Muckle Mouth Meg

[Ian Andrew]

I was going through the aerials for Highland Links and made a facinating discovery. Have a good look at the green site and remember the name of the hole. I knew about the Laird on the the 13th but this one took me pleasantly off guard.



This is the ground view taken by Ben Cowan-Dewar. The image from above would not be easy to see from ground level.



Stanley obviously knew what he was creating - but does this suprise you as much as it did me. Remember he came in by ferry each time and did not fly over the site.

Are there other "golden Age" examples of the same thing?

[Greg McMullin]

Ian, are the beige shaded bunkers in the drawing the originals?

[Ian Andrew]

Greg,

Yes they are.


Just in case people can't see it....

- The right bunker and back pot is the hair
- The tiny pot on the left back is her eye
- The bunker on the left frames in the face which is in the bluegrass

It’s Meg’s head.

 

Ian

[Guy Nicholson]

I thought the name was supposed to refer to the opening into the green, Ian, but is this what you're talking about?

[Guy Nicholson]

Damn, you beat me to it!

[Greg McMullin]

Mucklemouth Meg - nickname for a Scottish lass with a mouth wide enough to swallow a turkey's egg.

[Jeff_Mingay]

Desmond Muirhead before Desmond Muirhead 

[Garland Bayley]

Ian,

Keep us informed if you find any more of Meg's anatomy there. 

[Greg McMullin]

Ian, I'm looking at your sketch and wondering what would be the reason to change the bunker configuration from the original to what it is today? I'm assuming that the change was done in 96 when the course was 'restored' under the direction of Graham Cooke. Was it a maintenance issue? Playability? Change for change sake? Any thoughts?

[Ian Andrew]

Greg,

I have the aerials from before the Cooke renovation. The back bunker was there but there was only a small pot bunker in the left front of the green. All the other bunkers were removed before he and Steve began their renovation.

They added a series of pot bunkers into the mounds on the left of the green. I have no idea why they made the choices they made.

[JNC Lyon]

I always thought "Muckle Mouth Meg" referred to the 'bite off as much as you can choose' nature of the tee shot.  The player who can "swallow a turkey's egg" off the tee can find the green in two. 

The bunker design around the green obviously says otherwise.

Didn't Thompson also do this with Cleopatra at Jasper Park?  Oh, that Toronto Terror.

[Ian Andrew]

I always thought "Muckle Mouth Meg" referred to the 'bite off as much as you can choose' nature of the tee shot.  The player who can "swallow a turkey's egg" off the tee can find the green in two. 

The bunker design around the green obviously says otherwise.

Didn't Thompson also do this with Cleopatra at Jasper Park?  Oh, that Toronto Terror.

I have the plan for Jasper's renovation, there are bunkers with names like Octopus on the plan. The more I've found information - the more crazy/brilliant/nuts/genius I think he was.

The 13th was called Laird and features two eyes and a smile missing a tooth - all a tribute to the laird of the property who was a relative of Joe Robinson's - and missing the same tooth. This is all great stuff....

[Chris Parker]

Here's another recent photo of what the bunker complex that defined Meg's face now looks like:

[JNC Lyon]

I always thought "Muckle Mouth Meg" referred to the 'bite off as much as you can choose' nature of the tee shot.  The player who can "swallow a turkey's egg" off the tee can find the green in two. 

The bunker design around the green obviously says otherwise.

Didn't Thompson also do this with Cleopatra at Jasper Park?  Oh, that Toronto Terror.

I have the plan for Jasper's renovation, there are bunkers with names like Octopus on the plan. The more I've found information - the more crazy/brilliant/nuts/genius I think he was.

The 13th was called Laird and features two eyes and a smile missing a tooth - all a tribute to the laird of the property who was a relative of Joe Robinson's - and missing the same tooth. This is all great stuff....

Indeed, this is more the sort of thing we need in golf course architecture today.  Either architects don't even consider it or they try to hard and end up being hackneyed.  Thompson was a true original, and he did it with ease and a wild sense of fun.