"built over the bones of dead men..."

[Phil_the_Author]

After having read this quote dozens of times, recemtly I noticed a phrase in an article that Tilly wrote when discussing his famous photograph of Old Tom Morris.

“The picture shows him looking out over the Home Green, which he told me had been built over the bones of dead men and where he still held the flag for the finish of all important matches..."

"Built over the bones of dead men?" It appears from the context that he meant this literally and that Old Tom actually said that the 18th green on the Old Course had been built either where a famous battle of old had been fought (seems probable) or an old cemetary site (seems unlikely) or something else entirely.

Anyone have ideas out there as to what Old Tom may have been refering to?

[Joe Bausch]

A quick Google search for that phrase perhaps sheds some light with the article here:

http://www.travelandleisure.com/tlgolf/articles/golf-secrets-of-the-old-course/?page=2

which includes this:

Not far from the Wynd is the famous Valley of Sin. It continues to live up to its name: Who can forget the image of Costantino Rocca spread-eagled in the Valley, having just holed a monster birdie putt to get into the playoff with John Daly for the 1995 Open Championship? But the green has its own story to offer. The base of the Valley was likely the original ground level, with the green pushed up behind it by Old Tom Morris. Of all the features that are man-made, the Home green is perhaps the most significant, and Old Tom was said to have been exceptionally proud of it. Next time you tap in on eighteen, consider this: The foundation of the green may include human remains! As Andrew Kirkaldy, Morris’s successor as the professional at St. Andrews, wrote in My Fifty Years of Golf: “What is now the eighteenth green on the Old Course was built up from a rubbish heap that had also served as a burial ground.” A. W. Tillinghast concurred, saying Morris had told him it had been “built over the bones of dead men.

[Peter Pallotta]

Phil -

looking at pictures of Old Tom and reading his words, he sometimes strikes me as someone who could've started a religion, a wise but other-worldly Prophet type. 

It doesn't seem so important to me whether, as Joe's quote suggests, Old Tom was being literal and speaking the literal truth; the metaphorical meaning (and the weightiness of the pronoucement) is wonderful regardless.

Can you imagine another golf course architect even saying, let alone managing to pull off, a statement like "it was built over the bones of dead men"?  It's as if Old Tom knew and lived and breathed the history of his St. Andrews and of golf at TOC so deeply that the past was as real and meaningful to him as the present.

It reminds me of my grandfather, who late in life and very ill, still managed to plant and tend a large and healthy vegetable garden.  When I complimented him on it, he said: "In the spring, when I knew I wasn't feeling well, I said to God, 'if you want a good garden, you're going to have to do even more of the work than you usually do, because I can't help you very much this year'. It's God's garden, not mine. A thousand men have lived here before me, and a thousand will live here after me. I'm just taking care of His garden for a little while".

I don't think it was literally true about the thousands who'd lived there before (it might've been)...but it was True nonetheless, especially for my grandfather.  The gardener (and golf course architect ?) as steward of the land.

Wonderful to imagine Old Tom saying it, and Tillinghast hearing it, the earnest disciple at the feet of the master, learning not only his craft but the ethos of his craft.     

Peter

[Melvyn Morrow]

Philip

Reference to a previously reply to Bill McBride I believe the bones relate to the burial pit of 1832 re the cholera epidemic and may not just be limited to the 18th Green but part of the 1st fairway, hence no bunkers.

[Dan Kelly]

Phil -

looking at pictures of Old Tom and reading his words, he sometimes strikes me as someone who could've started a religion, a wise but other-worldly Prophet type. 

It doesn't seem so important to me whether, as Joe's quote suggests, Old Tom was being literal and speaking the literal truth; the metaphorical meaning (and the weightiness of the pronoucement) is wonderful regardless.

Can you imagine another golf course architect even saying, let alone managing to pull off, a statement like "it was built over the bones of dead men"?  It's as if Old Tom knew and lived and breathed the history of his St. Andrews and of golf at TOC so deeply that the past was as real and meaningful to him as the present.

It reminds me of my grandfather, who late in life and very ill, still managed to plant and tend a large and healthy vegetable garden.  When I complimented him on it, he said: "In the spring, when I knew I wasn't feeling well, I said to God, 'if you want a good garden, you're going to have to do even more of the work than you usually do, because I can't help you very much this year'. It's God's garden, not mine. A thousand men have lived here before me, and a thousand will live here after me. I'm just taking care of His garden for a little while".

I don't think it was literally true about the thousands who'd lived there before (it might've been)...but it was True nonetheless, especially for my grandfather.  The gardener (and golf course architect ?) as steward of the land.

Wonderful to imagine Old Tom saying it, and Tillinghast hearing it, the earnest disciple at the feet of the master, learning not only his craft but the ethos of his craft.     

Peter

This is why I continue to log on to this site, even though I have little or no business being here.

Thanks, Peter. Just ... perfect.

Dan

[Phil_the_Author]

Thanks for the responses...

What Tilly wrote next is also interesting, especially for those that don't think Old Tom had any influence on Tilly and design, "He used to potter around this green, often with a handful of sand to fill into holes, and it is more than likely that his oft-repeated advice to me, to use plenty of sharp sand on the putting greens, has exerted a lasting influence during many years of course construction.”

[Melvyn Morrow]

Philip

Pottering around and constantly repeating ourselves is now standard in my family for those over 50, wondered who was responsible. Pottering around and constantly repeating ourselves is now standard in my family for those over 50, wondered who was responsible. 


Peter

That was a lovely post

Don’t think you can say I follow in Old Tom’s footsteps as I can’t see
me starting any religion due to no followers – I think I’ll will blame it
on my Mother’s side of the family.

[Bill_McBride]

It's nice to see an intriguing and illuminating historical thread with no name calling!