Remembering Old Tom Morris
May marks the 100th anniversary of the death of Old Tom Morris. For many Morris is merely a name in the record books. An Open winner in a time when it didn’t really mean that much.
But Morris was one of the pioneers that created the idea of a professional golfer as we understand it today. As a greenkeeper he remodelled the Old Course into the links that we recognise today. As a course designer he was involved with Muirfield, Carnoustie and, the original home of the Open, Prestwick.
As a tournament pro Morris won four Opens and formed formiddable partnerships with both Allan Robertson and his son Young Tom Morris. Many of these games were played for money, augmented by huge sidebets laid by gentleman golfers. The popularity of these games spread and turned golf into a major spectator sport. This fuelled its move across the border to England and, eventually, across the Atlantic.
Christian, upstanding and devoted to his family Morris was a respectable pro at a time when many of his rivals were seen as barflys and conmen. Loved and respected by the caddies he managed at St Andrews Morris made that rag bag collection of men into a more regimented and respected group.
We must also acknowledge Morris as the man who introduced modern greenkeeping, from the tending of putting surfaces to the maintenance of bunkers and hazards. He also played an integral role in the standardising of golf courses to the 18 holes we play today.
Morris also endured heartache. His first born son died in infancy. Another son was disabled from birth. And, most famously, his second son and golfing companion Young Tom Morris died at the age of 24.
Young Tom equalled his fathers haul of Opens. Three consecutive victories culminated, in 1870, with Morris Jnr being awared the Open Championship for good. At the next championship in 1872 he became the first person to win the Claret Jug.
Young Tom died only months after losing his wife and newborn baby. In legend it is said that Young Tom died of a broken heart. Old Tom, a man given to showing little emotion, would say only:
“They say Tommy died of a broken heart. That can’t be true or I’d have died myself.”
In fact Old Tommy Morris lived into his eighties. At the age of 48 he read that the life expectancy for men in Scotland at that time was 41. Looking up from his paper he told the assembled caddies:
“Lads, it would appear I have been dead for seven years already.”
Old Tommy Morris died after falling down the stairs at the New Club in St Andrews. Few who knew him or have celebrated his memory could ever claim that Morris was one of “the parcel o’ rogues” who made up his hero, Robert Burns’, nation.