Tom Williamson, the old greenkeeper and pro from Notts GC. As he is said to have worked on most of the courses in the area where I grew up and now live, I have probably played most of his work, though how much of what now remains on these courses is his work isn't clear.
Here's a brief summary of his life that I posted on the Notts GC photo tour thread...
Tom Williamson’s career as greenkeeper, professional and club maker of Notts GC spanned more than half a century from 1896 until his death in 1950. By serving for 54 years as the clubs professional, the club believe to have set a world record for a club professional in full time service.
His first introduction to golf was as a boy when he came across the previously mentioned Mr Doleman and Mr Harris playing golf across the common before a course had been set out. He saw Mr Harris hit a ball and so ran after it and returned it to him, only to be reprimanded, and made to replace the ball exactly were he had collected it from. He would later sit under the kitchen table cleaning their clubs, as mentioned earlier.
Though he had an early introduction to golf, he wanted to work on the railways, though when he failed his eye test, and instead headed for North Berwick to learn club making at Hutchinson’s shop, which later went on to become Ben Sayers. During the first world war, he combined his work as the clubs professional, with working in a munitions factory.
He played in his first open championship in 1897 at Hoylake and went on to set another world record by playing in every open for fifty years, between 1897 and 1947, finishing 4th at Prestwick in 1914.
He was an early advocate of plasticine models of new greens, and claimed to have worked on all but one of the courses within a fifty mile radius of Nottingham! Nearby Wollaton Park, Beeston Fields, Longcliffe, Rushcliffe and Worksop are all courses designed by him, while he carried out remodelling work at Hollinwell and Sherwood Forest.
Cheers,
James