With that being said, there are so many names that I had to choose from that I had no idea where to start. Did I choose people that inspired me as a youth? Or maybe the more modern players who have changed the game in recent years?
And then I realised the best place to start would be at the start of the very game I love - St Andrews. Who to choose then became an easy choice - the founding father of the modern game - Old Tom Morris.
Name: Thomas Mitchell Morris, Sr.
Nickname: Old Tom
Date of birth: 16th June, 1821
Place of birth: St Andrews, Fife
Date of death: 24th May, 1908 (aged 86)
Place of death: St Andrews, Fife
Nationality: Scottish
Notable Wins: The Open Championship 1861, 1862, 1864, 1867
_________________________________________________________________________________
Other notable facts:
Age 14, he was hired as a caddy by the world’s first professional golfer, Allan Robertson.
Struck the first shot in the first ever Open Championship in 1860.
The first Open was held at Prestwick Golf Club, where Morris was the "Keeper of the Green, Ball and Club Maker” for 13 years from the club’s start-up in 1851. He also designed the original golf course there.
He holds the record for the largest margin of victory in the Open Championship at 13 shots.
The first Open was held at Prestwick Golf Club, where Morris was the "Keeper of the Green, Ball and Club Maker” for 13 years from the club’s start-up in 1851. He also designed the original golf course there.
He holds the record for the largest margin of victory in the Open Championship at 13 shots.
“For true success, it matters what our goals are. And it matters how we go about attaining them. The means are as important as the ends. How we get there is as important as where we go.”
He’s still the oldest ever winner of the Open at 46.
He is buried in the grounds of the St Andrews Cathedral.
In 1899, Old Tom Morris took on an apprentice greenskeeper at St. Andrews. That apprentice was Donald Ross, the future golf design genius.
He played in every British Open until 1895 when he was 74.
In 1868, his son, Young Tom Morris, won the Open Championship and Old Tom Morris finished second. It is the only time a son and father have finished 1-2.
He outlived his son by more than 30 years.
After his son's death, he said: "People say he died of a broken heart; but if that was true, I wouldn't be here either."
His swing was classed as slow and smooth.
His difficulty was always with the short putts.
He was a fiercely competitive player.
He produced or designed over 75 golf courses including Prestwick, Royal Dornoch, Tain, Muirfield, Carnoustie, Askernish Golf Club and Cruden Bay to name but a few.
He is credited as the man who standardised the golf course to 18 holes.
He was Custodian of the Links in St Andrews - a position he held for nearly forty years - until he reached retirement age in 1902.
He was Custodian of the Links in St Andrews - a position he held for nearly forty years - until he reached retirement age in 1902.
The final hole on the Old Course bears his name.
He said of Fifers: “We were all born with webbed feet and a golf club in our hand here.”
Morris received the sum of £3 as the runner-up at the first Open Championships, but the winner, Willie Park, received no prize money, making do with the honour of being named "The Champion Golfer" for that year.
He featured on a commemorative £5 bank note in 2004.
He charged £1 per day plus travelling expenses to design golf courses.
His first shop was located at 15 The Links in St Andrews.
