North Berwick Golfing Pioneers

In the same class at North Berwick Public School were Willie Anderson, George Livingstone, James Souter, James Hutchison and George Turnbull who all emigrated and left their mark on American golf. In the junior form were Fred McLeod, Bill Nichols and Daniel Kenny, two national champions in the same class and in the year above Jack Hobens who helped to draft the constitution of the Professional Golfers Association of America.

At the start of the twentieth century, the status of the golf professional was no better than an experienced caddie. Those early pioneers who emigrated to the USA and Canada were often restricted to a one year contract and seldom felt secure in their employment. The calibre of the men from North Berwick was such that within a few years their reputation for being honest, and hardworking had increased their standing dramatically. The clubs became proud of their 'Scottish Pro' and longer contracts were offered while many were encouraged to have their wife and children join them. This is an alphabetical list of the amateur's and professional's from North Berwick who made their mark on the game of golf.

WILLIE ANDERSON Factfile

JOHN S. M. ARUNDEL (1894-1972) Euclid Country Club, Michigan, USA

John Stevenson Moodie Arundel and his twin brother James were born in North Berwick in 1894, sons of Thomas Arundel, a master plasterer and his wife Margaret Merdie. The family lived at Springhill, 2, Clifford Road, North Berwick where his father had a builders business. Thomas Arundel constructed the Bass Rock lighthouse in 1902, and the company motif can be seen today embedded in the pavements in the Quadrant.

On leaving school, John apprenticed as club maker before emigrating to the USA. He sailed from Southampton on the S.S. Philadelphia and arrived in New York on 25th October 1920. His contact in America was Mrs. Donaldson, 110 E. 83rd St. New York. Jock Arundel was appointed golf instructor at Meadowbrook Country Club, Northville, a district west of Detroit in Michigan (1924-28). In 1929 he moved to Euclid Golf and Country Club, Kawkawlin, MI. John Arundel died, 25th June 1972 at Coldwater, Branch County, Michigan.

ALEX BELL Oahu Country Club, Hawaii, USA

Alexander Peebles Bell, born 1877 in Anstruther, Fife, son of Thomas Bell, a cooper and his wife Margaret Peebles. Alex ' Sandy' Bell moved with his parents and three sisters to Edinburgh in 1890 and was living at 258, Leith Walk. He apprenticed as a club maker in North Berwick at the same time as Robert Johnstone and Alex McLaren.

In 1901 Sandy Bell emigrated to America and boarded a train for the four-day journey to California where he joined Bob Johnstone as his assistant in San Francisco. The nine-hole course laid out on the Presido Reservation was the earliest golf course on the West Coast of America and played by the members of San Francisco Golf Club and Presido Golf Club. The ground was also shared by the military and in 1905 the San Francisco Golf Club moved to the south of the city. Following the earthquake in 1906 a refuge camp was established on the course and in 1907 Bob Johnstone moved to Seattle Golf Club and Sandy Bell went to Oahu Country Club, in Honolulu to join Alex McLaren.

When McLaren left in 1909 Sandy Bell was appointed head pro at Oahu Country Club. Sandy Bell was an outstanding golf instructor and coached Codie Austin winner of the Women's Champion of The Hawaiian Island two consecutive years from 1935. Sandy and his family remained at Oahu Country Club in Hawaii until he retired in 1944.

ROBERT BOLTON Highland Golf and Country Club, Missouri, USA

Robert Bolton born 16th April 1880, son of Alexander Bolton, blacksmith and his wife Margaret Neill. His father worked in the blacksmith's forge at the corner of Forth Street and Market Place and the family lived in St Andrew Street. Robert and his brother David were licensed as caddies on the West Links in 1892. Robert was a member of Bass Rock Golf Club and selected to play against Dirleton Castle G.C in 1896.

Robert 'Bob' Bolton emigrated to America in 1899 and was appointed greenkeeper and pro at Riverside Golf Club, Illinois. In 1901 he moved to Rockford Country Club, Illinois and when he left in 1903 he recommended Fred McLeod as his replacement. That year Bob Bolton was appointed head pro at St Joseph Country Club of Missouri. In 1905 he played in the Western Open at Cincinnati Golf Club where he met up with Fred McLeod who finished in fifth place. Bob's mother died in 1907 and he returned to Scotland. In March the following year Bob travelled back to America accompanied by his brother John and his school friend Leslie Brownlee, a pro in Arkansas. In 1909, Bob was joined in St Joseph by his father, three sisters and three brothers, all looking forward to a new start without their mother.

In 1912, Bob was appointed the first manager and golf instructor at the newly opened Highland Golf and Country Club of St Joseph. During the winter he started indoor golf in the clubhouse which was popular with the members and each year he played in the Trans-Mississippi Golf Association pro tournament. Bob Bolton moved to Lawrence Country Club in 1921 and then to Fort Leavenworth Officers Club in 1926, both in Kansas. His neighbours in Leavenworth Penitentiary included the notorious gangster Machine Gun Kelly.

ALAN BRODIE (1896-1978) Jefferson Lakeside Country Club, Virginia, USA

Alan Macgregor Brodie born in Vale Cottage, 52 Forth Street, North Berwick in 1896, was the son of Peter Brodie former captain of Bass Rock Golf Club (1910-14). Alan's grandfather, also Peter Brodie was famous for being the North Berwick telegraph officer who received the telegram that Young Tom Morris's wife was seriously ill in St Andrews while he was playing a challenge match at North Berwick in 1875.

Alan served an apprenticeship as a club maker with Ben Sayers & Son and in 1920 he was a licensed golf professional on the West Links, North Berwick. He emigrated to the USA, sailing from Glasgow on the steamer S.S. Algeria, and arrived at Ellis Island, New York on 19th December 1921. Like many new arrivals from North Berwick, Alan stayed with Wilfred Thomson at 3204 Grove Avenue in Richmond, Virginia until he found employment. Two weeks later Alan Brodie was appointed pro and greenkeeper at Jefferson Lakeside Country Club in Richmond where he remained for forty years. He married local girl Jean Archer and they lived at 4901 Chamberlayne Avenue, Richmond, where Alan died in May 1978 at the age of 82 years. In July each year, the Richmond Women's Golf Association organise the Alan Macgregor Brodie Couples Tournament, played at Jefferson Lakeside Country Club.

LESLIE BROWNLEE (1885-1970) Fort Smith Country Club, Arkansas, USA

Leslie George Alexander Brownlee born 9th May 1885, at 4 Brighton Place, Stirling, son of George Brownlee, a bank accountant and his wife Maggie Glass. Maggie was the daughter of James Glass, a well known North Berwick caddie. Leslie's father moved to America and his parents divorced. From 1891, he was living with his mother and grandmother at 40a High Street, North Berwick and was a licensed caddie on the West Links in 1894. Leslie worked for the Civil Service in Edinburgh prior to joining the professional ranks in the USA.

He emigrated in 1905 and joined Jim Campbell from North Berwick, the pro at Mount Airy Golf Club, Philadelphia. In 1906 Brownlee was employed by the Kelley Trust Co and appointed pro at Fort Smith CC, one of only two golf clubs in Arkansas. Brownlee was also associated with Lakeview Country Club, Belle Isle Lake, Oklahoma City. In 1908 he laid out the nine-hole-course at Muskogee C.C, Oklahoma with sand greens and recommended Bill Nichols from North Berwick as their first pro. In 1909, Brownlee recommended Arthur Kendall from North Berwick as the pro at Fort Smith. As teenagers, Leslie, Arthur and Jim Campbell lived next to each other in the High Street, North Berwick.

In 1910, Leslie Brownlee gave up his career in golf and became a medical student in Oklahoma City. He qualified as an Oculist specialising in treating diseases of the eye and he moved to Birmingham, Alabama with his wife Ruth and son Leslie to practice medicine. Brownlee retired to Miami, Florida where he died 17th July 1970, aged 85 years.

MICHAEL BURKE (1905-1932) L'Ile Rousse, Corsica, FRA

Michael 'Sonny' Burke, born 1905 in Edinburgh son of John Burke, proprietor of the Imperial Hotel, North Berwick and his wife Annie Wynn. Sonny Burke was one of Ben Sayers first apprentices when the company move to the club makers workshop beside the first tee on the West Links in 1917. Burke was appointed assistant pro at Chingford in 1923 before moving to France where he was assistant to Norman Grant at Golf d'Aix-les-Bains a spa town in the French Alps. Sonny worked in Monte Carlo and then at L'Ile Rousse on Corsica where the Aga Khan had laid out a new course. Burke died of teric fever on Corsica in 1932, aged 27 years. His cousin Jim Wynn from North Berwick was also a golf pro in South Africa.

DOROTHY CAMPBELL Factfile

JAMES CAMPBELL (1877-1925) Country Club Of Mobile, Alabama, USA

James George Campbell born 1877 in Oxford Street, Edinburgh, son of James Campbell, Life Insurance Agent and his wife Margaret Shaw. James moved to 41 High Street, North Berwick in 1893 and was a licensed caddie on the West Links before being granted his professional ticket on 19th July 1895.

Campbell emigrated to the USA in 1896 and was appointed golf instructor at Baltimore G.C in Maryland. He moved to a number of clubs including Torresdale G.C. (PA) where he laid out the nine-hole course, and then to Belmont Golf Association which became Aronimink G.C, in Philadelphia (PA) 1899-01. He was the first pro at Wilmington C.C in 1901, and then to Mount Airy, Philadelphia (PA) 1903-07.

In 1905 he was joined by Leslie Brownlee from North Berwick as his assistant at Mount Airy. In 1906, Brownlee was appointed pro at Fort Smith C.C. in Arkansas. Mount Airy closed in 1907 and many of the members transferred to Whitemarsh Valley C.C and in 1908 Campbell joined them as their pro. Jim Campbell won the Philadelphia Open in 1905 and 1907 and was runner-up in 1908. He set a new course record at Overbrook in 1907 with a 72, and broke the record at Whitemarsh with a 71 in 1910. Campbell played in four US Opens between 1902 and 1910.

His wife Mary Jane Wynne was born in Edgemont PA, and they had a son James 'George' Campbell in 1899. In 1912, Jim Campbell moved to a new course being constructed at Mt. Tom Country Club, Holyoke, Massachusetts by designer Donald Ross. Jim struck up a friendship with Donald Ross, a fellow Scot from Dornoch who was chairman of the green committee at Mt Tom for several years.

In 1916, Jim Campbell wintered at Fruitland Park Golf Club in Florida and in the spring of that year he moved to the Country Club of Mobile, Spring Hill, Alabama. When he arrived there was only a caddy shack and a dressing room, but within two years a new clubhouse was constructed and the membership increased. Jim was golf instructor with the club for nine years before tragedy struck on 29th December 1925 when Jim and his wife Mary Jane perished in a fire which destroyed the Mobile clubhouse.

It was reported in the Mobile Daily Register that the fire broke out shortly after 3am and moved so quickly through the building the Campbell's were trapped in their apartment on the third floor. Their bodies were discovered wrapped in each others arms and they were buried together in Pine Crest Cemetery on 4th January 1926.

It was reported that Jim Campbell had $85,000 worth of Alabama bonds held in his name at the First National Bank of Mobile which were never claimed and reverted to the state treasury. The clubhouse was rebuilt and two years later Campbell's friend Donald Ross redesigned the course at Mobile.

BUDD CLARKE Sioux City Boat Club, Iowa, USA

Herbert 'Budd' Clarke was born in 1896 in Cromer Market, Norfolk, England. He qualified as an engineer and moved to Scotland. Clarke was a keen golfer and a friend of Tommy Armour and his brother. In 1920, Clarke joined Tantallon Golf Club in North Berwick and in 1922 he won all five club scratch medals which remains a record. That year he also won the Midlands Amateur Tournament and was short listed for the Walker Cup team.

In May 1923 he sailed for America where his contact was George Sayers at Merion Cricket Club, (PA). According to his emigration papers Clarke intended to stay for five months but remained in the USA for over ten years.

He joined the professional ranks and was appointed to Rumson Country Club, (NJ). In 1926, he moved to Minikahda Country Club, (MN) and the following year to Sioux City Boat Club, (IO). In 1930, Budd Clarke and fellow pro Alex Olson leased the property of the Morningside Country Club in Sioux City. This was a new venture in club management and the stockholders were the members. The remainder of Budd Clarke's career is unknown.

ALEX DENHOLM Royal Queensland Golf Club, Brisbane, AUS

Alexander Denholm born in 1886 at 2 Melbourne Square, North Berwick was a member of Bass Rock Golf Club. He emigrated to Canada before moving to Australia in 1922 where he worked in the sports equipment shop of McMillan Deery Co. Ltd and gave lessons at Moore Park Golf Club in Sydney. [Townsville]

In September 1923, Alex moved to Queensland where he was the first professional to be appointed to Townsville G.C (1923-25), the oldest club in Queensland and the 4th oldest in Australia.

Townsville Clubhouse

Alex Denholm was also the first pro to join Indooroopilly G.C (1926-28) in Brisbane. In 1928 he won the Queensland Professional Golfers Championship and in January 1929 was appointed pro to the Royal Queensland G.C where he remained until 1947. Alex Denholm's name can be seen on the club's Autumn Cup (1934) and the AIF Cup (1935). He was one of only a handful of pro's in Australia to have a range of golf clubs stamped with their own name.

DUNCAN DENHOLM (1892-1968) Australian Golf Club, Sydney, AUS

Archibald Duncan Denholm brother of Alex mentioned above was also a scratch medallist of the Bass Rock Golf Club before emigrating to Australia. In 1924, he was appointed assistant pro at the Australian Golf Club in Sydney and in 1925 was the first professional to be appointed to Balgowlah Golf Club. He moved in 1930 to Mosman Golf Club, situated on Middle Head on the northern shores of Sydney Harbour where he remained until 1938. This course was commandeered by the military during WW2 and never reinstated. Alex and Duncan Denholm are listed among the earliest golf professionals in Australia.

Hugh Hamilton, a greenkeeper on the West Links took over from Tom Morris as custodian of the links at St Andrews in 1903. It was Hamilton who created many of the bunkers at St Andrews and lengthened the course in reaction to the Haskell ball.

THOMAS DICKSON Crestwood Golf and Country Club, Kansas City, USA

Thomas Pringle Dickson born 1891 in North Berwick, son of James Dickson, grocer and his wife Elizabeth Pringle. Tom apprenticed as a clubmaker and in 1907 was a member of Rhodes G.C. He emigrated to America in 1921 and took up the position of assistant to Jim Lindsay (below) at Oak Park, Chicago. In 1924, Dickson was appointed head pro at Crestwood Golf and Country Club, Kansas City (1924-26), then Oak Hill, Joplin, Missouri for a short period in 1927 and also that year he was pro and manager at Schifferdecker Municipal Golf course, Joplin, Missouri. In 1928, he was appointed golf instructor at Muskogee Town and Country Club , Oklahoma where Bill Nichols (below) originally from North Berwick was a member and President of the Oklahoma State Golf Association.

JEAN DONALD (Anderson) (1921-1984)

Jean Donald was born at St Helen's, 1 West End Place, North Berwick in 1921, where her father Dr. Douglas A. Donald M.C. had his medical practice. Jean won the Scottish Ladies Championship in 1947 (Ellie); 1949 (Troon); 1952 (Gullane); runner up in 1953 and a semi finalist in 1951. The French Ladies Open Championship in 1947 and the Sunningdale Open Foursomes four times, twice with partner Peter Alliss in 1958 and 1961.

Jean represented Scotland in the Home Internationals from 1947-53 and was a finalist in the 1948 British Ladies Amateur Championship. She was selected for the Great Britain and Ireland team to play the USA in the Curtis Cup in 1948-50-52 and her experience played a crucial part in the GB&I victory at Muirfield in 1952. She was elected captain of Gullane Ladies Golf Club in 1951 and captain of North Berwick Ladies Club the following year. Jean Donald joined the professional ranks in 1953 and her Slazenger and Dunlop sponsored clubs sold well. She died in 1984 and her medals and trophies are displayed in Gullane Ladies Golf Club.

GEORGE DOUGLAS Country Club Of Boston, USA

George Douglas, born 1871 at 4, Viewforth, North Berwick, son of James Douglas, a general labourer and his wife Catherine Merrilees. In 1885 the family lived at 32, Harbour Terrace and George was the regular caddie for J. H. Outhwaite in his big matches at North Berwick. George Douglas was granted a professional license on the West Links on 12th May 1891, and played in the Open Championship at Muirfield in 1892.

He was the first golfer from the town to emigrate to America in 1894 and was appointed to the nine-hole course at the prestigious Country Club of Brookline, Massachusetts. George finished fourth in the 1896 US Open at Shinnecock Hills and received $25 prize money. There is no more information available on the career of George Douglas. He may have worked as a greenkeeper, club maker or was employed by a sports equipment store in the Boston area.

DAVIE FERGUSON (1884-1963) Greenville, South Carolina, USA

David L. Ferguson, a stonemason to trade was born in North Berwick in 1884. He lived with his family at 8, Clifford Road and at aged 30 years he emigrated to the USA. Ferguson sailed from Glasgow on the steamer S.S. California arriving in New York on 18th May, 1914. He shared the voyage with James Gullane listed below. On his arrival, Davie lived with his brother James Ferguson, a pro golfer at Spring Lake G.C in New Jersey until he found employment. In 1920, David Ferguson was appointed golf instructor at Sans Souci Country Club, Greenville in South Carolina. The following year he returned to North Berwick to escort his wife Annie and their two children to their new home in the USA.

The Sans Souci C.C operated at its original location northwest of the City of Greenville off Old Buncombe Road from 1905 to 1923. On 4th July 1923 it opened at its new and current location on Byrd Avenue. On 7th July 1927 the club changed its name to Greenville Country Club where Ferguson remained until his retirement. His friend Jimmy Livingstone said 'Ferguson was so revered and loved in Greenville he was known as Mr. Golf'. David Ferguson died in 1963 and is buried in Greenville Cemetery, South Carolina.

JIMMY FERGUSON Spring Lake, New Jersey, USA

James C. Ferguson, (brother of David) was born in 1881 in North Berwick. He was a caddie before being granted his professional ticket on the West Links in 1907. Ferguson emigrated to America in 1913 and was appointed pro at Spring Lake Golf and Country Club in New Jersey. Within a few months of his arrival he had set a new course record and hosted a 72-hole Open Professional tournament.

Fred McLeod who was at school with Ferguson, travelled north from Columbia Country Club to play in the Open tournament. This was the first time they had been together for over ten years. McLeod won the tournament from a strong field which included Tom McNamara, Jim Barnes and a young Walter Hagen. Alex Smith shot 71, to beat Ferguson's course record by one stroke.

In 1914, Ferguson entered the Metropolitan Golf Association tournament along with North Berwick boys George Sayers, Fred McLeod and Jack Hobens, (winner of the event in 1908). During the winter months (1915-22) Ferguson sailed to the West Indies and was golf pro at Nassau Country Club in the Bahamas. He lived in Hotel Colonial in Nassau and returned to New Jersey each spring. In 1915 his wife Nellie (Helen) joined him permanently. Ferguson played in the 1916 US Open and qualified for the matchplay section of the first US PGA Championship. Jim Ferguson lived with his wife at Spring Lake Heights, Monmouth, NJ and remained at Spring Lake C.C for the remainder of his career. His parents John and Jean Ferguson lived at 3, Forth Street, North Berwick.

JACK FORRESTER (1894-1964) Baltusrol, New Jersey, USA

John McIntyre Forrester, born in Port Street, Glasgow in 1894, son of James Forrester, a merchant seaman and his wife Jane McIntyre. In 1900, his father was a member of the Coastguard Service at Inch in Wigtown and in 1903 he was transferred to North Berwick where the family lived in the Coastguard Cottages, 14 Melbourne Road. In 1905, John and his younger brother William were licensed caddies on the West Links. John attended North Berwick school before joining the GPO as a postman. He was a member of the Rhodes Golf Club in North Berwick and at the age of seventeen he won the Haldane Cup and Maxwell Shield in 1911.

[Jack Forrester]

(Left to Right) Mike Brady, Tommy Armour, Willie Macfarlane, Leo Degel, Joe Kirkwood, Joe Turnesa, Johnny Farrell,
Jack Forrester, MacDonald Smith, Gene Sarazen.

Forrester sailed to America from Glasgow on the S.S. Columbia and arrived in New York on 8th March 1920. His contact was Carl H. Anderson manager of the golf department of Thomas E. Wilson & Co, in the Emporia building at 25 West, 45th Street, New York, (later known as 'Wilson'). Anderson was born in 1889 at Brockton, Mass. and was club champion of the Brockton Country Club at the age of fifteen. He was schoolboy champion of greater Boston in 1908 and turned pro in 1909. It is not known if Forrester was employed at Wilson's store but during the winter he joined Carl H. Anderson in Florida and they played in the Palm Beach Golf Club professional tournament. Forrester returned north in the spring and was appointed pro at Meadow Brook Golf Club, in New Jersey in 1921.

Later he moved to Hollywood NJ (1923-25); then to Baltusrol NJ (1926-28); Oradell NJ (1929); and Hackensack NJ (1930-34). He qualified for the US Open from 1921-1935 with his best finish being fourth place in 1923.

He played in the US PGA Championship in 1921 (defeated by Walter Hagen in the first round), also 1923 and 1924. Sandy-haired Jack Forrester was the most successful pro in New Jersey from 1926 until 1936. He won the Mid-South Open in 1928 and the New Jersey State Pro/AM on several occasions.

In 1923, David Campbell was appointed assistant to Jack Forrester at Hollywood Golf Club (NJ). Davie was a member of the famous golfing family from Musselburgh. His brothers Willie and Alex Campbell emigrated before Davie was born and they never met their younger brother until he arrived in America. Davie was assistant pro at Gleneagles before he joined Jack Forrester at Deal.

During the winter months from 1923-1931 Jack Forrester joined an increasing band of professionals who played tournaments in California, Texas, Arkansas and Florida, before returning north in the spring. This new breed of professionals where known in the press as the troubadours - who wandered first class, some in Lincolns, Cadillacs and Packards, from post to post, making their temporary abodes during the winter wherever a tournament was in progress.

The trail led to California where two big events - the California and Long Beach open championships were held, through Texas and Arkansas where the Dallas, Texarkana and South Central open championships were staged, then to Florida for the Miami, Central Florida, West Coast, Florida, South Florida open championships, before breaking the journey north with their final tournament at Pinehurst for the North and South open. The prize money available over the winter amounted to $28,000.

Forrester was described in the sports pages of the New York Times as a dyed-in-the-woods Scot who retained his 'burr' despite a long residence in the USA. Although he was not born in North Berwick, Jack listed the town as the place he came from at every opportunity. He lived with his wife Anne and their two sons at 341 Grove Street, Bergen, NJ. Jack Forrester was elected President of the New Jersey PGA (1933-35) and died in August 1964 at Barnstable, Massachusetts.

MAYNARD GOLDSMITH Royal Cape Club, South Africa

Maynard Mills Goldsmith, born 23rd May 1908 in Cardross Golf Club, Dunbarton, son of Harry Goldsmith, club master and his wife Francis Parker. His parents moved to North Berwick to manage the Temperance Cafe, (now 88, High Street) and then as proprietors of Seabank Hotel in Marine Parade. On leaving North Berwick School, Maynard apprenticed as a club maker with Ben Sayers & Son and was Scottish Champion in 1926.

For three years he was assistant to Norman Grant from North Berwick at Cannes Golf Club in France before being appointed head pro at Lucerne Golf Club in Switzerland in 1929. He remained there for eight years and was Swiss Professional Champion in 1933, runner-up twice and also winner of the Swiss Close championship. His pupils were both winner and runner-up in the Swiss Amateur in 1936-37.

In August 1937, Goldsmith was appointed pro at the Royal Cape Club in South Africa after being recommended for the position by Henry Cotton and Percy Alliss. Twenty candidates applied for the job and 'Jock' Goldsmith as he was known, worked on the Wynberg course for the remainder of his career.

Goldsmith played against South African Bobby Locke on several occasions, and in 1939 they contested the final of the matchplay Sunlight Purse, a prestigious professional tournament which Locke won. Goldsmith was playing well that year and had his best opportunity to win the SA Open Championship but had to withdraw after badly cutting his hand on a glass door. WW2 then intervened and Jock Goldsmith served in the Desert and Italian campaigns. During the conflict he met up with Bobby Locke in Cairo, he was flying Liberator bombers between Egypt and Italy. After the war Locke won the British Open Championship four times.

The tradition at Ben Sayers & Son, was for the apprentices on completion of their five years training, to be offered a position as assistant to former Sayers club makers and contacts around the world. Following a request by Maynard Goldsmith for an assistant in South Africa, Allan McLachlan was offered the position and sailed for Cape Town.

Allan McLachlan born 9th December 1914, in Abbey Road, North Berwick, son of Alexander McLachlan, gardener at the Marine Hotel, and his wife Mary Ann Munro. His father later worked on the Abbey Farm and served in the Royal Air Force during WW1. Allan McLachlan apprenticed as a club maker with Ben Sayers & Son in their new workshop in Forth Street. In an interview in the South Africa Golf magazine Allan said, "That was in the days of hickory shafts and we worked from 8am - 6pm and still found time for a round of golf in the evening. I got my handicap down to six, then four. When I was 21 years old I was put in the professional's shop beside the first tee on the West Links, demonstrating Sayers clubs and selling to the customers".

Allan emigrated to South Africa in 1938 to be assistant to Jock Goldsmith at Royal Cape. He also fought in Italy during WW2 and his brother Arthur McLachlan was killed in Burma in March 1945 while serving with the Kings Own Scottish Borderers. In 1947 Allan Mclachlan was appointed head pro at Hermanus Golf Club, 120 kilometers from Cape Town where he remained until he retired in the 1980s.

CYRIL GOODCHILD Bramall Park Golf Club, Stockport, UK

Cyril Goodchild born 8th January 1916 at 41 Old Abbey Road, North Berwick, son of James Goodchild, a postman and his wife Lynda Parker. Cyril served a five year apprenticeship as a club maker with Ben Sayers & Son and was a member of Bass Rock Golf Club winning the Spring Medal (1934); Autumn Medal (1937) and Dickson Cup (1936). In 1938 at the age of 22 years, Cyril was appointed assistant to Henry Cotton at Ashridge Golf Club in Hertfordshire. During WW2 he served in the RAF and landed in Normandy, but after a few months in France he was invalided out and returned to Henry Cotton, then at Coombe Hill and subsequently followed him to Royal Mid-Surrey.

In 1947, Cyril Goodchild branched out on his own and was appointed head pro at Bramall Park Golf Club, Stockport, Manchester where he remained for over 39 years, until his retirement in 1986. Henry Cotton was invited to Cyril's retirement festivities but due to his failing health, the journey from Portugal was too much for him. Cotton contacted the PGA and insisted that Cyril be given a Honorary Associate Membership of the PGA and this was presented to Cyril at his retirement party. The Ladies section at Bramall continue to play for the Cyril Goodchild Trophy.

DAVIE GRANT SNR. (1861-1903) Dinard Club, Ille-et-Vilaine, FRA

David Grant born in 1861 in Leith, married Isabella Thomson from North Berwick - part of the Thomson golfing dynasty. Her sister Catherine Thomson married Ben Sayers and their brother was Wilfred Thomson. The youngest sister Emily Thomson married James White and their son Jack White won the 1904 Open Championship.

Davie Grant was employed as a general labourer and lived with his family at 11, Forth Street. In 1881 Grant was eking a living labouring in the winter at North Berwick and playing in professional golf tournaments around the country. In 1885 he was a professional at Musselburgh and by 1888 was back at North Berwick teaching on the West Links. During this period he started a golf ball making business and by 1890 was employing his brother-in-law Willie Thomson, making golf balls in his house in Forth Street.

Grant was a small man with fair hair and a moustache that looked white from a distance. In 1892, Grant was engaged by Lord Tweedale, chairman of the North British Railway Company and former captain of North Berwick Golf Club (1890) to layout the course at Silloth in Cumbria. During his playing career Davie formed a formidable partnership with Ben Sayers in fourball matches. On one occasion they defeated Andrew and Hugh Kirkaldy in a well publicised money match. Grant played in the Open Championship from 1879-1894, his best finish was sixth place in 1888. That year he was appointed the first professional at the Dinard Club near Ille-et-Vilaine in France. He also played for Scotland in the professional international matches and although he preferred to describe himself as a ball maker, it was in teaching the game that his talent was recognised.

Grant was a pioneer of the one hour lesson rather than the traditional method of teaching while playing a round with the pupil. He took a keen interest in ladies' golf and taught the Orr sisters from North Berwick to play the game. In 1897 the Ladies' Championship in it's fifth year came to Scotland for the first time and was played at Gullane. Two of the Misses Orr sisters contested the final with a third sister reaching the quarter finals. Grant caddied for Edith C. Orr throughout the competition which attracted criticism from the LGU, and she was the ultimate winner 4 & 3.

In 1898 Davie Grant was living at 33, Melbourne Place with his wife and nine children. He died of tuberculosis which was common in those days at the age of 42 years. His sons Arthur, Norman, Robert and David Jnr. all joined the professional ranks, while two other sons were killed in WW1. In 1902, 19 year old David Grant Jnr. was based at the Maloja G.C in Switzerland and in 1904 he moved to the Bad-Nauheim course in Germany. At the opening of that course he played an exhibition match with Henry Longhurst from Ascot. In 1906 he joined his brother Arthur Grant at Biarritz in France. Arthur moved to Le Touquet while Norman Grant went to Cannes as private professional to the Aga Khan.

In 1911, David Grant Jnr. and his partner George Duncan qualified for the first Sphere and Tatler Cup organised by the PGA. The following year Grant partnered Sandy Herd. In 1920, Norman Grant was a licensed pro on the West Links and during the winter he spent time in Buenos Aires. Robert Grant worked in the London area before emigrating to America in 1922 where he assisted his cousin George Sayers at Merion. Robert was appointed head pro at Bala Golf Club in Philadelphia (1924-29). Davie Grant Jnr. died from pneumonia in 1919 in Marseilles while returning from WW1.

Sandie Russell, the Starter at Gullane No.1 had the loudest voice in the county and the locals called him ' Whisper'. His son Bud Russell emigrated to Australia as a golf pro, arriving with 25 shillings in his pocket, he left a millionaire.

HARRY GULLANE (1874-1907) St David's, Pennsylvania, USA

Henry Gullane born at 4 Market Place, North Berwick in 1874, son of James Gullane, a fisherman, and his wife Janet Taylor. Harry and his brother Andrew Gullane were granted their professional license on the West Links in April 1893. Harry's pro badge was No.54. He partnered Andrew Kirkaldy in the competition to mark the opening of the Luffness New course in 1894 and played in the Open Championship at Muirfield in 1896. This was the last Open Old Tom Morris took part in at the age of 75. Harry Gullane emigrated to America in 1898 and was appointed assistant pro and greenkeeper at the Philadelphia Country Club, where he also held the course record of 77 strokes.

Harry Gullane won the first professional golf tournament in the Philadelphia area, played in 1898 at the Huntingdon Valley Country Club. There were ten entries and the club provided a free lunch for the contestants. They played the nine-hole course four times each day to make it a 72-hole tournament. Harry Gullane had the winning score of 319 while Willie Anderson finished twelve strokes back in second place and Jim Campbell completed the North Berwick trio, finishing third. The purse totalled $150 and the winner received $100.

Gullane was the first pro to be appointed to the nine-hole St David's Golf Club in Wayne, PA. He supervised the extension of that course to 18 holes which was completed in April 1899. Also that year Gullane laid out a nine-hole course at West Chester Golf and Country Club, Pennsylvania. In 1899 Gullane set a new course record at Cape May G.C. (NJ) and in 1900 at Catasauqua G.C (PA).

His best finish in the US Open Championship was seventh place at Baltimore Country Club in 1899 when he received $50. The day before the championship they held a driving contest and Harry finished second with a drive of 264 yards 2 feet 9inches. Willie Hoare had the winning drive which was 269 yards 7 feet 6 inches. Those were big drives as the gutta-percha ball was still in use at that time. In 1900 Harry Gullane was pro at the Philadelphia Cricket Club (Chestnut Hill, PA). In April that year he partnered Willie Thomson of the Huntingdon Valley Country Club in an exhibition match against Harry Vardon at the Philadelphia Cricket Club. It was reported in the New York Times that Gullane outdrove Vardon by 10 to 15 yards. Harry Gullane entered the 1900 US Open from Pittsburgh where he laid out the course for Pittsburgh Golf Club (PA).

In 1901, Gullane returned to North Berwick permanently and five years later he married a local girl and was back giving golf lesson on the West Links. In 1907 they lived in a row of cottages at 5, Law Road and following a domestic argument Gullane struck his wife to the floor. Thinking he had killed her, Harry climbed Berwick Law and in a state of remorse threw himself off the quarry, plunging 70 feet to his death. He was 32 years old and his wife Margaret survived the tragedy.

In 1908 'The American Golfer' magazine complied a composite golf course taken from the best 18 holes in the USA. Among them were the 7th and 16th holes at St David's, laid out by Harry Gullane and the only course to have two holes featured. In 1914, when Ben Sayers visited his son George at Merion Cricket Club, he played the neighboring course at St. David's every day. The nine hole course at West Chester Golf and Country Club, Pennsylvania also remains as a testimony to Harry Gullane's short life. A photo of Harry is included in the Rev. John Kerr's book 'Golf in East Lothian' along with a group of pros who played at the opening of Luffness New course.

JAMES GULLANE (1891-1986) Colorado Springs, USA

James 'Jimmy' Gullane nephew of Harry Gullane (above) was born at 22 Forth Street, North Berwick in 1891, son of James Gullane, a seaman and his wife Maggie Gullane. Jimmy served a five year apprenticeship as a club maker with Ben Sayers & Son before emigrating to America at the age of 23 years. He sailed from Glasgow with his friend Davie Ferguson (listed above) on the steamer S.S. California, and they arrived in New York on 18th May 1914.

[James Gullane] Jimmy travelled to Philadelphia to take up the position of assistant pro to George Sayers (son of Ben Sayers) at Merion Golf and Cricket Club, PA. In 1916, Gullane finished eighth in the Philadelphia Open and the following year he was appointed golf instructor at Sunnybrook G.C, Flourtown, PA. In the final years of WW1 Jimmy served with the US Army and received his US citizenship. During this period he struck up a friendship with former PGA and US Open champion Jim Barnes, and for several seasons from 1915 they wintered together at Palma Ceia C.C, Tampa in Florida. Gullane followed Jim Barnes to Colorado Springs and was appointed head pro at Broadmoor Golf Club when Barnes left in 1919. Gullane resided in the YMCA for the first two years and when he arrived at Broadmoor there were only nine holes and he assisted with the course extension to eighteen holes (East Course), which was completed in late 1919. Gullane entered the 1926 US Open championship from Broadmoor and remained with the club until 1927. Jimmy Thomson, the son of Wilfred Thomson from North Berwick took over at Broadmoor Golf Club in 1930.

Jimmy Gullane was a friend of Wilfred Thomson from their days on the West Links at North Berwick. Wilfred was pro at the Country Club Of Virginia and Gullane played numerous matches with his son at Colorado Springs. In 1925, Jimmy Thomson was the youngest player to qualify for the US Open at 16 years of age. In 1930, Thomson broke the course record at Broadmoor when he shot 64 on the par 70 course. Gullane held the previous record for six years when in 1924 he scored 65. Thomson was a big hitter and drove the 18th green at Broadmoor on several occasions.

3,000 spectators swarmed over the West Links causing long delays when US Open Champion Walter Hagen and Denny Shute played an exhibition match against Bob Denholm and W. B. Torrance. New York Times - August 1933.

In 1920, Jimmy Gullane married Hilda Cooze in Colorado Springs. Hilda was born in Barnsley, England and they had a son James Gullane Jnr. In 1927, Jimmy was persuaded to move to Hillcest Country Club by Frank Phillips, founder of Phillips Petroleum in Oklahoma, to serve as first professional at the new course in Bartlesville. Jimmy remained at Hillcrest until 1954 and then managed the driving range at Sunset Country Club for several years. He was golf professional at the nine-hole Pawhuska Country Club until he retired in 1973. James Gullane died in July 1986 at the age of 93 years and is buried in White Rose Cemetery, Bartlesville, Oklahoma.

The Gullane family were one of the oldest families in North Berwick and could trace their ancestors in the town back to the seventeenth century. James's father was known as Pilot Gullane, as he was qualified to assist ships to navigate the Firth of Forth. James's sisters Maggie and Jessie converted the ground floor of the family home at 22, Forth Street into their legendary fish and chip shop.

TOM HARLEY (1855- 1943) First Canadian Amateur Champion

One of the most outstanding members of the old Luffness Golf Club was Tom Harley who emigrated to Canada and won the first Canadian Amateur Championship in 1895. Thomas Harley was born at Limekilns, Fife in 1855, son of George Harley, Master Mariner and his wife Margaret Dewar. Tom moved with his parents to Aberlady, where he served an apprenticeship as a joiner and worked with Peter Brown, who was a founder member and captain of Luffness Golf Club.

Tom Harley won the Hope Challenge Medal in 1875, 1877, 1879, 1880. This was the only stroke play competition open to all golfers in East Lothian, and Harley remains the only player to have won the Medal four times. In 1880, Tom Harley moved to Edinburgh before emigrating to Canada to follow his trade and in 1895 entered the Canadian Amateur Championship from Kingston Golf Club, Ontario. Which curiously was founded in 1891 by a gentleman who when a boy attended the public school at Dirleton, seven miles from Aberlady. Harley defeated Alex Simpson (Royal Ottawa Golf Club) in the final to become the first Amateur Champion of Canada and he received the Gold Medal and Silver Cup donated by Lord Aberdeen to the Canadian Golf Association formed the previous year.

Tom Harley went on to represent his club in a number of interprovincial matches between Quebec and Ontario. Kingston Golf Club situated in the city of Kingston 200 km. east of Toronto on Lake Ontario, went out of existence around the time of WW2.

In 1898, Tom Harley was persuade by Henry J Hewat to move to America and become the first golf pro at North Jersey Golf Club. Hewat, originally from Dumfries in Scotland was captain of the club and Harley resided at 192 Market Street, Paterson City in New Jersey. Harley played in a pro tournament at Ocean County Hunt and Country Club, Lakewood, NY on New Years Day 1898. According to the New York Times the field also included North Berwick pros, Harry Gullane, Robert Thomson, Willie Anderson, James Campbell and Harry Reddie. The Fitzjohn brothers originally from Musselburgh but also pros at North Berwick played-off for the first prize. By 1909 Tom Harley was working as a carpenter in Paterson and returned home permanently in the 1920s.

Following Harley's departure to Canada, a group of Luffness members broke away from the original club where Harley was a member and formed Luffness New Golf Club in 1894. The original members moved west and leased land from Lord Wemyss where they laid out a course at Craigielaw, and called their new club Kilspindie. Harley became a member of this club and during a vacation to Scotland in 1911, he won the Edward S. Hope Challenge Cup. The trophy was presented to him by the club captain Rt. Hon. A. J. Balfour, former British Prime Minister (1902-05).

When Harley returned to Aberlady permanently he worked with John Cuthbert who had a carpenter and undertaker's business in Back Lane, Aberlady. Harley was proffered Honorary Life Member of Kilspindie Golf Club in 1928. He resided with John Cuthbert at 'Maryville' in the High Street (now Rushmoon House) where he died in 1943, aged 88 years. His achievements are recognized in the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame and Museum in Oakville, Ontario.

PETER HENDRIE Ulen Country Club, Indiana, USA

Peter Hendrie, born 20th November 1872 at Tyninghame, caddied for some of the great players at North Berwick as a boy. In August 1899 he was granted his professional ticket on the West Links. Peter left Scotland for Canada in 1904 where he was employed as golf pro at Montreal G.C. In 1906 he was pro at the Westmount Golf Club and that year finished nineth in the Canadian Open. In 1911 he travelled to America and was pro at the nine-hole course at Fort Mitchell Country Club, Covington, KY and then to Rock Island Arsenal G.C IL in 1914. He was with several other clubs before taking up the appointment at Ulen Country Club, Lebanon, Indiana in 1929, where he retired after 22 years service. He lived with his wife Mary in the Boone Township, Lebanon County, IN.

Maintenance work being carried out to a traditional revetted bunker face,
at the 176 yard, par 3, 10th hole on the West Links, North Berwick.

JACK HOBENS Factfile

DAVID HUISH North Berwick New Club

David Huish is best known for leading the Open Championship at Carnoustie in 1975. He lead by two shots at the end of the second round, ahead of Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson and Arnold Palmer. Huish born in Gullane, was employed by Hugh Watt at Gullane G.C and in 1965 he won the Scottish Assistants' Championship. Huish was professional at Hamilton G.C before being appointed to North Berwick New Club in March 1967. Huish was a former British PGA Captain and since 1987 a member of the Ryder Cup committee. In 2002, he was appointed a director of Ryder Cup Limited. Huish played on the European Senior Tour with wins at the Collingtree Seniors Classic (1996); PGA Scottish Seniors Championship (1998); Lawrence Batley Seniors (2000) and Bad Ragaz PGA Seniors Open in Switzerland (2000), which he successfully defended in 2001. Gregor 'Josh' Jamieson served his apprenticeship with David Huish at North Berwick in 1973. Jamieson is currently in Orlando coaching former US Open champion Retief Goosen.

JAMES L. HUTCHISON Philadelphia Country Club, USA

James L. Hutchison was born in Musselburgh in 1880. His father James H. Hutchison had the club makers business at the West Links, North Berwick and was the nephew of Peter McEwan from the famous Musselburgh club making dynasty. James L. Hutchison sailed to New York in 1900 to take up employment as head pro at Philadelphia Country Club (PA). Hutchison resided in a hostel with staff from the golf club including, coachmen, grooms, stablemen, and his golf assistant Stewart McEwan from Musselburgh. Hutchison played in the 1900 US Open at Chicago Golf Club, illinois where he finished in 32nd place. He returned to visit Scotland in 1903 and sailed back to the USA with Fred McLeod, William Hobens, and George Thomson. Hutchison returned to Great Britain permanently in 1905 and was a licenced pro at the West Links, North Berwick. That year he played in the Open Championship at St. Andrews. In 1909, Hutchison was appointed pro at Keighley G.C. and in April 1910 he moved to Headingley G.C in West Yorkshire (1910-1938). Harry Steel also a club maker was his assistant at Headingley.

James L. Hutchison was described as a dour Scot, who always wore plus fours. He was remembered at Headingley for his vigorous opposition to Sunday golf during his 27 years with the club. In May 1923, Hutchison hosted the Yorkshire Evening News tournament, one of the biggest professional events held at Headingley. Many of the top American players took part including Walter Hagen and Gene Sarazen who were in the country for the Open Championship at Troon. James L. Hutchison retired in July 1937 and was conferred an Honorary Life Member of Headingley Golf Club.

JOHN JOHNSTONE Port Elizabeth Golf Club, South Africa

John 'Jimmy' Johnstone, born 1872 at Harbour Terrace, North Berwick, son of Robert Johnstone, fisherman and his wife Janet Sked. Jimmy Johnstone was the brother of Robert and George listed below and they lived with their parents at 11 Heriot Row (Lower Quay). Jimmy was granted a professional license on the West Links on 5th June 1893. It was here he gave lessons to the Smythe family and was persuaded to become their personal golf instructor at Methven Castle in Perthsire.

In 1894, Johnstone emigrated to South Africa and was appointed pro to the Port Elizabeth Golf Club on a two year engagement. On his arrival the local newspaper the Eastern Province Herald suggested he had brought a surplus of golf clubs with him and a machine for re-making balls. As the city expanded the club had to find an alternative location and Johnstone was asked to designed their new golf course. At the official opening in November 1902, the Mayor struck the first shot using a special club made by Johnstone for the occasion. The club and original ball are now on display in the Port Elizabeth clubhouse. Many of the fairways have the same routing today as they did a hundred years ago. Jimmy Johnstone returned to North Berwick and entered the 1905 and 1906 Open Championship's from the town. He was appointed pro at Hythe (1908-1917) and then Halifax (1921-1923).

ROBERT JOHNSTONE Seattle Golf Club, USA

Robert 'Bob' Johnstone, born 1874 at Harbour Terrace, North Berwick, brother of John and George Johnstone. Bob apprenticed as a club maker and was described as one of Willie Park's favourite pupils so we can assume he trained with William Park & Son at 15, Beach Road, North Berwick. Bob was a member of the Bass Rock Golf Club, but as a club maker he was deemed to be a golf professional, and forbidden to play in the Club prize competitions. As club making became a recognised trade in it's own right, the Club rules were altered to allow the club and ball makers to play in competitions and to represent the Club in the Amateur Championship.

Bob and his brothers John and George were licensed caddies on the West Links. Bob was granted his professional ticket in July 1894, John in 1893 and George in 1919. Bob Johnstone emigrated to America in 1900 and made the four day rail trip to California where he was appointed clubmaker and pro at the San Francisco Golf Club. The nine-hole course laid out on the Presido Reservation was the earliest golf course on the West Coast of America and used by the members of San Francisco Golf Club and Presido Golf Club. In 1901, Johnstone was joined by Alex Bell from North Berwick as his assistant. In 1905 the San Francisco Golf Club moved to the south of the city and Bob Johnstone was appointed golf instructor at Presido Golf Club where he experienced problems with the caddies as he later wrote. 'One time we had a strike and the caddies made life a misery for us all. One day a bunch of them shouted vile things at us until I could take it no longer, so armed with a golf club I chased them away'. In 1907, Alex Bell moved to Oahu Country Club in Hawaii and Bob Johnstone laid out the course at Seattle Golf Club and became their first professional. He returned briefly to San Francisco in 1910 where Presido Golf Club had acquired more land and Bob Johnstone designed the extension of the course to eighteen holes. The layout may have been rudimentary due to the constraints of the earth moving machinery available at the time but it did encouraged the community to play golf and join a club.

Bob Johnstone won the Pacific Northwest Championship four consecutive years from 1901-1904. In 1907, he laid out the course at Seattle Golf Club and became their first professional. Throughout the 1920s there was no better-known golfer in the Pacific Northwest than Robert Johnstone. He went on to win the Northwest Open a record eight times.

Johnstone's former class mate at North Berwick, George Turnbull (listed below) was also a golf pro and in 1910 he was appointed the first pro at Waverley Country Club in Portland, WA. For the next eight years the tournaments in the Northwest were contested between Turnbull, Johnstone and Jim Barnes pro at Tacoma G.C. In 1918, the Pacific Northwest Championship finished in a tie between Turnbull and Johnstone and following an 18 hole play-off they could not be seperated, both scoring 74. The next day another head to head was arranged, this time Turnbull won and Johnstone had to settle for beating Turnbull in the final of the North and South tournament.

In 1917, Bob Johnstone laid out a nine-hole course on Mercer Island which at that time was only the sixth course in the Seattle area. In 1919, he laid out the course at Rainier Golf and Country Club and the Inglewood Golf Club at Kenmore with A. Vernon Macan. In 1930 Bob Johnstone and Frank Jones laid out the public links in Jackson Park, Seattle.

Bob Johnstone became an American citizen on 4th October 1920 in the District Court of Seattle and he lived with his wife Sarah Gilbert from Edinburgh and daughters Ethel and Florence in King Township, Foy County, Washington State. He remained with Seattle Golf Club for over thirty-two years. In 1922, he was instrumental in establishing the Pacific Northwest Section PGA and served as its first president. Robert Johnstone from the Harbour Terrace, North Berwick was inducted in the PGA Pacific Northwest Section in 1982.

ARTHUR KENDALL Fort Smith Country Club, Arkanas, USA

Arthur Innes Kendall born in 1880 at 8, Quality Street, North Berwick, the son of James Kendall a master plumber and his wife Mary Rutherford. Arthur was a Law student and a member of Bass Rock G.C and Rhodes G.C before emigrating to America in 1909. He joined Leslie Brownlee at Fort Smith Country Club, Arkansas. Originally Kendall lived with his parents at 46 High Street and Brownlee lived at 40a High Street, North Berwick. In 1909, Arthur Kendall laid out the course at Shreveport Country Club, Louisiana. In October 1909 they were joined at Fort Smith by Donald Mackay a club maker from North Berwick.

Arthur Kendall return to Scotland in 1912 to marry Helen Smith and they set up home at 82, Waldron Road, Fort Smith. The following year Helen returned to Glasgow to give birth to their first child, Margaret and in March 1914 mother and daughter sailed back to America in style on the RMS Lusitania.

Arthur's father had a plumber's business with a shop in Quality Street, North Berwick. His older brother James fought in the Boer War and along with Walter Gilholm they were given a heroes welcome on their safe return to North Berwick in August 1902. The two gallant troopers of the Scottish Horse were greeted at the railway station by a huge crowd and the pipe band headed a procession through the streets.

Another former Bass Rock G.C member was Fred McLeod who was pro at Midlothian C.C in Illinois. He wintered at San Antonio C.C in Texas and played in exhibition matches. In 1907, McLeod invited the 'new kid' in town, Leslie Brownlee to make up a fourball match in Dallas. Fred had not seen Brownlee or Kendall for over five years. Arthur Kendall remained at Fort Smith for several seasons before moving to Wichita Falls, Kansas (1922-24) and then to Dennison C.C. in Texas (1925-28).

"APAWAMIS SIGNS THOMSON"
Philadelphia Star to be New Golf Professional
New York Times, January 20th 1922 (James R Thomson)

DAN KENNY (1882-1967) Park and Country Club at Buffalo, New York, USA

Daniel F. Kenny, born 1882 at Canty Bay, North Berwick. At the age of 18 he was a licensed golf professional on the West Links, North Berwick and living with his parents at 10, Quality Street. He was described as 5 feet 9 inches tall with a dark complexion, black hair, blue eyes and a tattoo 'D K' on his right arm. In 1905, Kenny was appointed greenkeeper and professional at the hillside course of Kirkcudbright G.C with a wage of 20 shillings per week after being recommended for the position by Ben Sayers. On 18th October he was dismissed by the club, no reason was minuted. The following year he was appointed to the newly formed Stranraer G.C. He entered the 1906 Open at Muirfield and finished 24th in a field which included Braid, Taylor and Vardon.

In 1907, Kenny emigrated to the USA, sailing from Glasgow on the S.S. Caledonia arriving in New York on 19th March. His contact in America was Bill Stewart from the Park and Country Club at Buffalo in New York State where Dan was appointed golf pro. He was also pro at the Meadow Club which used the public park in Buffalo. Kenny won the Canadian Open in 1910 at Lambton Golf and Country Club, Toronto with a winning score of 303. George S Lyon was second on 307 and Perry Barrett was third with 309. A year later, he joined the newly formed North Toronto Golf Club and defended his Open title at Royal Ottawa when twenty professionals established the Canadian Professional Golfers' Association. In the 1910 census Dan Kenny was a boarder living at Glen Grove, York South, North Toronto. In 1912, Kenny moved to Lake Rousseau (Monteith House) in the Muskoka Lakes district, north of Toronto, where he was the first professional.

He played in the US Open in 1912 (which he lead after the first round), again in 1914 and 1915, when he entered from Hamilton Golf and Country Club, Ltd. in Hamilton, Ontario. Willie Anderson's brother Tom Anderson Jr. also played in the 1912 US Open but it was his flamboyant style of clothes that caught the attention of the media and impressed a young Walter Hagen who would later emulate Anderson's style. At the 1915 US Open Dan Kenny was reunited with his North Berwick class mate Fred McLeod and the field also included Ben Sayers and his son George Sayers. Kenny was pro at Hamilton Country Club, Olean (NY) 1915-20. His wife Francis remained in Scotland and was living at 49 Millburn Street, Kirkcudbright.

In 1919 and 1920 Dan Kenny wintered at Baton Rouge Country Club in Louisiana. The State Times reported that Daniel Kenny and Scotty Robson who laid out the course in 1916 were playing Baton Rouge and that Daniel Kenny would be giving golf lessons at the club until March. In 1921 Kenny was runner-up in the Western New York PGA championship, he also played in the Canadian Open and the North and South tournament at Pinehurst. In 1922, Kenny was based at Sylvania C.C, Toledo, Ohio and from their he qualified for the US PGA championship at Oakmont.

In 1923, Dan Kenny was based at Willowbrook Golf Club, Tyler in Texas where they organised a match between Dan Kenny and Tom Lally, pro at San Antonio Country Club for a stake of $ 1,000 dollars. The club pooled together sufficient cash resources to fill the purse and fortunately Kenny won the dual in the sun. That year he also lifted the side beats by playing 216 holes of golf in the one day at the Glenbrooke Country Club with the local pro. In 1924 Kenny was pro at the seaside course at Galveston and four years later he returned to Scotland permanently. In 1928, Dan lived with his wife Francis and daughter at 37, Millburn Street, Kirkcudbright. Kenny died 3rd March 1967 ages 84 years. Daniel Kenny Photo

WILLIAM KEPPIE (1905-1978) Rungsted Golfklub, Copenhagen, DEN

William 'Billy' Tait Keppie, born 1905 in North Berwick, the son of John Keppie, railway porter and his wife Ina Manson. Billy had two brothers, Roderick and John and the family lived at 98 High Street. Roderick served an apprenticeship as a club maker with Ben Sayers and John Keppie was a licensed golf professional at North Berwick in 1920.

Billy Keppie was a caddie on the West Links before moving to Denmark in 1924, aged 19 years. He worked as a golf instructor on the newly established golf training centres in Denmark, travelling from place to place giving lessons in the Jutland area. He also played in competitions with fellow Scot James Ross, pro at Copenhagen G.C.

In the summer months Keppie worked at the nine-hole course on Fano Island which he extended to eighteen holes in 1930. Fano Golf Links is the oldest course in Denmark, and the only links course in the country. Billy Keppie was also affiliated to Odense Golfklub (birthplace of author and poet Hans Christian Andersen). It was at Odense on the Island of Funen where Billy met his wife Edel Esbensen and they had two daughters.

Billy's Identity Card (Click to Enlarge)

In the late 1930s he was appointed golf pro at Rungsted Golfklub, an area of exclusive homes built along the shore, 24km north of Copenhagen. The Danish Queen Alexandrine was a member of that club and Billy had to be available to play with her and her lady-in-waiting. In the winter months he worked in a large department store in Copenhagen demonstrating the latest golf equipment and giving lessons.

During WW2, as resistance to the German occupation intensified it was not safe to be British in Denmark and Billy went into hiding. The local resistance movement sent him to a hospital in Copenhagen where one of the consultant doctors was hiding a number people among his patients. Keppie was also given a false identity card with the name Borge Knudsen. Billy became a Danish citizen in 1944 and learned to speak the language fluently. He remained at Rungsted Golfklub until 1948 and then managed the sports department in Magasin du Nord, Copenhagen. He retired to Horsholm near Rungsted where he died in 1978. His remarkable story is featured in an exhibition in the Danmark Golf Museum at Vejle which includes his old golf clubs and photographs.

PETER W. LEES (1868-1923) Long Island, New York, USA

PETER WHITECROSS LEES born West Fenton near Gullane in 1868, son of Thomas Lees a farm worker and his wife Elizabeth Whitecross. Peter apprenticed as a greenkeeper on Archerfield Golf Course and in 1892 he moved to Mortonhall Golf Club and was living at 6, Belhaven Terrace, Edinburgh. In 1898 he was appointed head greenkeeper at Royal Burgess Golf Club at Barnton. In 1906, Lees wrote a chapter in the book 'Golf Greens and Green Keeping' entitled 'Treatment Of An Inland Green on Medium Soil'. The book edited by Horace G. Hutchinson included a series of articles written by among others James Braid and Harold Hilton. The book continues to be used by golf course superintendents and has become a collectors item.

[Peter Lees] In 1911, Peter Lees was persuaded to join Mid-Surrey Golf Club in Richmond. The pro at Mid-Surrey was former Open Champion J.H. Taylor and when Peter Lees arrived at the club they introduced several grass bunkers to break up the flat appearance of the course. This was so successful that the grass bunkers were enlarged to create the 'humps and hollows' which looked so natural. Lees supervised over a hundred labourers, employed through the night using flare lights while they moved the soil. This was the making of Peter Lees's reputation and they came from courses all over the country to see how the work was carried out.

In 1912, the Duke of Saxe Coburg invited Lees to layout the Oberhof Golf Course in Germany and to advise them on seeding and planting turf. In 1914, Peter emigrated to America on the instigation of course architect Charles B. Macdonald who was laying out a new course at Lido on Long Island. He employed Lees to oversee the seeding and the early development of the course. The following year Peter returned to Britain to escort his wife Isabella Peacock, (originally from Dirleton), and their four daughters to their new home at Lynbrook on Long Island.

The Lido course completed in 1916 was such a complex project being built on swamp land, that its success ushered in a new era in course construction and enhanced Lees standing even further. He wrote articles in Golf Illustrated and The American Golfer, and wrote the book 'Care Of The Green' published in 1918.

Peter Lees supervised the extension of the course at Jamaica Country Club on Long Island to eighteen holes during the winter of 1918. At that time the club was looking forward to the return of their pro Jimmy Lindsay after his service with the Canadian Forces in WW1. Lindsay (below) and Lees grew up in Gullane. In 1919, Peter Lees was involved in the layout at St Albans Country Club (LI) where Babe Ruth was a member. The US Military commandeered the golf course during WW2 and constructed a Naval Hospital on the land.

Peter revised courses at Green Meadow, NY (1917), Ives Hill CC at Watertown, NY, Garden City, Somerset Hills, Belleclair NY, Glen Ridge, NJ, Mountain Ridge, NJ, and extended the nine-hole course at The Homestead, Hot Springs, VA in 1919. He laid out four putting greens at Apawamis Club in 1920 and also that year he completed the Hempstead course near his home on Long Island. Peter Lees was better known as a constructer of courses for such architects as Charles B. Macdonald, Albert Tillinghast and surveyor Seth Rayner.

It was while he was visiting the Asheville course in Buncombe, North Carolina that he suddenly collapsed and died on 11th May 1923, aged 54 years. Peter W. Lees is buried in Rockville Cemetery in Lynbrook, Long Island, NY. Golf Illustrated wrote in 1923 ' Peter Lees was recognised as one of the greatest experts on green building in the country'.

JIMMY LINDSAY Oak Park Country Club, Chicago, USA

James Lindsay, son of the railway porter at Gullane Station, apprenticed as a plumber and lived with his parents at 6, Hopetoun Terrace. In 1913, he emigrated to America at the age of 28 years and was appointed first pro at the newly opened nine-hole course at Oneonta Country Club, Rye (NY). Lindsay was also an outstanding groundsman and assisted Walter J. Travis to layout the course for Westchester - Biltmore Golf Club (NY). In 1915, James returned to Scotland to visit his parents living at The Cairn, Aberlady and sailed back to the USA on the Lusitania. He served with the Canadian Forces in the later part of WW1 and in 1919 he returned to his post as pro at the Jamaica Country Club on Long Island. In March 1920, Lindsay moved with his wife Jean and son Joseph to Illionois where he was appointed golf instructor at Oak Park Country Club in Chicago. In 1921 he was joined by Tom Dickson from North Berwick as his assistant. Lindsay remained at Oak Park until 1930.

GEORGE LIVINGSTONE (1879-1968) Belle Meade Country Club, Nashville, USA

George Livingstone, born 1879 in North Berwick, son of James Livingstone, Line Fisherman and his wife Mary. George was a joiner to trade and a member of the Rhodes G.C playing over the Glen course at North Berwick where he was the first winner of the Haldane Cup in 1907. George was also a scratch player of the Bass Rock G.C before emigrating to America at the age of 31 years. He sailed from Glasgow and arrived in New York on 9th March 1912 where he stayed with his brother-in-law A. Clarks at Driftwood, New York. Wthin weeks Livingstone had secured the position of golf pro at Nashville Country Club.

Two years later he returned to North Berwick to escort his wife and three daughters to their new home in Nashville. The club later adopted the name Belle Meade Country Club where Livingstone was the professional for 35 years. The George Livingstone trophy (1954) continues to be played for at Belle Meade Country Club. In 1920, he was joined by his younger brother Henry Livinstone (1889-1978) who was appointed pro at Inglewood G.C. Nashville in 1924. Their father, James Livingstone lived at 15 Forth Street, North Berwick. George Livingstone died December 1968 in Nashville.

JIMMY LIVINGSTONE (1884-1979) Ingleside, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

James Livingstone the brother of George Livingstone listed above was also a member of Bass Rock Golf Club and the Rhodes Golf Club wining the Haldane Cup in 1919. Jimmy lived with his family at 16 Melbourne Place, North Berwick. He was a journeyman stonemason and following his army service in the Royal Engineers during WW1 he emigrated to the USA, aged 37 years. He sailed from Glasgow on the steamer S.S. Algeria, arriving in New York on 19th December 1921.

Livingstone arranged to stay with his boyhood friend David Ferguson, a pro in Greenville, South Carolina. Ferguson recommended Livingstone to the Country Club in Anderson (SC) but after six months Livingstone moved on to the nine-hole course at Ingleside Golf Club, Atlanta, Georgia. The membership was Jewish and Livingstone remained with the club for 23 years.

His wife Marjorie and five children joined him in 1923 and they lived in Austin Place in Atlanta. Jimmy's standing in the community was such that the local authority renamed the street 'Livingstone Place'. Jimmy Livingstone died September 1979, aged 95 years and is buried in Decatur Cemetery. In the 1980s as Atlanta expanded more land was required and the Ingleside golf course was sold to accommodate a new city transit line. His son John Livingstone was also a professional golfer and in 1947 he helped to develop the course at the Standard Town and Country Club at Brookhaven GA where he was head pro for nineteen years.

CHARLES MARR Spence Golf and Country Club, Iowa, USA

Charles Marr born 1891 in North Berwick, son of Charles Marr Snr., a fisherman and his wife Margaret Thomson. Charles Jnr. and his brother Alfred apprenticed as club makers while living with their parents in Heriot Row (Lower Quay) and later at 32, Quality Street, North Berwick. Their father was licensed as a caddie on the West Links on 14th October 1895 and given badge number 85.

Charlie Marr emigrated to America, sailing from Glasgow on S.S Cameronia, he arrived at Ellis Island, 19th May 1912, four weeks after the Titanic disaster. Charlie was described as 5' 7' with fair hair and blue eyes, and was appointed assistant pro to Robert G. MacDonald in Cleveland. In 1913, Charlie Marr moved with Bob MacDonald to Buffalo Country Club in New York and then to Indian Hill Country Club, Winnetka, Illinois. In August 1917, Marr enlisted in the Canadian Over-Seas Expeditionary Force but WW1 ended before he was called to arms. During this period Charlie continued his clubmaking and looking after the pro shop while MacDonald entered the tournaments and in 1919 the New York Times listed Robert G. MacDonald as the fourth best tour pro in the USA.

Bob MacDonald was a club maker in North Berwick and would have been aware of the sixteen year old apprentice Charles Marr. In 1906, Donald Mackay (listed below) a club maker from Dornoch moved to North Berwick and set up in business with James Watt at 1 Station Hill. In 1908, Bob MacDonald arrived from Dornoch and was granted his professional license on the West Links, and gave his address as 1 Station Hill. Mackay emigrated to America in 1909 and MacDonald followed in 1910. James Watt continued the clubmaking business in Station Hill where Charlie's brother Alfie served his apprenticeship.

In 1921, Charlie Marr branched out on his own and was appointed head pro at Council Bluffs Country Club in Iowa. The following year he moved to the nine-hole-course at Spence Golf and Country Club, Iowa and in 1924, he was based at Mankato Golf Club (Municipal) Minnesota.

Charlie married Catherine Russell from Edinburgh and his family remained in Scotland until he returned permanently in 1929. They lived in James Place, Leith where their son Charles was born and where Charlie Snr. died in 1957 aged 65 years. Alfie Marr gave up the clubmaking and joined his father at the fishing. His son Fred Marr continued the family fishing tradition in North Berwick.

ARNAUD MASSY Factfile

CATRIONA MATTHEW Factfile

ROBERT MILLAR (1898-1968) Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA

Robert Millar, born 4 Forth Street Lane, North Berwick in 1898 emigrated to the USA at the age of 23 years. Another member of Bass Rock Golf Club, he sailed from Liverpool on the S.S. Albania, arriving in New York on 26th March 1922. Millar stayed with his aunt Miss Barbara Rosie, 627 Sherddan Road, Winnetka, Illinois until he secured work. In 1924, Robert Millar was appointed golf instructor at the newly opened nine-hole Gateway Municipal course in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The following year he became pro at Milham Park in Kalamazoo, where Jessie Owens was a member. Millar remained there until he retired in 1962. His father John B Millar (fisherman) lived at 10 Victoria Road, North Berwick. Robert Millar died January 1968 in Kalamazoo.

George Dalziel negotiated the lease for Kilspindie to layout a course at Craigielaw in 1898 and was elected their first captain. He did the same at North Berwick (East) and was elected the first captain of Glen Golf Club.

JAMES MILLIGAN (1883-1917) Wyoming Valley, Pennsylvania, USA

James Milligan was born in 1882 and learned his club making skills at North Berwick where he was a licensed professional on the West Links. He moved to Markinch in Fife before emigrating to the USA in 1911. Milligan sailed from Glasgow on the steamer S.S. California arriving in New York on 10th April. He was appointed pro at Wyoming Valley Country Club (PA) after being recommended for the position by Ben Sayers. Within a month he had set a new course record 72, and was living at 4, South Main Street, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.

In July, Milligan took the train north to New Jersey to play in the Metropolitan Open, after sending his entry form by 'Marconi'. The championship was played at Englewood Golf Club, and the field included five other North Berwick golfers, Jack Hobens, Tom Anderson Jnr, Fred McLeod and James R. Thomson. It was over twelve years since this group played together on the West Links. In 1912, Milligan finished third in the Shawnee Country Club Open Championship, and the following year he played in the US Open at Brookline C.C.

He returned to Scotland in 1913, 1914 and 1915 to visit his mother living in the Main Street, Aberlady. In 1915, he returned to the USA on the Lusitania, taking five days to complete the crossing. This article on James Milligan was published in the top selling magazine 'The American Golfer' - January 1918.

"...Milligan came to America from North Berwick not ten years ago. He was professional at the Wyoming Valley Country Club, at Wilkes-Barre. He was a powerful hitter but so quiet and unassuming that his name was little heard outside his club. He was a typical Scot, red-headed and with the real burr on his tongue. For a few years he worked quietly at his bench in the club-shop or patiently instructing. Only on rare occasions did he enter the tournaments.

Then came the war and soon after the news of one of his three brothers, every one of whom had joined the colors. Then another gave his life and after a while the third. Milligan thought of the mother, alone in Scotland, sorrowing bravely in the doing of her bit. He closed the door of the club-shop and went home, declaring that he must keep out of the trenches for the sake of the mother, who had only himself left. But word came that he had enlisted in the Highland Light Infantry and shortly afterwards the news of his death at the front. Poor lad, the last of the family! It was a brave game you played, far bigger than any! And now the men, with whom you played another game, are to know gloriously you ended your last round......"

James Milligan was killed on 11th April 1917, at Arras, Pas de Calais, France. His name is engraved on the Gullane War Memorial, beside the Auld Kirk graveyard.

FRED MCLEOD Factfile

DONALD MACKAY Springfield Country Club, Ohio, USA

Donald Mackay born in Edinburgh in 1879 was a club maker in Dornoch before moving to North Berwick in 1906. His workshop was at 1 Station Hill where he employed James Watt a former apprentice with William Park & Son at 15 Beach Road, North Berwick. Dan Mackay was a scratch member of Rhodes G.C before emigrating with his wife Jessie and four year old son Robert to the USA in 1909. Oh his arrival they resided with his North Berwick friend, Arthur Kendall pro at Fort Smith Country Club, Arkansas. The club making business in North Berwick continued under the name Donald Mackay until 1913 when James Watt took over. Dan Mackay was pro at Springfield Country Club, Ohio in 1921 and the two courses at Dayton Community Club, Ohio in 1930. His son Robert MacKay was also golf professional in the USA.

Another club maker from Dornoch arrived in North Berwick at the same time, his named was Robert G. MacDonald. He was granted his professional ticket on the West Links in 1908, and gave his address as 1 Station Hill. Bob MacDonald emigrated to the USA in November 1910 and was pro at various clubs in Cleveland, Cincinnati, New York, and Chicago. For many years he wintered at the Ormond Beach Golf Club in Florida and in 1919 the New York Times listed him the fourth best tour pro in the USA.

PHILIP MACKENZIE ROSS (1890-1974) Golf Course Architect

Philip Mackenzie Ross was born in 1890 in Edinburgh. His father, A. M. Ross was an outstanding golfer of his generation. Philip Mackenzie Ross became interested in the game while attending Loretto school he joined Royal Musselburgh. In 1923, playing off scratch he won the Challenge Trophy at Cruden Bay. In 1920 he was hired by Tom Simpson, considered to be one of the greatest golf architects between the two wars. By the mid-Twenties, Ross was a full partner in the firm of Simpson & Ross. They worked throughout Europe developing courses in France, Spain, Portugal and Belgium including Malaga (1925), Chantilly, and Morfontaine (1927).

In the late 1930s Philip Mackenzie Ross began working on his own and developed a fine reputation as a designer in Great Britain and the Continent. He designed the original nine-hole-course at Furnas on the Atlantic island of Sao Miguel in the Azores archipelago, an autonomous region of Portugal. He also designed a short 9 hole course at Vidago in Northern Portugal. In 1945 he laid out the Estoril course in Lisbon, and carried out work on Royal Antwerp, Royal Guernsey and the Hardelot course near Boulogne. During WW2 many courses in the UK were commandeered by the military and ploughed over for food production. Following the conflict Mackenzie Ross carried out remodelling and restoration work to reinstate many courses including Castletown, Isle Of Man (1945); Longniddry (1947); Pyle and Kenfig (Wales); North Berwick (East) (1948); and the Ailsa Course at Turnberry (1949-51).

The scale of the task he had undertaken at Turnberry is hard to imagine. The coastline was relatively untouched but the central ground with the runway foundations four feet deep and topped with an eight-inch layer of concrete which had to be removed. The excavated rubble was used to fill up the craters and as a base for the hills and mounds. Thirty thousand cubic yards of topsoil were taken from surrounding fields and mixed with imported peat to make the beds for the new fairways and greens. Scottish golf had not seen building works of this magnitude for a long time but in just two years the job was done. In 2006, Turnberry's Ailsa course was voted No.1 in a list of the 'Greatest Golf Courses in Britain and Ireland' published by Golf World magazine. There is an exhibition of the work carried out by Mackenzie Ross in the Turnberry clubhouse.

In 1949, Mackenzie Ross completed Southerness on the Solway Firth, his fee was �2,000 and the course is probably his most respected work. His attention to detail was exemplified by his habit of making plasticine models of greens to show machine operators the shape and size and contours he was looking for on each putting surface. He semi-retired to North Berwick in 1955 and resided at Kaimend, overlooking the famous 'Redan' hole on the West Links. In 1962 he designed La Coruna, in Spain and in 1968 completed the Maspalomas course in Gran Canaria. In 1972, Philip Mackenzie Ross was elected the first president of the British Association of Golf Course Architects. He died in North Berwick in 1974.

Philip Mackenzie Ross's father Alex M. Ross, better known as 'Sandy' Ross was a member of Edinburgh Burgess and learned to play the game over Bruntsfield Links. In 1897 he was captain of Luffness (New) and when a group of members broke away to form Kilspindie in 1898, Ross was invited along with Ben Sayers to lay out their new course at Craigielaw. Ross won many amateur competitions including the Hope Challenge Medal (1893, 1900) and the first Braid Hills Tournament (1889). At the Braids, over a 100 spectators followed Ross during the latter part of his round, also watching was Old Tom Morris and Andrew Kirkaldy. His best finish in the Open Championship was 13th place at Musselburgh in 1889. He was also captain of Tantallon Golf Club (1900-02) and his portrait and golf medals are now on display in the clubhouse of the Burgess Golfing Society at Barnton. In 1904, Ross built the impressive Hill House situated on top of Gullane Hill with his initials carved in the stonework above the entrance door and panoramic views over Luffness, Kilspindie and Gullane links. He died at Hill House in 1915 aged 65 years.

In 2008, the Ailsa course was strengthened before the return of Open Championship in 2009. An extra 227 yards have been added, with 21 new bunkers deployed, there are now 85, and radical alterations to toughen up the closing stretch from 16 to 18. Something McKenzie Ross would have approved.

ALEXANDER and JOHN MCLAREN Royal Melbourne Golf Club, Victoria, AUS.

Alexander Marshall McLaren and his twin brother John Marshall McLaren, born 12th February 1882 in Edinburgh, sons of Alexander McLaren, a slater and his wife Margaret Marshall. The family moved to North Berwick when the twins were two years old and they lived in Harmony Place where their sister Janet was born. Alexander apprenticed as a club maker, and John was a joiner to trade.

In 1903, Alexander McLaren emigrated to Australia and was appointed clubmaker and professional to the Royal Melbourne Golf Club. In 1904, Alex was defeated in the final of the inaugural Australian Open Championship by Carnegie Clark from Carnoustie, pro at the host club Royal Sydney. In 1905 Alex assisted in the extension of the original Sandringham course at Royal Melbourne. In 1907, he was joined by his twin brother John McLaren and when Alex moved to Hawaii, John took over as pro at Royal Melbourne. John 'Jock' McLaren remained in Australia until 1909 when he returned to North Berwick.

Alex moved to Honolulu and was the first pro on the nine-hole course at Oahu Country Club, opened in April 1907. The following year Alex moved to California and Sandy Bell, a former clubmaker at North Berwick took over at Oahu Country Club.

In 1910, Alex's twin brother Jock McLaren followed him to America, sailing from Glasgow on SS Columbia, he arrived in New York on 11th October. Jock travelled to Pasadena in California where Alex was pro at Annandale Country Club, eight miles from Los Angeles. Later, Alex was pro at Warren District Country Club, Bisbee, Arizona (1924-27). This was a copper mining town and the golf course was purpose built by the Phelps Dodge Mining Company for their higher ranking employees. In 1928 Alex McLaren moved to Enid Country Club, Oklahoma.

Jock McLaren was pro at Castle Hot Springs, the first spa resort in Arizona where many of the wealthy American families had a private bungalow including the Rockefellers, Vanderbilt's, Wrigley's and Kennedy's. Jock McLaren was golf instructor at the Castle Hot Springs Hotel on their nine-hole course laid out in 1916. The following year he moved to Colorado where he was the resident pro at Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, and in 1921 he was at Grand Beach Country Club in Michigan. No more information is available on the career of the McLaren twins, their parents, Alex and Margaret lived at 46 High Street, North Berwick.

More pro golfers have resided in the stair at 98 High Street than any other. Ben Sayers (1895); Billy and John Keppie (1924); Willie Anderson (1893); Arthur Fennell (1956) Fred McLeod (1893); and Willie Stuart (1928).

JOHN C. MORTON (1881-1971) Freeport Country Club, Illinois, USA

John Crawford Morton, born 1881 in North Berwick, son of George Morton, Railway Carrier and his wife Jessie Crawford. John 'Jack' Morton was a plumber to trade, and lived with his parents, two sisters and a brother at 47, Westgate, North Berwick. In 1906, Jack was granted a license as a professional on the West Links. He emigrated to America in 1908, sailing from Glasgow on S.S. Caledonia he arrived in New York on 30th March. Morton followed Bob Bolton from North Berwick as golf pro at Rockford Country Club, Illinois.

In 1910, Jack Morton moved to the nine-hole course at the Country Club of Peoria, IL and in 1915 he assisted in extending the course to 18 holes. In 1910, Jack was defeated by Jim Barnes in the final of a matchplay event organised the day before the Western Open at Beverly C. C in Chicago. The field included Jack Hutchison, Robert Simpson, and Charles Evans.

Jack Morton qualified for the Western Open in 1912 and 1913 when the event was played at Memphis C.C where he met up with George Livingstone (above). In the winter of 1910 and 1912 he visited North Berwick and in March 1912 he returned to America on the S.S. California, three weeks before the Titanic disaster.

In 1916, Jack moved to Racine Country Club on the shores of Lake Michigan, south of Milwaukee in Wisconsin and that year he qualified for the US Open at Minikahda Club, Minnesota. The field included North Berwick boys, Fred McLeod, Jim Ferguson, Jimmy Wilson and George Turnbull. In 1918, Jack was persuaded by Byron Trueblood to move to Freeport Country Club in northwest Illinois where he remained for over eleven years. In 1920, he qualified for the Western Open at Olympia Fields and entered the Illinois State Championship in 1923.

Jack moved to Maryland in 1928 with his wife Ann, two daughters and three sons, and was appointed pro at Edgewood Arsenal Golf Club. Edgewood was the national research centre for chemical and biological weapons. In 1930 he returned to Freeport Country Club where he retired and died in May 1971.

ROBERT MURRAY (1885-1944) Dresden Golf Club, GER

Robert Murray born in 1885 in Forth Street, North Berwick, the son of Robert Murray, a tailor and his wife Elizabeth Bertram. At the age of 14 years Robert was a golf caddie and lived with his parents at 13, Melbourne Place. In 1906, he was a licensed professional on the West Links, North Berwick and played in the Open Championship at Muirfield. Bob Murray moved to Germany in 1907 and was appointed pro at Dresden Golf Club (1907-1914) where he married a local girl.

In 1910, he laid out the first nine-holes at the newly founded Munich Golf Club together with Sir Ralph Paget. During WW1 Bob Murray was interned at Ruhleben Prison, a British civilian detention camp in the Spandau district of Berlin (1915-1918).

Conditions at Ruhleben Camp in the early days were described as intolerable, but things improved with food parcels from home. His internment was noted in the Scotsman newspaper on 22nd June 1915. The camp contained over 4,500 prisoners and among the inmates where a number of English professional footballers. In May 1915 an England XI featuring Pentland, Wolstenholme, Brearley and Bloomer played a World XI captained by Jock Cameron, a Scottish Internationalist. The match was watched by over 1,000 prisoners.

On his release Murray moved to Holland on 22nd March 1918 and then to Scotland where in April 1919 he was given his professional license at North Berwick. His wife could not settle in the UK and the follow year they moved to Denmark where he was appointed pro at Copenhagen Golf Club (1920 -1928). A Danish newspaper article described him as a quiet, honest and stable man although he did not play as well as 'Turnbull' his predecessor, he was a better teacher and took more care of his pupils (without making bets with them). An iron club stamped with the name Robert Murray is on display in the Danish Golf Museum.

In December 1928 Murray and his wife returned to Germany and he was appointed to L�beck-Travem�nder Golf Club on the shores of the Baltic Sea (1928 - 1939). In 1930 Robert Murray won the German Professional Golfers Championship, he was runner-up in this event in 1911, 3rd in 1928 and 4th in both 1931 and 1932. He also won the Scandinavian Open in 1925. In September 1939 he returned to Denmark where he worked for a short period at Aalborg Golf Club. In 1940, he was arrested by German troops in Denmark and put into a POW camp until his release in 1941. The appalling conditions which prevailed in war-time Germany eventually took their toll and Robert Murray died in Dresden in November 1944.

WILLIAM NICHOLS (1882-1972) Muskogee Country Club, Oklahoma, USA

William 'Bill' Nichols Jnr, the coachman's son at Redholm, North Berwick was a member of Bass Rock Golf Club. Nichols worked as a law clerk and lived at 1 Rothesay Mews, Edinburgh. In 1902 he was a founder member of Corstorphine G.C and won their scratch medal in 1902, 1903 and 1905. Bill Nichols was just under 5 feet 11 inches tall, with fair hair, and blue eyes. At the age of 26 years he sailed to America from Glasgow on the SS Caledonia and arrived in New York on May 24th 1908. He was appointed golf instructor at Muskogee C.C, Oklahoma after being recommended for the position by Leslie Brownlee from North Berwick. Brownlee was pro at Lakeview Country Club, Belle Isle Lake, Oklahoma City in 1907 and the following year he laid out the nine-hole-course at Muskogee C.C with sand greens. Bill Nichols took over as the club's first pro in the spring of 1908.

Two years later more ground was acquired and by 1911 the golf course was extended to 18 holes. Nichols coached club member Harry G. Gwinnup who won the State Amateur Championship three times. In 1912 and 1914 Nichols entered the Western Open and in 1914 qualified for the US Open at Midlothian C.C. In 1915, he moved to Lakewood Country Club in Dallas, and then in 1916 to Dallas Country Club. He retired from pro golf in 1917, was re-instated as an amateur and won the Oklahoma State Championship several times. He went into real estate and insurance business until his retirement in 1963. Nichols was president of Muskogee Country Club and secretary there for many years.

He was a great supporter of the Muskogee Roughers, the high school football team and the 'Bill Nichols' award for Rougher team leader has been given annually since 1947. The team got their name 'Roughers' because many of the players performed without helmets, due to lack of funding, and for their rough play. Nichols was president of the Muskogee Quarterback Club for several years and in 1930 was appointed President of the Oklahoma State Golf Association.

Bill's wife Margaret was from Texas and they lived with their two sons and a daughter at 411 North 12th Street, Oklahoma City. Bill Nichols died in February 1972 at Broadway Manor, Muskogee, aged 89 years. As a teenager in North Berwick his golfing highlight was being selected to represent the Bass Rock Golf Club in the four-man team to play in the Wemyss County Cup, now the oldest foursome tournament in the world. His regular partner in the Bass Rock competitions was Fred McLeod, US Open champion in 1908. Nichols was a founder member of Corstorphine Golf Club in Edinburgh which became Ratho Park Golf Club. An interclub match between Bass Rock and Ratho continues to be played annually for the Fred McLeod Trophy. A friendship between golf clubs started by Bill Nichols in 1902 and has now lasted over a century.

HARRY REDDIE Misquamicut Golf Club, Rhode Island, USA

Henry Govan Reddie born 7th June 1878 in North Berwick, son of David Reddie, a porter and his wife Georgina Thomson. They lived in the staff quarters in the Wall Tower at The Lodge in Quality Street which was the residence of Sir Walter Hamilton-Dalrymple, 8th Baronet of North Berwick. Harry and his brother George Reddie were caddies on the West Links. Harry was also a school buddy of Willie Anderson and a member of Bass Rock Golf Club. He was selected to play in the first inter-club match between Bass Rock and Dirleton Castle over the links at Gullane.

Harry emigrated to America in 1897 and was accompanied on the journey by Willie Anderson who was returning after the winter to his position as pro at Misquamicut Golf Club, Watch Hill, Rhode Island. Harry Reddie played in a pro tournament at Ocean County Hunt and Country Club, Lakewood, NY on New Years Day 1898. Reddie was representing St Andrews Golf Club, Yonkers, NY. According to the New York Times the field also included North Berwick pros, Harry Gullane, Robert Thomson, Willie Anderson, James Campbell and Tom Harley from Aberlady. The Fitzjohn brothers originally from Musselburgh but also pros at North Berwick played-off for the first prize. The following year the club changed its name to the Country Club of Lakewood.

When Anderson moved to Baltusrol, Reddie replaced him at Watch Hill and when the new 18 hole course at Misquamicut was opened on 4th July 1898, Harry Reddie set a new course record 70. He wintered with Anderson in Florida and played in the Palm Beach Open. By 1909 Harry was a club maker living with his wife Madeline and son Henry at Belleville, Essex County, New York. In 1916 Harry was working in the sports equipment store of Harry C. Lee & Company in New York. They specialised in importing good quality golf clubs and Harry was engaged in demonstrating the clubs and giving lessons. In 1919 he was living at 173 East, 129 Street in Manhattan and the family remained in New York until the 1960s.

JOHN RICHARDSON (1891-1968) Upper Montclair Golf Club, New Jersey, USA

John Richardson, born 1891, brother of Harry and James Richardson (listed below), son of John Richardson, gardener and his wife Isabella Davidson. In 1903, John and his brothers were licensed caddies on the West Links. John married Adeline Spalding from Edinburgh and they lived at 8 Clifford Road, North Berwick with their son John. John Snr. was a club maker for sixteen years with Ben Sayers & Son and at a golf club exhibition at Weybridge during the 1920 Open