Old Tom Morris: Life, Tragedy, and Golf Course Design

Old Tom Morris may be the only four-time major champion whose golf career is best known for the work he did without a club in his hands. 

Morris held just about every golf industry position that existed in 19th-century Scotland. He was a club-maker, ball-maker, greenskeeper, golf instructor, and champion golfer. Old Tom was among the best of his time in each of those endeavors, but nothing compares to what he accomplished as a golf course architect.

Morris’ design resume includes The Old Course at St Andrews, Muirfield, Carnoustie, and Royal Portrush. That’s four of the nine courses on today’s British Open rota. He’s also responsible for Prestwick, the Open Championship’s original stage which contested 24 Opens before being retired from the rota. It’s safe to say Morris’ accomplishments as a golf course architect will never be surpassed.

The Life of Old Tom Morris

Old Tom pursued golf same the way most kids pursue their interests. He improvised. Morris was born in 1821 in St Andrews, Scotland, and by age 10, he used makeshift clubs to smack wine corks impaled with nails around town, pretending they were golf balls. If it seemed odd at the time that Morris was making his own golf balls, his own clubs, and imagining his own courses, it makes perfect sense today. That’s what he did until the day he died.

Morris’ career in golf began in somewhat standard fashion, as a caddie. He started caddying at St Andrews at age 14, and developed into one of the best players at St Andrews as a young adult.

Around 1851, Morris was hired by Prestwick Golf Club, where he designed the course, then maintained it. He earned extra money building and selling golf balls and clubs, giving lessons, and running tournaments. In fact, Old Tom Morris helped launch The Open Championship, and is on record along with James Fairlie, as striking the first shot in Open Championship history.

In 1863, Morris returned to St Andrews as golf professional and greenskeeper. St Andrews was in rough shape when he returned, but Old Tom went to work, and the rest is history.

Competitively, Old Tom Morris won four Open Championships, all at his own Prestwick Golf Club. After finishing second in the inaugural Open Championship in 1860, Old Tom won in 1861, ‘62, ‘64 and ‘67.

Old Tom Morris earned his prefix when his son, known today as Young Tom Morris, began to rival Old Tom on the links. Young Tom dethroned his father by winning the 1868 Open, his first of three wins in a row. With that streak, Young Tom permanently claimed the “Challenge Belt” trophy, eventually causing the cancellation of the 1871 Open.

Morris stayed at St Andrews until 1903, and continued to work until his death in 1908.

Morris Family Tragedy

While Old Tom Morris’s life ended just days before his 87th birthday, sadly, his death was preceded by many family members.

• September 1875: Margaret Morris, wife of Young Tom Morris dies in childbirth, along with the baby
• December 1875: Young Tom Morris dies suddenly of lung hemorrhage
• 1876: Nancy Morris, wife of Old Tom Morris dies at age 61
• 1886: James Hunter, Morris’ son-in-law (husband of daughter Elizabeth) dies at age 37
• 1893: John Morris, Tom’s son, dies of epilepsy at age 33
• 1898: Elizabeth Morris, Tom’s daughter, dies at age 46

Course Design

Doing his design work in the 1800s, Old Tom Morris didn’t have the luxury of earth-moving machines that today’s course designers rely on. Instead, he made the most of what the land offered. Morris’ courses force players to avoid costly penal areas, such as deep pot bunkers, and reward accurate players who can identify and hit the ideal angles. Old Tom Morris built courses that featured:

• Shared fairways and double greens
• Wide fairways and few trees
• Straight holes and off-centered greens
• Utilization of natural burns, streams, and ditches

Even though Old Tom Morris died in 1908, his influence remains strong in today’s architects. Morris mentored a young Donald Ross at St Andrews in the late 1800s. Donald Ross went on to mentor Pete Dye at Pinehurst in the mid-1900s, and Dye has gone on to build some of the best courses of the last 50 years while paving the way for today’s breed of golf course architects.

Old Tom Morris Course List

Old But Not Irrelevant

Old Tom Morris was the rare jack of all trades who somehow mastered them all. He made his living through every facet of the golf industry, but he built his legacy one golf course at a time.