Old Tom Morris - Golf Course Design, Greenskeeping Innovations

Golf Course Design, Greenskeeping Innovations

Morris played a role in designing courses across the British Isles. He began by assisting Robertson lay out ten holes at Carnoustie in 1842. His subsequent work included Kinghorn Golf Club in 1887, Prestwick, Muirfield, the Jubilee Course at St Andrews, Balcomie (Crail), Moray, Askernish in South Uist, Lahinch and Rosapenna in Ireland, and Warkworth and Royal North Devon Golf Club (Westward Ho!) in England.

Morris was also the father of modern greenskeeping. He introduced the concept of top-dressing greens with sand, which significantly helped turf growth. He introduced many novel ideas on turf and course management, including actively managing hazards (in the past, bunkers and the like were largely left to their own devices, becoming truly "hazardous") and yardage markers. He was the first to use a push mower to cut greens. He improved St Andrews by widening fairways to handle increased play, enlarging greens, and establishing separate tee boxes on each hole; all of these measures spread out play over larger areas, and led to better turf conditions. In course design, he standardized the golf course length at 18 holes (St Andrews had at one time been 23 holes), and introduced the concept of each nine holes returning to the club house. He also introduced the modern idea of placing hazards so that the golf ball could be routed around them; this was the beginning of strategic design, which has dominated golf course design ever since. Before his times hazards were thought of as obstacles that either had to be carried or were there to punish a wayward ball.