Old Tom Morris

Old Tom Morris ( born June 16, 1821 in St Andrews, † May 24 1908 in St Andrews ) was a Scottish golfer, racquet Bauer, architect and golf greenkeepers. In each of these areas, he made fundamental pioneer work, so he was one of the main protagonists of golf ever applies today. Under his influence, as were pioneering innovations such as the first domestic courts ( before golf was played only on the coasts ), the gutta-percha ball, the first Open Championship, the 18- hole course standard, the possibility of different haircuts per lane and the professionalization of greenkeeping.

Life

Old Tom Morris began his career in 1837 as an apprentice to the golf ball maker and professional golfer Allan Robertson, but it was in 1849 due to the rise of gutta-percha ball to break. Robertson feared for his business, Morris was more receptive to the new ball, and finally had to go to Prestwick. From 1851 to 1864 he worked as greenkeepers, before he returned in 1865 and - as the successor of the deceased in the meantime Allan Robertson - the " Custodian of the Links " was appointed to St Andrews. From 1867 he ran a golf club workshop next to the 18th green of the Old Course at St Andrews and worked there for six golf club builders. This golf shop still exists today and is the oldest in the world.

His first son " Wee Tom" died in 1850 at the age of four years, his second son was born a year later and as Young Tom Morris probably the best golfer of the 19th century. However, Young Tom died at the age of 24 years and Jamie, his third son, Old Tom survived by two years.

In 1976, Morris - was added to the World Golf Hall of Fame - a year after his son. The 18th hole of the Old Course at St Andrews is named after him.

Career as a player

Despite the separation of Allan Robertson, he joined more often with him as a partner in private betting playing for money on. By the year 1859, when Robertson died, the couple should have been undefeated. Old Tom Morris himself won the Open Championship in 1861, 1862, 1864 and 1867., He is still the oldest Open champion at age 46 and held the record for the victory with the biggest winning margin (13 strokes in 1862 ), was to this in 2000 increased from Tiger Woods to 15 beats. In his last appearance at the Open he was already 74 years old.

As a player, he was neither spectacular long off the tee, yet he could putt particularly well, but he had a very steady rhythm and made few mistakes. In later years he probably developed the yips, so he repeatedly missed short putts. A jokingly to "The Misser of Short Putts, Prestwick " addressed letter actually came to him. With his son, he has frequently formed a strong team, which, however, in the opinion of most of his contemporaries were more likely to Young Tom. Many legendary battles, especially with the Parks of Musselburgh are handed down - once he trained even six months in advance and waived at this time on his pipe.

Golf architect

When Old Tom Morris got in around 1875 in this field, there were probably less than 50 golf courses in the world, most of them in Scotland. When he retired at the turn of the century, this situation had changed fundamentally over the world golf courses were built and their architects earned enough money to be able to live alone from this work. Technological developments have made it possible to previously impassable terrain scheinendem be able to create golf courses, such as in the heaths around London and on Long Iceland.

About the number of designed by Old Tom Morris golf courses there is no agreement, according to sources between 35 and 75 are called layouts, which he mostly designed for a salary of one pound per day plus expenses. Many of them are now one of the most famous squares in the world, such as Prestwick, Royal Dornoch, Muirfield, Machrihanish, Carnoustie, Royal County Down, Royal Portrush, Westward Ho!, Crail and Nairn. Also in St Andrews itself, he worked and built in 1895 right next to the Old Course the New Course, but probably after a routing plan of Benjamin Hall Blyth.

His actual contributions to the construction of this prestigious golf courses are barely comprehensible today. For this reason, criticism, beginning with Tom Simpson, repeatedly expressed to his way of working and occasionally denied the classification as a golf architect. His most important architectural principle was that he wanted to adapt to the natural conditions of the tracks forever. However, he had little choice, since you did not yet have the necessary equipment to carry out elaborate earthworks can. In fact, Old Tom Morris was limited in the design of a place in principle to pace off the terrain and to mark 18 tees and 18 greens, each with a stick - the rest was the task of the Greenskeepers. On the other hand, it were due to technological and financial limitations in the 19th century, there is no alternative design available.

Against this background, the criticism of his sometimes very geometrical and natural forms is little to see: old photos show square greens and running horizontally to match the direction of earth or stone walls as the main obstacles. However, it should be noted that it was not common at that time by far the greens at all different from the fairway to cut, so even can apply simple forms as a characteristic. The ramparts were then typical of links land where they served as dikes. They settled invest relatively inexpensive and were playing technique effectively. An invention of Morris was the strengthening of the bunker walls by disused railway sleepers; Pete Dye took over this construction method 100 years later as a personal trademark. The introduction of separate teeing areas - previously they suggested a few club-lengths from the last hole away from - can also be traced back to Old Tom Morris and his work on the Old Course and dated to 1876.

Another feature of Old Tom Morris's design style was the frequent lack of demarcation of the fairways each other to intersecting fairways. Apart from the already mentioned budget issues here he was certainly influenced by the Old Course, which has a similar design. A large open area as possible to allow the player to find his own way. He is not hampered by artificial boundaries and also the social factor was desired in the then small towns: like a walk in the city park meets the golfer often to neighbors and friends.

Although most of his layouts have changed greatly, especially because of the longer strokes that were possible with advanced equipment, individual holes can be returned in its entirety to Old Tom Morris. These include, for example, the diagonal opening drive of the beach of Machrihanish, The Dell in Lahinch, The Alps in Prestwick or Foxy, the 14th hole of Royal Dornoch, which is considered by some experts as the best golf hole in the world. Despite some even legitimate criticisms So the fact remains that routing developed from very many Morris'schen in the following world-class courses, which then speaks well for his design skills.

Greenkeeper

Old Tom Morris modernized the Greenkeeping by introducing new methods, which particularly affected the greens of the Old Course, for many years he was responsible. From him is the statement " Saund, Honeyman! ! Saund and mair Saund " handed down, so he instructed his assistant to the greens sanden - a technique by accident discovered Morris at Prestwick and now part of the standard repertoire of golf course maintenance. For decades were thus able to develop the famous green complexes, which still have great difficulty in leading professional gamers.

He also introduced the metal-reinforced hole insert it in the history of golf allowed the holes to an identical and standardized diameter to sting the first time.