The trophy that founded the R&A wasn’t a cup—it was a silver golf club?

In 1754, twenty-two golfers in St Andrews commissioned an ornate silver club to be played for every year. The winner not only claimed the trophy but also became the captain of the golf club for the following year. Each champion added an engraved silver ball to the trophy, creating a living record of golf’s earliest competitors.

By the early 19th century, competitive play for the trophy stopped, and the captaincy transitioned to an elected office. Since then, the newly chosen Club Captain still “wins” or claims the Silver Club symbolically with a single ceremonial tee shot at the start of their term. Multiple successive silver clubs festooned with engraved silver balls have been used and retired to the R&A Trophy Room over the centuries.