Tour Scotland 4K early Winter travel video of a road trip drive, with Scottish music, on a partly single track road on ancestry, genealogy, family history visit to Balcomie Golf Course by Crail, East Neuk of Fife. The Crail Golfing Society is a Scottish golf club established in February 1786 in the Golf Hotel, Crail, Fife. The society is the seventh oldest golf club in the world. Its oldest course, Balcomie, was formally laid out by Old Tom Morris in 1894, but competitions were played there since the 1850. The land upon which golf is played straddles the coast of easternmost promontory of Fife, known as Fife Ness. Balcomie has the unusual combination of three par fives, six par threes and nine par fours, producing a tough par of 69. Thomas Mitchell Morris, born 16 June 1821, died 24 May 1908, was otherwise known as Old Tom Morris, and The Grand Old Man of Golf. He was the son of a weaver, and was educated at Madras College in his home town. He began golf by age ten, by knocking wine-bottle corks pierced with nails (to serve as balls) around the streets of the town using a homemade club, in informal matches against other youths; this was known as sillybodkins. He started caddying and playing golf from a young age, and formally was hired as an apprentice at age 14 to Allan Robertson, generally regarded as the world's first professional golfer; Robertson ran the St Andrews Links and an equipment-making business. Morris served four years as apprentice and a further five years as journeyman under Robertson, by most accounts the world's top player from about 1843 until his death in 1859. Morris worked under Robertson at St Andrews until 1851, when he was fired on the spot after being caught by Robertson playing the new guttie golf ball; Robertson had a profitable business making the featherie ball, which was threatened by the emergence of the guttie. Morris was then hired by Prestwick Golf Club, which was just starting up. At Prestwick, he designed, laid out, and maintained the course, ran his own golf equipment business selling gutties and clubs, gave instruction to players, and ran events. He was influential in beginning The Open Championship in 1860, along with James Fairlie, and struck the very first shot in that event. Morris was sought out by the Royal and Ancient Golf Club, which formally passed a motion in 1864 calling for his rehiring. Morris returned to St Andrews in 1864 to take charge of the links, as Keeper of the Green and professional, at a then-generous salary of £50 per year. St Andrews was then in very poor condition, and his first task was to correct this. He did so by widening the fairways, enlarging the greens, applying greenkeeping techniques he had developed at Prestwick, building two new greens, on holes 1 and 18, and managing the hazards. He stayed in the post until 1903, a total of 39 years, and was kept on afterwards by the R&A at full salary. Morris worked as a greenkeeper, clubmaker, ballmaker, golf instructor, and course designer, as well as playing match and tournament golf. He came second in the first Open Championship in 1860, and won the following year. He followed this up with further victories in 1862, 1864 and 1867. He still holds the record as the oldest winner of The Open Championship at 46. Also, he was part of the only father and son couple being winner and runner up. Morris held the record for the largest margin of victory in a major championship, 13 strokes in the 1862 Open Championship, which stood until Tiger Woods won the 2000 US Open by 15 strokes. He became the second player to break 80 over the Old Course, scoring 79; Robertson had been the first to do it. Once his son Young Tom Morris became an accomplished player in his own right by his mid teens, in the mid 1860s, father and son formed a team for challenge matches, usually played by alternate shot, foursomes play, where they proved very successful. Their partnership, although not exclusive, would continue until the death of Young Tom in 1875. Morris played a role in designing courses across the British Isles. He began by assisting Robertson lay out ten holes at Carnoustie in 1842. His subsequent work included Kingussie Golf Club in 1895, Kinghorn Golf Club in 1887, Kirkcaldy Golf Club in 1904, Prestwick, Muirfield, Machrihanish, the Jubilee Course at St Andrews, Balcomie at Crail, Moray, Bridge of Allan Golf Club, Askernish in South Uist, Lahinch and Rosapenna in Ireland, Warkworth, Wallasey and Royal North Devon Golf Club Westward Ho! in England, King Edward Bay Golf Club in the Isle of Man and the Castletown Golf Club in the Isle of Man. Glasgow Golf Club’s Killermont course was his last 18 hole design, opening in 1904, just four years before his death. Old Tom Morris kept working right up until his death, just before his 87th birthday. He died in the Memorial Cottage Hospital, St Andrews after falling down a flight of stairs in the clubhouse of The New Golf Club in St Andrews. Of interest to folks with ancestry, genealogy or Scottish Family Roots in Scotland who may wish to visit one day. Find things to see and do in Scotland where you are always welcome. When driving on Scottish roads in Scotland slow down and enjoy the trip. By the meteorological calendar, the first day of Winter is always 1st December in Scotland; ending on 28th of February. Officially, the Scottish winter runs from the 21st of December through to the 20th March.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
View the most recent Tour Scotland photographs.
No comments:
Post a Comment