Scottish Exiles - The Great Teachers
This article first appeared in the December 2006 SoHG Newsletter
by Frank Boumphrey
The Scottish Exiles came over to make a new life in a new country. They set up shop, played and above all they evangelized and taught. Many were indifferent teachers at best, "Keep yer head doon and hook the ball" being the sum total of their advice to struggling students. As Tolley later wrote (speaking of well known champions):
"As coaches, I have no idea how some of them instruct, but I know one or two of them are sound, and perhaps they all are. Certainly many of their lesser known brothers are not so sound, for instead of giving a beginner some useful hints on how to improve his game, they wish him completely to abandon any natural ability he may possess and endeavor to make him imitate their own particular style, however it may depart from orthodoxy."
Luckily there were many who were fine teachers and students of the game. Two of the finest were Alex (Aleck) Smith and Stewart 'Kiltie' Maiden who between then had students who collected over 20 national championships - even more if you consider Walter Hagen as one of Alex's students. Both these exiles hailed from Carnoustie in Scotland, among the over 400 golfers who emigrated from here at the turn of the century. As such had the characteristics of the 'Carnoustie School' - namely a swing not as flat as the St. Andrews school, and an emphasis on the 'finger grip' - now commonly known as the Vardon grip - rather than the 'palm grip'.
Writing in 1923 Cyril Tolley, one of the best English amateurs, mused why the Americans had overtaken the 'old country' in golf. He noted "I believe also that over here we have no professional in the first flight of players who possess a style that all can model their swings on." In the United States players modeled their swings on the most successful players, and these had been taught by Alex and 'Kiltie'. In other words successful players had modeled their swings on Alex and Kiltie! Looking back over two generations (three or four if you are a youngster!) one is struck how 'modern' the swings of these players and of their alumni were. Alex left no written testament, although both his star pupils did. We are particularly lucky that Kiltie wrote a succinct and readable series of instruction called 'Ten Lessons in Golf' , and it would be difficult to add anything to his thoughts today. Unpublished in his life time, although the lessons did appear separately in a Golf magazine, they have recently been collected by Sid Matthew and published as 'Kiltie the King Maker'. Not only were Kiltie's swing tips 'modern' but so also his were his hints on 'sports psychology', although Kiltie would have shuddered if he had been informed what 'sports psychology' entailed!.
Let's look at the list of their pupils. Alex taught Jerome Travers, winner of 4 US Amateurs and a US Open, and Glenna Collett, winner of six U.S. Women's Amateur titles, and he also gave lessons to Walter Hagen. Kiltie taught Bobby Jones, Charlie Yates, Perry Adair, and Alexa Stirling - winner of three U.S. Women's Amateur titles and later, Watts Gunn.
Alex Smith
Aleck (Alex) Smith was one of five brothers from Carnoustie. Alex started the migration in 1898 and his brother Willie followed him a year later, followed by George and Jimmy. Finally Mr. and Mrs. John Smith came over bringing with them the baby of the family Macdonald. They were a redoubtable golfing family. Willie was the first to win the national opening 1899; Alex won in 1906 and 1910, when he edged out little brother Macdonald; Macdonald went on to become the best player who never won a major. Quite a record for a single family!
Alex was the club pro at Nassau Country Club when the Travers joined. The story goes that the fifteen year old Jerome Travers Jr. had just lost a match to a lad of his own age. Something about the young Travers struck a cord with Alex, perhaps his fire and competitiveness. Alex was to later call Travers "the greatest competitor I have ever known".
"Do you want to become a real golfer, kid, or are you just going to dub around at this game?" Alex asked. When told that the young Travers wanted to become a real golfer Alex replied "All right, now that we understand each other let's see what you can do!"
After watching him hit some balls Alex pointed out several faults. Jerome practiced and practiced, and under the tutelage of Alex steadily improved. Two years later he received national attention when he defeated Walter Travis after having been two holes down with five to play. Jerome won with a birdie on the 21st hole. A seventeen year old is not supposed to do this to the veteran who was probably the toughest match player in the world. He proved this was no fluke by continuing to win, and two years later won the national amateur at Euclid in Cleveland Ohio in 1907. Jerome went on to win 3 more U.S. Amateurs and the National Open in 1915.
Alex's other great pupil was Glenna Collett. Glenna, like 'Babe' Didrikson after her, was a tremendous athlete, and was the star of her brother's baseball team. Her parents were happy when she took to the more lady-like sport of golf, but Glenna never seemed to be able to score well, having difficulty breaking 60 for nine holes. She was poorly taught, and like many poorly taught pupils had her head filled with a list of 'don'ts'. This all changed when she went to see one of the war time Red Cross exhibition matches put on at the Wannamoisett Club by Perry Adair, Bobby Jones, Alexa Stirling and Elaine Rosenthal. She watched while Elaine broke the then course record by shooting 80. The next day she tackled the game with a new positive attitude, and putting aside all her negative admonitions she shot 49 for nine holes! Alex Smith had now moved to Shennecossett, and it is to him that her father took Glenna for lessons. Alex immediately took charge, showing what a great teacher he was by building on her natural talents and replacing the litany of 'don'ts' with a few do's. Glenna's career took off, but she was still having problems winning, in particular her putting tended to fall apart under stress. Alex gave her a compact putting stroke and taught her how to 'miss 'em quick' on the green! Her breakthrough came when she beat the great British player Cecil Leitch on the 18th green in a regional competition. This was just the fill-up her confidence needed, and the next year, 1922, she went on to win the first of her six national titles at the Greenbrier Club in West Virginia.
Photo on right shows Tom MacNamara and Jerry Travers, Runner-up and winner of the 1915 US Open
Stewart 'Kiltie' Maiden
Kiltie, a native of Carnoustie Followed his brother Jack to the United states, and took over from him as professional at the East Lake Country club in Augusta Georgia. At the club were Perry Adair, Alexa Stirling and, of course Bobby Jones. Watts Gunn came along a little later. For those not familiar with the players, here is a little about each of them.
Perry was the first of the 'Wünder Kinder' to come out of that club, and was a very fine golfer although he never achieved the fame of Kiltie's other pupils, he was however the first to win an important championship, winning the Southern Amateur. Perry went on to make a career in real estate, and one of his top sales men was ... Bobby Jones! The first to achieve national fame was Alexa Stirling. Alexa won he first title at East Lake when she was 12! She won several other tournaments but in 1916, three days before her nineteenth birthday she won the first of her three Women's Amateur Championships. She won again in 1919 and 1920, and placed second in that tournament in 1921, 1923, and 1925. Watts Gunn was born in 1905, and in fact lost to Bobby Jones in the 1925 U.S. Amateur. He played on two Walker Cup teams, in 1926 and 1928. Bobby Jones of course needs no introduction!
Bobby accounts how as a young child he used to trail behind Kiltie as he played his round, slavishly copying his swing. So successful was he that when he was a young teenager members used to mistake him from a distance as Kiltie himself! Bobby soon grew larger than the diminutive Kiltie, but still retained his wonderful swing. As Bobby said "The best luck I ever had in golf was when Stewart Maiden came from Carnoustie, Scotland to be the professional at the East Lake Club,". Looking at the pictures of Kiltie in his book, one might have been looking at Bobby himself! Stewart knew Bobby's swing inside and out, but was a man of few words. On the eve of the 1925 U.S. Open Bobby was playing terribly, and the call went out for Kiltie who hied up from Atlanta. After watching Bobby play a few shots he said "Why don't you try hitting the ball with your backswing" and walked away. Bobby slowed down and won!
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| Watts Gunn and Bobby Jones before the final of the 1925 U.S. Amateur |
Kiltie was very modest about his achievements and was certainly not a self-publicist, in fact the only reason he wrote any thing is because Jones' Boswell, O.B. Keeler pressured him into writing a series of articles for 'Outdoor South'. Thank heavens for that, otherwise Kiltie's wisdom may have been lost to the ages.
When one considers the odds, what Kiltie and Alex accomplished is altogether a remarkable achievement. One has to remember that in those days there were not the publicized 'golf academies' where self-agrandising gurus can hand pick the players they want to bring along. Both Alex and Kiltie recognized natural talent in the young members of their clubs, and honed their skills! Really by any standard their's was a record that truly boggles the mind!
©F.B. Dec. 2006