The Calcutta Cup

On 1st July 1882, the Calcutta Golf Club (later known as the Royal Calcutta Golf Club) wrote to the Honorary Secretary of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews, proposing the donation of a silver cup. A footnote noted that the cup was to be valued at 60 guineas and that the format of play would be entirely at the discretion of the R&A Committee. A reply was received on 23rd August confirming acceptance of the offer, and work on the cup was subsequently commissioned.

In early 1883, the Club was informed that the cup was in production and would be dispatched shortly. It had not yet arrived by the May meeting, but the Green Committee proposed that it be awarded as a second prize to the Glennie Medal for the lowest aggregate scores at the Spring and Autumn Meetings.

In July, a large crate containing the cup arrived from Calcutta. Its size and elegance astonished the Members, it stood eighteen inches tall, featured intricate relief work with sacred Indian emblems and was mounted on an ebony pedestal. Understandably, Members felt that such a magnificent trophy was far too elegant and valuable to be used as a second prize, and the matter was referred back to the Green Committee. Following their deliberations, it was decided that the cup should be played by holes, off handicap, in early August. The unusual feature about the handicaps was that they were taken by holes rather than strokes; thus, a scratch player playing a 6 handicap started the match 6 down. The competition was not implemented until 1885, with the first winner of the Calcutta Cup being Major W.B. Craigie.

The format was revised in 1920 to what Members play today. Considering that it represented a major change, there was virtually no discussion about the new format.  It was simply announced at the General Meeting on 28th September 1920 that “in future the competition for the Calcutta Cup be played by foursomes under handicap". The first winners of the new format in 1921 were John Playfair and Ian Stewan, with the current holders Tim Bult and Geoff Anderson.