International drive to celebrate a Scottish icon

Next year, 16 June 2021, is a very important date in Scotland’s sporting and heritage calendar - it is the 200th anniversary of the birth of golfing legend Old Tom Morris.

The St Andrews Links Trust have announced plans, yet to be formalised, to make a “grand commemoration” for the bicentenary, but let’s hope it’s not just a one-off affair.

Golf is an international sport and Old Tom is a global icon whose influence on the game played by over 60 million people should not be underestimated.

At Scotland Correspondent we believe 16 June every year should be officially declared ‘Old Tom Morris Day’ and his legacy as an innovator, club maker, course designer and champion player celebrated around the world.

Scotland is renowned for its celebrations of St Andrew’s Day (November 30), Hogmanay (December 31) and Burns’ Night (January 25). These events provide a major boost to the national economy, especially in the sectors of tourism, food and drink, and entertainment.

They promote Scotland as a destination and Scottish culture by encouraging the diaspora and friends to celebrate our heritage. An official Old Tom Morris Day could do much the same in the summer months.

Around 60 million people are estimated to play golf - that’s about six times the number of those who observe Burns’ Night each year. It’s estimated some 9.5million people around the globe commemorate the birth of our national poet Robert Burns every January, generating over £200m to Scotland's economy of which some £20 million is spent on food and drink.

St Andrew’s Day is another almost uniquely Scottish event celebrated at home and abroad as hundreds of societies, clans and clubs hold annual dinners and dances.

The potential for creating something similar for Old Tom should not be ignored. As of the end of 2018 there were 38,864 golf courses in 209 countries, with a further 500 plus projects under construction or in advanced planning. All of them, whether they realise it or not, have benefitted from the legacy of Old Tom.

According to Michael Buchan, a former golf professional and director of Buchan & Byers Golf Tours, the creation of an annual summer event celebrating Old Tom could eventually sit alongside Burns Night and St Andrew’s Day as a distinctly international Scottish event.

“Although many golfers are aware of Old Tom Morris much more could be done to celebrate the contribution this son of Scotland made to the sport,” said Michael, a frequent contributor to Scotland Correspondent magazine.

“Next year, 2021, marks the 200th anniversary of Old Tom’s birth. It will be the perfect occasion for the world-wide golfing community to celebrate his legacy.”

Thomas Mitchell Morris was born the son of a weaver in St Andrews, Fife, the home of golf, and by 14 was apprenticed to Allan Robertson, the world's first professional golfer.

At the height of his career, between 1843 and 1859, Robertson was regarded as the best player in the world and he regularly chose Morris as his partner in challenge matches.

In 1851 Morris moved to Prestwick where he designed, laid out and maintained the course on which the first ever Open Championship was played. It was Morris who struck the very first shot in the event that has gone on to become the oldest and most prestigious golf tournament in the world.

In 1865 the Royal and Ancient asked him to return to St Andrews as greenskeeper. He widened the fairways, enlarged the greens, managed the hazards and built new greens using techniques he had perfected at Prestwick.

As a player Morris was formidable. He won the Open Championship in 1862, 1864 and 1867 and still holds the record as the oldest winner of competition at the age of 46.

A record set by Morris in 1862, for the largest margin of victory in a major championship - 13 strokes, remained unbroken for 138 years until Tiger Woods won the US Open in 2000 by 15 strokes.

In addition to developing green keeping techniques still used today, and pioneering the strategic use of hazards, Morris designed almost 70 golf courses, some of them are considered among the best in the world and the majority of them are in Scotland.

Although he died more than a century ago, aged 86 in 1908, his name remains synonymous with the game. Enthusiasts from around the world come to Scotland every year to play the courses he designed and pay homage to the man universally regarded as the founding father of golf.

The creation of an Old Tom Morris Day in June could give the golfing community and Scottish tourism a summer occasion to promote the sport along with the best of Scottish produce and attractions.

Now is the time for golf courses, clubs, tourism organisations and Scottish food & drink producers to get together and create an event for golf clubs around the world to join with us in celebrating Old Tom and Scotland as the home of golf.

Such an annual celebration could help attract more visitors to Scotland and increase sales of Scottish related products as the country tries to rebuild tourism and the economy in the wake of the Coronavirus lockdown.

Let’s make 16 June ‘Old Tom Morris Day’ every year!