Turning back, I hope, to the actual exploration of whether or not this material is authentic . . . Niall raises some interesting points about David Scott-Taylor's desire to get "9 holes" in St. Andrews in 1901. I'd like to add a few more questions and concerns about this particular aspect of the story.
1.
The May 11, 1901 "Competition" at The Old Course. According to the questioned diaries, David Scott-Taylor and his unnamed brother had traveled to St. Andrews by train from Dundee on May 10 so his brother could compete in a May 11, 1901 match play "competition" on The Old Course. From the questioned May 11, 1901 journal entry:
"Big day for my brother, I’ll be there for him today to cheer him on. Hope to get 9 holes in myself. Weather blowing hard today, the old course will show her teeth today. Tee time 9.08 this morning. I had his breakfast he’s so nervous, poor bugger. . . . Yesterday was a bust for an early round and just to relax a bit before today’s competition."As you can see, the competition seems to have been of some import, and it even drew the attention of the professional Andra Kirkaldy, who supposedly commented on the prodigious lengths of David's brother's opponent:
"Even Andra Kirkaldy said 'this whip can belt a ball'."I have a number of reservations about this description, but I'll list just two here:
First, it seems unlikely to me that any such competition would have been held at The Old Course that day, because May 11, 1901 was the day after the final day of the 1901 British Amateur Championship, held on The Old Course. Phil has suggested that both David's brother and the opponent had been competitors in the British Amateur, but according to a list of registered competitors published at the time, neither had competed in the event.
Second, while the British newspapers and golf magazines listed results for small golf competitions or even interesting matches at St. Andrews, I've found no record that any "competition" took place at The Old Course on May 11, 1911. If anyone else can find any mention of such a competition, I'd love to hear about it. To give an idea of the extent of the coverage of golf at St. Andrews, here is the regular column "Golf at St. Andrews" from the Dundee Evening Telegraph, discussing the matches played on Saturday, May 4, the week before the competition in which DST's brother was supposedly entered:
No such descriptions exist for the supposed May 11, 1901 competition.
2.
The "busted" round on May 10, 1901. The questioned diary also indicates that David Scott-Taylor and his brother had planned to play "an early round" on May 10, 1910, and " just to relax a bit before today’s competition" but their plan was busted by train delays. The notion of an "early round" on May 10, 1910 seems highly unlikely since the Amateur Championship was still ongoing on May 10, 1901.
It also seems odd to me that there is no mention at all of the Amateur Championship in the diaries, as obviously it was the biggest thing happening in the world of golf that week. Unless the mentioned "competition" was supposed to have referred to the British Amateur, in which case, the date is wrong.
3.
The Long Hitting 170 'pound' American named Fitzroy. From the questioned diary entry:
“Well the lad lost his match 6&5 to a yank called Fitzroy, I tell you that American lad could hit a golf ball for a piece of string. The tallest, thinnest bloke I ever saw. He had to be 6’5’’ and 170 lbs dripping wet. What a driver of the ball, not one was short of 240 yds. Even Andra Kirkaldy said 'this whip can belt a ball." This American named Fiztroy was quite a distinctive fellow and a prodigious driver of the golf ball, and apparently good enough to be competing in a competition in St. Andrews. One might think that there would be some record of him somewhere. I've searched extensively and there is no evidence anywhere of an American lad named Fitzroy who even remotely matches the description. I've searched the British and American golf magazines (which at the time covered even extremely small events) and even done extensive newspaper searches in America and in British papers, which also covered even small golf events. I've also checked the travel records of those traveling back and forth from America. Nothing has come up. So far, the lanky American named "Fitzroy" is a ghost.
There are other problems the description as well:
- For example, as discussed on another thread, the questioned diary entry uses phrases what weren't in common usage in 1901.
- For another example, as discussed above, the question diary entry refers to Fitzroy's weight in pounds, not in stone.
In short, there is a lot about even this brief entry that doesn't seem to check out.