{{ubiquityData.prevArticle.description}}
{{ubiquityData.nextArticle.description}}
When he was born on June 16, 1821, nobody could have predicted the impact that Thomas Mitchell Morris would have on the game of golf.
The son of John and Jean Morris was born into a weaving family, and he was birthed within a weaver’s cottage as the sixth of seven siblings. In the 86 years of his life from the moment he was born, the man who would become known as ‘The Grand Old Man of Golf’ was not like any other.
Filled with the most remarkable relationships, experiences, innovations, popularisations and unfortunately, tragedy, the life story of Old Tom Morris is one that will be told for 200 more years, and indeed 200 more after that.
With input from leading golf historian and celebrated author, Roger McStravick, words from Learning & Access Curator at the British Golf Museum, Hannah Fleming, and passages taken from The Colossus of Golf by David Malcolm and Peter E. Crabtree, we provide an account of Old Tom Morris’ life, and the legacy he has left today in golf’s original major, and the very game itself.
---
In 1821, Tom Morris was born in St Andrews, just a few minutes walk away from the golfing links. His father, John Morris, was a weaver by trade, well known and respected within the town. John also caddied on the links, as did his father, another John Morris, before him.
Tom was one of three brothers and four sisters, after his only younger sibling Jean was born two years later. His mother, also named Jean, was the daughter of a weaver, so arguably the most prominent profession of the time, particularly in Fife, seemed the natural working route for a young Tom to follow.
But Tom’s path quickly veered in another direction. At the age of 5, he began his education, but on most accounts, including his own, he was not much of a scholar and literacy was perhaps the extent of his learnings. Rather, at that time, Tom was drawn towards the links, not just by the fascinating and exciting game of golf, but also the lucrative nature of the game.
To continue reading our in-depth profile of Old Tom Morris, visit https://www.theopen.com/Latest/old-tom-morris-at-200.
The R&A