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Ran Morrissett

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New Melvyn Morrow In My Opinion piece is posted
« on: January 05, 2016, 09:16:34 AM »
Melvyn Morrow is grumpy and probably for good reason. Dismissive words (since amended) on the front page of GolfClubAtlas about pre-1900 architecture and Tom MacWood's ‘The Early Architects: Beyond Old Tom,’ posted in 2008, have ruffled his feathers. Tom apportioned praise reserved for Old Tom Morris to others, most notably B Hall Blyth. That didn't sit well with Melvyn whose strong family bias compelled a defense. To properly refute the points that Tom made, substantive documentation and not emotional supposition was required. Well, that's exactly what he has done with his latest entry, found here:

http://golfclubatlas.com/in-my-opinion/morrow-melvyn-hunter-the-colossus-of-golf-course-architects-the-first-golden-age-of-golf-course-design/

I enjoy both Tom’s and Melvyn's perspectives. Melvyn’s prose is not unlike the stern tone of a minister but I STRONGLY prefer it to the docile clichés and platitudes adopted elsewhere in the media that covers our vibrant sport. Major takeaways include:

  • Understanding the beginnings of golf course architecture is both an important subject and a neglected one.

  • B Hall Blyth was a civil engineer who drew survey maps, which is quite removed from being a course designer.

  • Taking credit from Old Tom and giving it to Blyth for the design of the New Course and Muirfield is unwarranted. The record shows that Blyth never claimed that he deserved such credit and there is no good reason to question Old Tom’s primacy.

  • The first “Open” in 1860 was, in fact, closed to Amateurs. Therefore, shouldn't the first Open be considered the 1861 event which was indeed 'open' to all?
  • Old Tom had stated a preference for the New Course over the Old (forgotten by me). Colt's changes to The New Course created a slew of misgivings (new information for me). Of course, changes to any beloved course often do so but  .... 'Harry Colt' generally brings smiles, not frowns. I wish I had played the New and was more aware of its evolution to have some kind of educated opinion.

  • Two designers qualify as Colossi from the pre-1900 era - Old Tom and Allan Robertson, no more and no less. Others made significant contributions though none were ‘game changers.’
Most of all, Melvyn lobbies hard that the period deemed 'The Golden Age' actually occurred well before 1900. For me, his most compelling argument is the creation of Prestwick in the 1850s. Some of its green placements (like the original 9th green, brazenly on an island in the Cardinal Bunker) and the supreme use of hazards embodies daring, innovative and influential architecture. Prestwick was - and is - so magnificent that great architecture, if not born there, was surely catapulted by it. What’s now happening, some 160 years later isn't markedly better. Of course many readers ascribe to the notion that the term Golden Age applies to the period (~1900-1930) when hundreds of high quality courses were built around the world, not just Westward Ho!, Hoylake, Brancaster, Prestwick, Macrihanish, North Berwick et al. in the UK. So be it - aren’t such time delineations artificial anyway?

Melvyn's piece is especially interesting and informative because of all the old articles and drawings he weaves into his narrative. Make of it what you will but enjoy the journey back to that largely ignored and - evidently - not well understood period.

Best,
« Last Edit: January 05, 2016, 09:24:40 AM by Ran Morrissett »

MCirba

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Re: New Melvyn Morrow In My Opinion piece is posted
« Reply #1 on: January 05, 2016, 10:12:02 AM »
Ran,

Melvyn has done incredible research over the past several years and unfortunately shares very little of it in this forum.   Those of us who have been his friends on "Facebook" have instead benefited from the incredible number of old newspaper articles and course maps from this time period that give a much more complete picture of what was transpiring related to golf course architecture during this period.   It is also important for our modern eyes and heads to see and remember that this was all prior to even the Haskell ball, and included the period where golf was transitioning from the featherie to the gutty, so when we see courses much shorter than modern times that perspective is necessary to understand them accurately.   Indeed, the implements of the game were undergoing similar evolution.

In the case of B. Hall Blyth, he was certainly an important figure, but I've read a number of tomes and articles from the period, including Reverend John Kerr's voluminous account, and have yet to see a single mention of Blyth actually designing a course.   As a green committee chairman and engineer, I'm confident he was involved in the construction and even evolution of those early courses, but as is clear from reading Melvyn's article, his course maps should not be interpreted as anything but "as built" drawings, and certainly not course authorship.

Thanks for hosting this wonderfully informative article.
« Last Edit: January 05, 2016, 10:22:44 AM by MCirba »
"Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent" - Calvin Coolidge

https://cobbscreek.org/

MCirba

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Re: New Melvyn Morrow In My Opinion piece is posted
« Reply #2 on: January 05, 2016, 10:29:45 AM »
Melvyn's evidence of the architectural attribution of Muirfield omits a first-hand contemporaneous account that is reprinted in Reverend John Kerr's 1896 book, which I've copied below.   The "Howes" refers to the land itself, which used to host horse racing, and the term "makkar", refers to something akin to a "poet", according to Rich Goodale.   


The Howes of today and the making of the green there are what concern me.  Old Tom is a veritable makkar - his is 'the vision and the faculty divine' for making golf-greens; how I felt that as I walked beside him, he glancing 'from heaven to earth, from earth to heaven', taking in the situation at every point!  The holes were then put to shape, and soon the 'local habitation and the name' of the new links of the Honourable Company were flashed through all the golfing world.  Another green to bear witness to the skill of the grand old greenkeeper!  What a record he must have of the making of greens!

'It has been cunningly laid oot, Cor'nel, as Maister Arthur Balfour's brither ae day said to me; ay, cunningly laid oot'  It was David Plenderleith who now addressed me.   David is the man who was left to carry out old Tom's design and superintend the whole operation.  'A golfer and a gairdner', he described himself; and David must drag in the Chief Secretary some way, as all golfers do, before they have spoken much of the game.   I have been as Jonathan to David all the time he was at work, and being in his confidence, the making of the green is as familiar to me as I have said it is.  Under him were the twa Robbies - Ross and Brown, Fred Hamilton and Andrew Allan, a capital quartette; since December they have dumped away with their iron beaters, levelled mounds, filled up rabbit-scrapes, banked up bunkers, turfed, rolled, or swept, unceasingly; and such work has all been needed in the making of the green.   

...What has pleased me most about Plenderleith's work has been the naturalness which has everywhere been observed, as if the maxim 'give the club its own lie,' had been a guide in the treatment of the ground   The putting-greens, which were the first part of the work, were not levelled like a billiard table; the old rig-marks are still there; and lots of ups and downs on a small will elicit scientific putting.   The teeing-grounds, again, were not made up in little sloping plateaus - they are natural, and their variety also will call forth good play.   The distances between the holes are wonderfully near those which Mr. Horace Hutchinson has laid down as suitable for a proper course; and I have been instructed very much in the game by remarking this, and the various lines chosen by old Tom as he drew out the round, for they have all a bearing on the way in which the game is expected to be played.   The nature of the turf has been greatly in favour of the work.  It is a fine 'healing' turf, several inches thick, and intertwined with licorice roots, which act like cords in keeping it together.   'Without a doot,' says Plenderleith, 'it's the finest turf that was ever seen,' and I believe he is right.   There certainly cannot be better for golf.   A few of the committee have taken interest in the proceedings, and visited the work as it went on; but by their absence some of them have shown the confidence they had in my friend David, for, as he remarked one day, 'We've been dumpin'awa here, an' no a leevin' soul near us for three weeks.'

Their work, so interesting to me in a hundred other ways, which I must omit speaking of, has not been without its difficulties.   Thye have had some fierce storms to face this past winter, and when sand and wind go togetehr, who can stand against them?


From a larger article, "The Coming of the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers to Gullane", published in the "Edinburgh Evening Dispatch", May 1 and 2, 1891. 
« Last Edit: January 05, 2016, 10:31:22 AM by MCirba »
"Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent" - Calvin Coolidge

https://cobbscreek.org/

Rich Goodale

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Re: New Melvyn Morrow In My Opinion piece is posted
« Reply #3 on: January 05, 2016, 12:27:25 PM »
Great to hear from you, Melvyn, and a great and greatly needed post.  The argument as to when was the "Golden Age" of golf is still unsettled and your hard graft and passion has kept the flame of those of us who think that this "Golden Age" was mostly in the 19th century, in Scotland,  and  that the work in England and America in the 20th century was only a weak homage.....

Thanks

Rich
Life is good.

Any afterlife is unlikely and/or dodgy.

Jean-Paul Parodi

Joe Bausch

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Re: New Melvyn Morrow In My Opinion piece is posted
« Reply #4 on: January 05, 2016, 07:57:51 PM »
Thanks for not quitting, M2!
@jwbausch (for new photo albums)
The site for the Cobb's Creek project:  https://cobbscreek.org/
Nearly all Delaware Valley golf courses in photo albums: Bausch Collection

Jon Wiggett

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Re: New Melvyn Morrow In My Opinion piece is posted
« Reply #5 on: January 06, 2016, 11:05:38 AM »
Great piece from a MM. This site is poorer for his absence and it is good to read some of his writings again.

Jon

Terry Lavin

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Re: New Melvyn Morrow In My Opinion piece is posted
« Reply #6 on: January 06, 2016, 11:56:29 AM »
Great piece from a MM. This site is poorer for his absence and it is good to read some of his writings again.

Jon

You can read him on Shack or Facebook.  This site is richer for his absence, you ask me.  He picked more fights than Don King.
Nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American people.  H.L. Mencken

Niall C

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Re: New Melvyn Morrow In My Opinion piece is posted
« Reply #7 on: January 06, 2016, 01:09:23 PM »
An entertaining read from Melvyn as usual even though I suspect some might not appreciate his hectoring tone, but then he is defending the family honour !

The status of Benjamin Hall Blyth in the history of the game is an interesting one. I agree with Melvyn that BHB’s likely input was in supporting and developing the construction of courses rather than the design. There is a body of evidence that if not conclusive is certainly persuasive, that suggests that BHB produced routing plans after the event (I hesitate to call them As Built Drawings given the lack of detail in them) such as at Muirfield, Kilspindie and probably the New course, as well as maybe Gullane.

He was certainly involved in the construction side and of course was heavily involved in the development of the rules as Chairman of the Rules Committee at the R&A. I suspect his involvement there might have had a bigger impact on course design in general than any suggestion he might have made to place an individual bunker here or there. For instance I believe it was on his watch that the rules around what constituted a bunker evolved which possibly more than anything influenced design or construction of them. At any rate he’s worthy of more consideration.

I also agree with Melvyn with regards to the quality of the design pre-1900 given the constraints, those constraints being equipment and agronomy. However I think you need to be careful in crediting the really Old Dead Guys with what you see on the ground now as their era was characterised by regular change and evolution.

Where I diverge from Melvyn is his view on improving equipment. If I read Melvyn correctly he would happily have stopped at the gutta ball and hickory shafted clubs. As someone who was brought up on cut down hickories and old Dunlop 65’s I can’t agree. I much prefer balls that are round and don’t cut up/fall to bits/explode within a few hits, and neither am I all that enamoured with sting that went up your arm when you didn’t quite hit a ball correctly. I also suspect that Melvyns ancestor if he was still alive, would happily embrace new technology.

Niall

Jim_Kennedy

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Re: New Melvyn Morrow In My Opinion piece is posted
« Reply #8 on: January 06, 2016, 01:56:30 PM »
As Mike noted, Melvyn has done a good deal of research and you have to appreciate its content.


Beyond that, it would be an awfully painstaking task to discuss any of this with a person who'll go all Calvin & Hobbes on you (and I'm not referring to the comic strip characters). 







"I never beat a well man in my life" - Harry Vardon

Tommy Williamsen

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Re: New Melvyn Morrow In My Opinion piece is posted
« Reply #9 on: January 06, 2016, 05:59:33 PM »
  v
« Last Edit: January 06, 2016, 06:04:58 PM by Tommy Williamsen »
Where there is no love, put love; there you will find love.
St. John of the Cross

"Deep within your soul-space is a magnificent cathedral where you are sweet beyond telling." Rumi

Tommy Williamsen

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Re: New Melvyn Morrow In My Opinion piece is posted
« Reply #10 on: January 06, 2016, 06:02:36 PM »

Ran wrote, "I enjoy both Tom’s and Melvyn's perspectives. Melvyn’s prose is not unlike the stern tone of a minister."
I'm not sure I have a "stern tone." I prefer a gentle voice.  Maybe the "stern voice of a DA?"
Where there is no love, put love; there you will find love.
St. John of the Cross

"Deep within your soul-space is a magnificent cathedral where you are sweet beyond telling." Rumi

Bill_McBride

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Re: New Melvyn Morrow In My Opinion piece is posted
« Reply #11 on: January 06, 2016, 06:30:26 PM »
As Mike noted, Melvyn has done a good deal of research and you have to appreciate its content.


Beyond that, it would be an awfully painstaking task to discuss any of this with a person who'll go all Calvin & Hobbes on you (and I'm not referring to the comic strip characters).


I'm always amazed that Melvyn uses a computer!


He has always been very generous with his time and knowledge of the history of the game.  He also very kindly left a bottle of Glenmorangie Nectar d'Or for me at the distillery when we couldn't meet at Tain.  A bunch of us drank it toasting him at the 2008 Buda Cup. 

Jim_Kennedy

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Re: New Melvyn Morrow In My Opinion piece is posted
« Reply #12 on: January 06, 2016, 07:57:41 PM »
Bill,


No doubt MM is generous with his time (his Scotch) , studied, and knowledgeable about the game's history, but that history didn't end on May 24, 1908. 








« Last Edit: January 06, 2016, 07:59:43 PM by Jim_Kennedy »
"I never beat a well man in my life" - Harry Vardon

BCowan

Re: New Melvyn Morrow In My Opinion piece is posted
« Reply #13 on: January 06, 2016, 09:24:15 PM »
Great piece from a MM. This site is poorer for his absence and it is good to read some of his writings again.

Jon

You can read him on Shack or Facebook.  This site is richer for his absence, you ask me.  He picked more fights than Don King.


I concur.


This website is far, far, richer with him peddling his drivel onto his Facebook "friends." He has no credibility given how he "stretched" the truth regarding Askernish and other items here in the past. I would question everything he writes, including his supposed lineage to his beloved Old Tom.

Shocker, you toe the line nicely.  His knowledge dwarfs anything you have posted on here.  Just because he is passionate doesn't mean he lacks credibility.  Your last sentence is beyond appalling.

Mike_Young

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Re: New Melvyn Morrow In My Opinion piece is posted
« Reply #14 on: January 06, 2016, 11:01:52 PM »
Melvyn is my friend. 
I like designing and building courses but I don't delve into all of the details  of the history of such because I know what I like and I read enough to satisfy myself.  That's me.  Melvyn has his thing. 
Many on here may not agree with Melvyn but he is passionate and I respect that.  I have always taken this site as entertainment and enjoyment more than solutions to actual issues of the business.   A few on here take themselves seriously without reason.  And I have always been able to accept the arrogance, pompousness, and aloofness of a few on here as just typical golf goob.  The only time I have a problem with such is when it is unearned.
"just standing on a corner in Winslow Arizona"

Kalen Braley

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Re: New Melvyn Morrow In My Opinion piece is posted
« Reply #15 on: January 06, 2016, 11:18:23 PM »
It doesn't really have to be an all or nothing with Mel...

I think Melyvn is at his best when he's researching and publishing....and I think he does a good job at it!

The day to day convo in forums like this aren't really suited for him though..

PCCraig

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Re: New Melvyn Morrow In My Opinion piece is posted
« Reply #16 on: January 06, 2016, 11:31:42 PM »
Great piece from a MM. This site is poorer for his absence and it is good to read some of his writings again.

Jon

You can read him on Shack or Facebook.  This site is richer for his absence, you ask me.  He picked more fights than Don King.


I concur.


This website is far, far, richer with him peddling his drivel onto his Facebook "friends." He has no credibility given how he "stretched" the truth regarding Askernish and other items here in the past. I would question everything he writes, including his supposed lineage to his beloved Old Tom.

Shocker, you toe the line nicely.  His knowledge dwarfs anything you have posted on here.  Just because he is passionate doesn't mean he lacks credibility.  Your last sentence is beyond appalling.


Credibility and knowledge mean everything to most passionate people...that's why they put FDR on Mt. Rushmore, isn't it?
« Last Edit: January 06, 2016, 11:33:58 PM by PCraig »
H.P.S.

BCowan

Re: New Melvyn Morrow In My Opinion piece is posted
« Reply #17 on: January 07, 2016, 05:55:01 AM »
Great piece from a MM. This site is poorer for his absence and it is good to read some of his writings again.

Jon

You can read him on Shack or Facebook.  This site is richer for his absence, you ask me.  He picked more fights than Don King.


I concur.


This website is far, far, richer with him peddling his drivel onto his Facebook "friends." He has no credibility given how he "stretched" the truth regarding Askernish and other items here in the past. I would question everything he writes, including his supposed lineage to his beloved Old Tom.

Shocker, you toe the line nicely.  His knowledge dwarfs anything you have posted on here.  Just because he is passionate doesn't mean he lacks credibility.  Your last sentence is beyond appalling.


Credibility and knowledge mean everything to most passionate people...that's why they put FDR on Mt. Rushmore, isn't it?

It's very easy to sit in an ivory tower and judge others.  You provide no substance thus have no credibility when it comes to judging others. Birds of a feather flock together.  Now go to cleaners and pick up ur logo blazer. 

Thomas Dai

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Re: New Melvyn Morrow In My Opinion piece is posted
« Reply #18 on: January 07, 2016, 06:03:12 AM »
May I suggest that GCA generaly would be worse off if folk didn't delve into the history of the game and produce work like this so well done and thank you. Although the results of such delving or the way the results are presented may sometimes be controversial they can nevertheless be eye opening and thought provoking, even if only to some, which in itself may not necessarily be a bad thing.
Atb

Niall C

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Re: New Melvyn Morrow In My Opinion piece is posted
« Reply #19 on: January 07, 2016, 06:33:45 AM »
This has now turned into an Opinion Piece on Melvyn Morrow rather than a discussion on his views which I find sad. You might not agree with his take on the history of the game but surely there is something worth discussing in what he has to say.


Niall

Sean_A

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Re: New Melvyn Morrow In My Opinion piece is posted
« Reply #20 on: January 07, 2016, 06:42:19 AM »
This has now turned into an Opinion Piece on Melvyn Morrow rather than a discussion on his views which I find sad. You might not agree with his take on the history of the game but surely there is something worth discussing in what he has to say.


Niall


Si.


Ciao
New plays planned for 2024: Nothing

MCirba

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Re: New Melvyn Morrow In My Opinion piece is posted
« Reply #21 on: January 07, 2016, 06:58:17 AM »
Agreed Niall and Sean.  Melvyn's piece is factually structured., informative, and meant to be constructive to our shared understanding of pre-1900 architecture.

The fact that no one is actually challenging his IMO piece seems to me evidence of its accuracy and validity.
"Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent" - Calvin Coolidge

https://cobbscreek.org/

Adam Lawrence

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Re: New Melvyn Morrow In My Opinion piece is posted
« Reply #22 on: January 07, 2016, 07:46:37 AM »

Ran wrote, "I enjoy both Tom’s and Melvyn's perspectives. Melvyn’s prose is not unlike the stern tone of a minister."
I'm not sure I have a "stern tone." I prefer a gentle voice.  Maybe the "stern voice of a DA?"


Scots Presbyterian minister. "Aye, and when the Day of Judgement comes and the Lord appears, ye'll all be cringing in the corner saying 'Lord, Lord, we didnae ken'. And the Lord, in his infinite wisdom, will look at you and reply 'Ye ken noo!':
Adam Lawrence

Editor, Golf Course Architecture
www.golfcoursearchitecture.net

Principal, Oxford Golf Consulting
www.oxfordgolfconsulting.com

Author, 'More Enduring Than Brass: a biography of Harry Colt' (forthcoming).

Short words are best, and the old words, when short, are the best of all.

Eric Smith

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Re: New Melvyn Morrow In My Opinion piece is posted
« Reply #23 on: January 07, 2016, 07:53:10 AM »
Pat Craig:

What do you mean when you write that Melvyn "stretched the truth" regarding Askernish?

MCirba

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Re: New Melvyn Morrow In My Opinion piece is posted
« Reply #24 on: January 07, 2016, 10:10:17 AM »
Pat,

I'm not sure I understand?   I don't agree with Melvyn 100% on every issue and I know he can sometimes be dogmatic and didactic in his personal approach, but I thought the IMO piece was presented in a constructive and factual way.   He provided plenty of contemporaneous evidence to support his views and if others think he's in error I'd just like to see them provide countering factual information.

Thanks.
« Last Edit: January 07, 2016, 10:14:34 AM by MCirba »
"Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent" - Calvin Coolidge

https://cobbscreek.org/

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