TOM'S EARLY DAYS
by W.W. TULLOCH
From "The Life of Tom Morris", 1908
TOM MORRIS WAS BORN, AS ALREADY MENTIONED, AT ST. ANDREWS ON THE 16TH OF JUNE 1821.
"You were born in St. Andrews, of course"
"Ay, an' I've lived in it a' my day's, except for the yars when I was grecnkeeper at Prestwick. I was born in the North Street. My father was a St. Andrews man, employed as a letter-carrier. He played golf in his spare time."
His father's name was John Morris, a much-respected man in St. Andrews in his day. His mother was Jean Bruce, but so far I have not been able to find out any particulars in regard to her parentage. She belonged to Anstruther. Tom was born in a house on the north side of the west end of North Street, which is still standing....
He began to handle a club as soon as he could toddle, and verv likey, his first balls would be "chuckie stanes," with which the streets of St. Andrews abounded. By-and-by he would get as far as the links.
"I've played gowf close on eighty years, and that's longer than most folk get living. I began on the links doon there as soon as I could handle a club, and I have been doing little else ever since. My faither and mither lived in the North Street, and as soon as I could gang I and the other laddies would be doon on the links with any kind of a club we could get, and any old ball, or even a bit of one -- balls werena sae cheap in thae davs as they are the noo, though they're dearer again since the new rubber-core ball came in."
"You would be grown up before the old feather balls were displaced by the gutta?"
"That's true," he replied. "I began to play when I was six or seven, maybe younger. You ken a' St. Andrews bairns are born wi' web feet an' wi' a golf-club in their hands. I ,wad be driving the chuckie stanes wi' a bit stick about as sune's I could walk. When I left school I started how to learn to make golf balls. They werena much like the golf balls we have now, the old 'feathcries,' but thev could play fine afore the vind. I learnt to mak' clubs and balls wi' Allan Robertson. I was busy making'featheries' when the gutta balls came into fashion, and a bonnie business he and I had owre the change. Allan couldna abide the sight of the nexv ball at first.
One dav I was out playing with Mr. Campbell of Saddell, and I got stint of balls. Mr. Campbell gave me a gutta to try. Coming in, we met Allan, and somebody told him that I was plavin' a grand game with one of the new balls. Allan said nothing at the time, but I saw he didna like it, and when we met in the shop we had some words about it; and this led to our parting companv, and I took to making balls on my ain account."