GolfClubAtlas.com went live June, 1999 from Australia. Within a few months, I received an email from Columbus, Ohio. It was my introduction to Tom MacWood. I asked him how he found the site and he said he googled Augusta National Golf Club and that the short profile on it was the only piece on the web with which he agreed. Immediately, I knew a kindred spirit existed. Together with the usual suspects (Tommy, Tom, Pat, and a ~dozen others), the core of GolfClubAtlas.com was formed and it has happily lurched this way and that ever since. Without doubt, giving Tom MacWood a ‘voice’ will forever remain one of GolfClubAtlas.com’s greatest accomplishments.
Fortunately, business took me to Ohio quite a bit during the next decade. Generally, I would drive from Toledo to Cleveland and we found various ways to get together. Sometimes, he might be in Cleveland on business and a duel at one of its great courses might ensue late in the day. If that wasn’t possible, I drove to a steakhouse on a highway somewhere south where we could catch up. His command of facts both on the phone and in person always reinforced the fact that I was in the presence of a colossal intellect. Though he didn’t suffer fools lightly in the Discussion Group, regardless, he was for sure a kind and caring person. I can’t imagine the pain that his family is going through.
Since posting about Tom’s untimely death, phone calls and emails poured in. One of the first calls was from Tommy N. in California earlier yesterday morning after a fitful night, so sorry that he hadn’t spoken to Tom in the past few months. One of the first emails was from Masa in Japan, such was the reach of Tom’s writing.
Here is another example of the effect of his words. Prior to Tom’s releasing his piece on George Crump, there was much consternation and gnashing of the teeth in certain quarters of Philadelphia. Once public, one of the first contacts that Tom received (I think via email) was from John R. Ott, Jr., Mayor of Pine Valley. In it, he congratulated Tom on a well researched piece and extended an invitation to join him for a round at Pine Valley at his convenience. Of course, Major Ott is no longer with us and now neither is Tom.
Though Tom’s research skills may well be unmatched, what I enjoyed most was his ability to draw conclusions from the information that he had gathered. You never knew what you were going to get other than it would NOT be the same bland oatmeal that gets regurgitated in magazines and on television. Rather, it was always fresh, original and highly educational. As I have posted numerous times, his In My Opinion Arts and Crafts piece is my single favorite piece of writing on the site because of the bold and thorough manner in which he tackled a very complicated subject. When together, we would chuckle how some people got caught up in its tiniest X’s and O’s. That never mattered to him (or me). Rather, his various writings always simulated vigorous debate. Personally, it made me re-think matters on numerous levels. For instance, only he pointed out to the world some of the fine design work accomplished in the 1890s to which time has since been so cruel.
Sadly, now two things are certain: His penetrating observations will forever be missed and golf architecture has lost one of its greatest minds and friends.
Below is a link to his obituary.
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/thisweeknews/obituary.aspx?n=thomas-e-macwood&pid=159177449&fhid=8709Also here is the funeral home site/guest book.
http://www.schoedinger.com/obituaries/Thomas-Macwood/