Discovery: Old Tom Morris Had Another Golf Shop

Somedays, I forget they still didn't have indoor plumbing back then and I really want to go back in time.

Say, when I read the unbylined STV story explaining how golf historian Roger McStravick discovered what the Grand Old Man of Golf, Old Tom Morris, was doing from the undocumented years of 1848 to 1851. (McStravick is working on a biography of Old Tom.)

“Amongst a pile of very old papers, I noticed a statement from Tom amongst the precognitions taken at the time of the Road Wars, when the town was trying to decide whether to have a road along the side the 18th hole of the St Andrews Links.

“In his statement talking about his life around 1848, Tom says that he built his own shop and through statements by others at the time including the Father of the R&A, John Whyte-Melville and club maker Robert Forgan, I was able to find the exact location for this little shop at what is today 15 The Links.

“I was also delighted to discover from the same precognitions that Daw Anderson, who is known as the ginger beer seller, had his own golf shop at 9 The Links with his son and three times Open champion Jamie Anderson living upstairs for almost 10 years during his Open winning days.

“Daw was so much more than just a ginger beer seller and thanks to the University’s archives, his true story is beginning to emerge.”

Hey, never underestimate the importance of ginger beer selling.

Looking forward to this book. What days those must have been in St. Andrews!