The new Captain of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews drove into office this morning (Thursday) to the sound of cannon-fire. At precisely 8.00am, Colin M Brown teed-off down the first fairway of the Old Course, so beginning his year as figurehead for the 255-year-old member’s club.
Colin Brown joined The Royal and Ancient Golf Club in 1994. He served on the Finance Committee from 2000 – 2005 and has been the Chairman of the Membership Committee and a member of the General Committee. He is a past Captain of Kilmacolm Golf Club and, in 2001, captained Prestwick Golf Club in its 150th anniversary year. He plays to a handicap of seven.
Educated at Glenalmond College, he is a Chartered Accountant and has retired following a career in stockbroking and investment management. He is a former Chairman of the Scottish Stock Exchange and is a Deputy Lieutenant of Renfrewshire.
For the first 50 years or so of the Club’s existence, the “Captain of the Golf” was determined by the annual Challenge for the Silver Club: the best player on the day becoming Captain for the year. By around 1806, however, the Captaincy had become an elected office and the Challenge became a symbolic competition.
Nowadays the Challenge and the Queen Adelaide medal are won by the Captain with a single stroke, a tradition which is likely to date back to 1863, the year of the Prince of Wales’ captaincy.
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