Old Tom Morris

Old Tom Morris. ‘The Grand Old Man of Golf’, a founding father, a legend of the game. While leaving aside the shark tale, there is some merit in the gin connection. “This delicious gin is rich, rounded and versatile in flavour with a beautiful, delicate finish.” It could be said Old Tom the golfer and course designer fitted such a fine description. 

Morris was born in St Andrews, the home of golf, on 16 June 1821. The son of a weaver, he was educated at Madras College in his hometown, and started playing golf by the age of 10 – inevitably becoming hooked on the game in a place steeped in the sport. After leaving school in 1837, having also enjoyed caddying, he spent 12 years working in St Andrews as an apprentice to Allan Robertson, generally recognised as the world’s first professional golfer. There he learned to make golf clubs, and how to produce the feather-stuffed balls then in use.

A formidable player himself, who excelled in ‘challenge matches’ of the day before going on to win The Open on four occasions, Morris left St Andrews to take up a position as ‘Keeper of the Greens’ at newlyformed Prestwick Golf Club. During this time, he helped develop the art and science of greenkeeping; introduced the idea of top-dressing greens; and was also among the first to actively manage the hazards on a course. Morris was also the man whose influence eventually led to the standardisation of the length of a course at 18 holes.

It was at Prestwick where the first Open was held in 1860, Morris finishing runner-up to Willie Park, before his career saw a return to St Andrews five years later to take up the position of ‘Keeper of the Greens’ over the famous links. His son, Young Tom, was a talented player too, also winning The Open four times, but died tragically young, aged 24, on Christmas Day in 1875.

From the cobbles to the courses, Old to the New, Morris’s presence can still be felt wherever you go in his hometown of St Andrews, yet his legacy is felt well beyond the East Neuk of Fife. Old Tom became the first of the great golf course designers, producing or redesigning over 100 courses as the sport developed.

Spreading the gospel of golf, he travelled the length and breadth of Scotland and beyond, weaving his magic across barren lands and in more populated areas. In 2021, the bicentenary of his birth, his legend was celebrated by golf lovers in Scotland and across the world. It also prompted Aberdeen-based tour operator Bonnie Wee Golf to create a trail to commemorate his 200th birthday and help keep the legacy of Old Tom alive. 

Golfers can now follow in the master’s footsteps along the stunning Old Tom Morris Golf Trail, playing memorable courses from the Outer Hebrides to the Highlands, down the coast to Fife and the Lothians, and over in the west from Ayr down to the Mull of Kintyre. 

The trail features 18 classic courses from gems like Royal Dornoch, North Berwick, the Balcomie Links at Crail and Cruden Bay, to Open Championship stalwarts like Carnoustie, Muirfield, Prestwick and St Andrews. Play them all in one grand loop – beginning at Askernish on South Uist and ending at Machrihanish in the far southwest – or choose a loop of your own in the region of Scotland that speaks to your golfing soul.

“I have long held the ambition of creating a golfing tourism trail that recognises the incredible importance of Old Tom Morris to golf in Scotland,” said David Harris, from Bonnie Wee Golf. “To mark his 200th birthday, we decided to create the official Old Tom Morris Trail. 

“My colleague Stewart Morrison and I embarked on this incredible golfing journey in May last year and completed the trail in just 18 days. The official start is Askernish and the official finish is Machrihanish, with the official halfway house the new Tom Morris Bar & Grill in St Andrews.” 

Harris and Morrison carefully selected 18 venues that have been originally designed, slightly tweaked or masterfully enhanced by Old Tom. “We appreciate that most visiting golfers will not complete the Old Tom Morris Trail on a single trip,” added David. “A few might like that challenge, but the trail is designed to encourage golfers to visit Scotland on more than one occasion.” All golfers will savour the trail’s challenges. From his earliest days at Prestwick, Old Tom demonstrated a gift for using the natural landscape to craft incredible holes like the par-4 17th, known as ‘Alps’, which even today strikes fear into the hearts of players facing a carry over the massive dune and the yawning Sahara Bunker.

Back in St Andrews, Morris widened the Old Course fairways, enlarged the greens, changed the direction of play and applied green keeping techniques he had developed at Prestwick, building two new greens (on holes 1 and 18), and managing the hazards. 

In the remote Scottish Highlands, Morris was particularly prolific, putting his name to Royal Dornoch, Tain, The Nairn, Moray Old and Cullen Links. The quality and variety of those five courses alone on the Trail says it all for Morris’s abilities.

At Dornoch, it was in 1886 that the Club invited the veteran champion golfer to visit, make a survey of the links and lay out a more fully planned golf course. 

Club Secretary John Sutherland was the driving force behind the move, engaging Old Tom from his native St Andrews. Back then, there were loosely nine holes at Dornoch, with no greens, no fairways and merely stretches of links land closely cropped by animals such as cattle, sheep and rabbits. Following Old Tom’s arrival, the rest is history. 

“Old Tom’s contribution to golf was extraordinary, having embraced the game of golf from a very young age,” noted Neil Hampton, General Manager at Royal Dornoch. “His feats on the fairways were then matched by his course design and we at Royal Dornoch will always be grateful for his efforts. Having been born in 1821, it is testament to the legend of Old Tom Morris that we are still celebrating his life over 200 years later.” 

Cullen is arguably the most unique of Old Tom’s designs. Using the natural golfing terrain and the site’s best features to perfection, he carved an eye-catching coastal course in this small village in Moray. A par-63 at 4,623 yards, it features ten par-3s across its 18 holes – including four in a row on the back nine.

Askernish is another more than worth the journey. In June 1891, Old Tom, accompanied by his companion Horace Hutchinson, travelled to the remote island off the west coast at the request of the landowners and went on to lay out 18 holes over the rolling dunes. Incredibly, the course was lost for over 70 years before ‘Master Greenkeeper’ Gordon Irvine stumbled across it on holiday and rediscovered its remarkable heritage. In 2008 the course was restored and, at 6,259 yards, offers a superb test over the unique terrain.

At Machrihanish, perhaps the finale to your trail, you are rewarded with the delights that await. Old Tom extended this famous Kintyre links from 12 to 18 holes in 1879. In doing so, he created one of golf’s most iconic opening holes where you drive across the beach and carry as much of The Atlantic Ocean as you dare.

Bonnie Wee Golf has also created a collectible coin for each of the 18 courses on the Trail. On one side of the coin will be the relevant club crest/logo, while the other side will feature Old Tom’s head.

Staying as ‘Keeper of the Greens’ at St Andrews way up until 1903, Old Tom died in 1908, just before his 87th birthday. He is buried against the eastern wall of the churchyard of St Andrews Cathedral, acting as a pilgrimage for thousands of golfers to visit his grave each year. Quite simply, if it wasn’t for Old Tom then the game of golf would not be the same today.

http://oldtommorristrail.com/