexander H. Wardlow, hangs in the Big Room. The characters in the painting are the Scottish gentry golfers in 1894, joined by golfers from England, at a time when the Rules of Golf became a universal code. The symbolism of the painting is deep, reflecting a game that had become outward facing and growing beyond Scotland. Many gentry links are established, including those crossing the Atlantic. It is a fascinating study of patrons and purveyors in an era regarded as the aurora of professional golf. This was the bigger picture, both metaphorically, and literally.