William Rusack

[Rick Lane]

Hi, everyone.   There were some old posts about William Rusack (married to Old Toms granddaughter, family started Rusacks Hotel at TOC), and also a post where he helped lay out Blind Brook, NY in 1915, and was their first pro in 1917.  Does anyone have any other information on him in the US , specifically between 1895 and 1908?   The reason I ask is that my club, Brooklawn in CT, had carried on with an urban myth that our first pro was Old Toms grandson.   A myth we know is not true as there was not one (who lived).  So my thought is that maybe it was Willie Rusack, and over the years the story got mangled as he was Old Toms Grandson-in -law?  We know George Sparling came to Brooklawn in 1908, but we don't have any records of who was there from 1895 to 1908.       Any help is appreciated.

[Tom_Doak]

Rick:


I ran into a William Rusack design in Germany this summer, at a little course outside of Hamburg.  Our sometime contributor Christoph Meister filled me in on his family history.  But I didn't know he came to America.

[Sven Nilsen]

Rick:


The 1900 Harpers and the 1902 Golf Guide don't list a professional for Brooklawn.  The 1902 Guide does list an August Schilz as greenkeeper.


Sven

[Bret Lawrence]

Rick,


The 1899 Official Golf Guide lists a "Tom Morris" as Brooklawn's greenkeeper.  I have seen a reference mentioning the relationship between the greenkeeper and Old Tom, but I can't remember if it was an old magazine or something written more recently.  Regardless, it's not a complete myth.


Bret

[Rick Lane]

Thanks all.    We are trying to unravel this.......apparently there was a guy, who SAID he was Old Toms grandson, but we have recently researched and debunked it as impossible, looking at the family tree and talking to the Society.     So....either there was a guy named Tom Morris who lied about his lineage, or there was a guy who said his name was Tom Morris, which was the lie!     

As far as Greenskeepers, our current one, Peter Bly, is on his 40th year or so, and we ALSO say that this is only our third person since 1895, another thing to research!   

[Rick Lane]

Rick:


I ran into a William Rusack design in Germany this summer, at a little course outside of Hamburg.  Our sometime contributor Christoph Meister filled me in on his family history.  But I didn't know he came to America.

Tom, Here is the bit I found about Rusack at Blind Brook, and the link to the full document:

The Golf Committee then secured the services of  William Rusack from Scotland’s St. Andrews course. Rusack was married to Agnes Hunter, granddaughter of Old Tom Morris, one of the most revered names in the links world. A cottage was available on the property for the Rusacks, and Mr. Rusack purchased a pony to ride the course from hole to hole supervising the construction, insuring that the Macdonald-Raynor vision was properly carried out. In short, Raynor did the surveying and engineering work, and Rusack gave the course its golfing touch.
Rusack became the club’s first professional and greenskeeper when it opened officially in 1916. Many of the holes were designed from Raynor’s blueprints of famous golf holes throughout the world. When the course opened in 1917, the only bunkers were at green-side. The remaining bunkers were added the following year, placed strategically based on the judgment of Baltusrol professional George Low.

https://www.scribd.com/document/80777612/MCMA-History-Book

[Tom_Doak]

  .......apparently there was a guy, who SAID he was Old Toms grandson, but we have recently researched and debunked it as impossible, looking at the family tree and talking to the Society.     So....either there was a guy named Tom Morris who lied about his lineage, or there was a guy who said his name was Tom Morris, which was the lie!         

This is hard to believe, because there were so many first-generation Scots golf pros in the U.S. at the time who would have gleefully outed a fake Tom Morris.


That would be like imagining a latter-day Bob Jones going into practice as an architect and hoping for some people to confuse him with Bobby Jones ...

[Bret Lawrence]

Thanks all.    We are trying to unravel this.......apparently there was a guy, who SAID he was Old Toms grandson, but we have recently researched and debunked it as impossible, looking at the family tree and talking to the Society.     So....either there was a guy named Tom Morris who lied about his lineage, or there was a guy who said his name was Tom Morris, which was the lie!     

As far as Greenskeepers, our current one, Peter Bly, is on his 40th year or so, and we ALSO say that this is only our third person since 1895, another thing to research!   

Rick,


Who preceded Peter Bly?  Tom Morris was the greenkeeper in 1899. August Schultz was the greenkeeper in the early 1900's.  Unless August Schultz made it all the way to 1976, I would guess the club has had at least four people in this position.  August Schultz was referred to as the Brooklawn professional in September of 1900 when he and a pro from the Hillandale course took on J.H. Taylor in an exhibition match at Brooklawn. J.H. Taylor set a new course record that day and according to the article made the professionals look like amateurs.


Bret

[Niall C]

Rick


I suspect an email will be winging its way to you before long from Melvyn. If anyone knows the family history it will be him but FWIW I just did a quick search on the newspaper website and found several mentions of William Rusack of hotel fame in St Andrews during the period you mention. I also think I've read of another professional by the name of Tom Morris so its not beyond the bounds of possibility that your guy actually was Tom Morris, neither names being uncommon. Now whether your Tom Morris claimed to be related to Old Tom or whether a subsequent club historian thought that is another matter 


Niall

[Rick Lane]

  .......apparently there was a guy, who SAID he was Old Toms grandson, but we have recently researched and debunked it as impossible, looking at the family tree and talking to the Society.     So....either there was a guy named Tom Morris who lied about his lineage, or there was a guy who said his name was Tom Morris, which was the lie!         

Totally agree.   I guess the last possibility is that the guy was named Tom Morris, and over the years someone just decided to add the "lineage"


This is hard to believe, because there were so many first-generation Scots golf pros in the U.S. at the time who would have gleefully outed a fake Tom Morris.


That would be like imagining a latter-day Bob Jones going into practice as an architect and hoping for some people to confuse him with Bobby Jones ...

[Rick Lane]

Thanks all.    We are trying to unravel this.......apparently there was a guy, who SAID he was Old Toms grandson, but we have recently researched and debunked it as impossible, looking at the family tree and talking to the Society.     So....either there was a guy named Tom Morris who lied about his lineage, or there was a guy who said his name was Tom Morris, which was the lie!     

As far as Greenskeepers, our current one, Peter Bly, is on his 40th year or so, and we ALSO say that this is only our third person since 1895, another thing to research!   

Rick,


Who preceded Peter Bly?  Tom Morris was the greenkeeper in 1899. August Schultz was the greenkeeper in the early 1900's.  Unless August Schultz made it all the way to 1976, I would guess the club has had at least four people in this position.  August Schultz was referred to as the Brooklawn professional in September of 1900 when he and a pro from the Hillandale course took on J.H. Taylor in an exhibition match at Brooklawn. J.H. Taylor set a new course record that day and according to the article made the professionals look like amateurs.


Bret

Lots of things to unravel, also the fact that Tom Morris was listed as greenskeeper as well as the pro, in various places, as was August Shultz apparently.....

[Rick Lane]

Frank Nichols became greenskeeper around 1930 during Tilliies redesign I am told, and stayed until the late 1970s, followed by Peter Bly, who is still there. We think before Nichols was a man named Rufus Knapp.  We are trying to check on that. Unsure of dates.


So if Tom Morris was among the first, as pro and greenskeeper, followed by August Shultz, again holding both positions, which I guess was not uncommon (Old Tom did same?), then we might be up to five people since 1895. Peter Bly may well be the third greenskeeper "only".

[Bret Lawrence]

Rick,


I wonder if this was your Tom Morris?  Sounds like Old Tom would have been his great uncle.


At the time this article was written, Tom was working at Ekwanok. 


GolfUSGABulletin-August 1905:

A picture was included at the end of the article:

[BCowan]

Rick,


   MHM asked me to post this info for you.   




William John McNeillage Rusack
Here is William Rusacks BIO confirming he travelled to and lived in America.
1879 Born Star Hotel St Andrews
1884 Educated Madras Collage
1890 Played Rugby
1894 Unicorn Dundee Naval Training
1904/06 National Cash Register NCR company salesman and agent
1907 Master mariner last surviving to hold the extra master Mariner Ticket for Sail and Steam
1907 Married Agnes Bayne Hunter -Grand-daughter of Tom Morris
1908 working on board SS Monfort immigration Ship to Canada
1908 Discharged from Merchant navy
1908 Tom Morris died
1911 Tom Morris golf Shop and golf Ball maker
1914 living in Glasgow 5 Thornwood Gardens Partick Glasgow
1915 travelled to New York on board SS New York
? Golf course Designer in America and
Germany

1914/1918 lived in USA First World War
1919 sailed to USA on the SS George Washington
1920 Lived Mount Pleasant Westchester New York
1925 build Golf course in Bad Salzbrunn in Germany now in Poland and disused
1927 sailed to USA on board the SS George Washington
1929  lost all on Wall Street crash
? Bought hotel “House in the Sun “ Oberhoff East Germany tenanted hotel
Lived in annex and continued golf work
1938 made disrespectful remarks about Hitler was forced to sell Hotel at knock down value was unable to get his money out of Germany money still in Bank devalued worth around £395
1938 came back to Scotland and lived at Bogward Farm St Andrews
1944 wrote and published two books of poems not a great success
1946 reprint of poems
1916/1946 Shareholder in Rusacks Hotel
1948 built house in Strathkinness had horse and pony and trap often seen riding into the Victoria café for lunch
1953 applied to BBC for position as interviewer
1954 until he died tried to get his money out of eastern Germany refused a visa to visit
1954/1962 supported by Dr Louis Rusack
1962 taken into care in Cuper died after a fall Buried in the Rusack Grave Eastern Cemetery St Andrews

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[Rick Lane]

Thank you Bret and Ben!

[MCirba]

Agree with him or not, Melvyn is still the man. The amount of pre 1910 architectural history he has discovered is amazing in its depth and breadth. I hope he has a good plan for passing it on in some type of archival form for posterity and understanding.

[Ulrich Mayring]

Bought hotel “House in the Sun “ Oberhoff East Germany tenanted hotel

Just a slight correction, this would very likely be Oberhof in Thuringia, where they are nowadays trying to bring the course back for hickory golf:

http://www.herzoglicher-golfclub.de/bilder.html

Also, here's an old thread with Melvyn and Christoph chipping in:

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,32876.0

Ulrich

[Rick Lane]

Rick,


I wonder if this was your Tom Morris?  Sounds like Old Tom would have been his great uncle.


At the time this article was written, Tom was working at Ekwanok. 


GolfUSGABulletin-August 1905:

A picture was included at the end of the article:

We will look into this. If this is the guy, he would have been 17 or 18 in 1899.  Would have stayed maybe 1898 to 1899, then hit Switzerland for maybe a year, then gone to Africa in 1900 to fight, then be back at Ekwanok by 1902 if all those dates are right.   Not impossible!   Thanks for digging it up!

[Rick Lane]

Thank you all for your help!   I did find a newspaper article saying that indeed, this is our guy.   Jack Morris's son, Tom.  Lasted one season (1899) at Brooklawn, we have an old internal article that says he "couldn't take either the club president or the Scotch in moderation".   

Heres a link to an article about their family history at Hoylake. 

https://grangehill1922.wordpress.com/2016/08/25/john-peattie-morris-and-james-hunter-morris/