Tommy's Honor: The Story of Old Tom Morris and Young Tom Morris, Golf's Founding Father and Son

If I were to recommend a single book to read about the famous Morris family, it would be Kevin Cook's Tommy's Honor: The Story of Old Tom Morris and Young Tom Morris, Golf's Founding Father and Son. Many of us know the familiar history of these men - of Old Tom's falling out with famous ball maker and player Allan Robertson, and of Young Tom dying of a broken heart on Christmas Day. This book goes beyond that and reveals fascinating layers of their lives previously unexamined. This work is a wonderfully crafted narrative along the lines of Mark Frost's The Greatest Game Ever Played. It draws on facts gleaned from numerous sources, including contemporary newspaper accounts, and creates a compelling story of father and son. We are taken inside their lives in equal measure. We can feel the cold water of St. Andrews Bay as Old Tom goes for his morning swim, we are inside Allan Robertson's kitchen as Tom makes feathery balls for him. We witness his big money matches, we move with Tom, wife Nancy and baby Tommy to Prestwick, we win Opens with him and then return to St. Andrews and follow Young Tom's ascendency to golf immortality. The enduring impact Old Tom had as Keeper of the Green at St. Andrews and his lasting legacy on the game of golf is developed quite thoroughly. Cook even touches on the class differences between Tom and the men of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews he served. Old Tom is portrayed as a man with great dedication to his family and profession. Beyond that, he also possessed a steady, dignified grace. The following passages are illustrative of both Cook's scholarship and expressive style: "For greens other than the one at the wet High Hole he used clay pipes as hole liners. The pipes, made in nearby Kincaple, happened to be four and a quarter inches in diameter. Due to a quirk of the Kincaple brickworks, four and a half inches became the standard diameter of the cup on every green. While Tom mended the course, his son hit balls. Tommy's swing would be imitated by a generation of golfers who saw themselves as his apostles." "Watching his father kneel to tee up another man's ball set Tommy's teeth on edge. Tom, unbothered, said there was an art to making a sand tee just the right height for a golfer's swing, and applying a drop of spit to the back of the ball so that a few grains of sand stuck to it, adding backspin when it landed. There was no shame in kneeling, he said. Had not our Savior told his followers to render unto Caesar? After all, Tom said, it was not his immortal soul that bent, only his knee." Cook's research is impressive and thorough, as he weaves together such diverse subjects as ball and club making with the development of the Old Course itself and the players who challenged the Morris's for golfing supremacy. This is done seamlessly and leaves the reader wanting to learn more about these wonderful characters. Of special interest are new insights concerning Tommy's wife Mar

This work by Kevin Cook is the best historical golf book I have ever read. Cook brings the characters to life by providing personal insights he garnered through research of local newspapers and other articles he was able to find about Old Tom and and Young Tom Morris. It is a remarkable tale that reveals details about mid 19th century life and golf in Scotland in a way that has never been accomplished before. I highly recommend the book to any and all readers who have an interest in the beginnings of the game of golf and its founding fathers.

The mythology of St. Andrews and "Old" and "Young" Tom Morris is well known amongst most golfers with at least a passing interest in the game's history and historic figures. We know about Old Tom's innovations at St. Andrews (which was his second stop as a head greenskeeper and teacher, lasting 44 years) and Young Tom's British Open success (he won four straight championships), but it takes Kevin Cook's beautifully written account of their lives to help us really get to know them. This is a marvelous book, well-researched and well-told, about two men who had enormous impact on the game - not just at the birthplace of golf, but on its history. Reading it is a magical experience, even if you don't play the game.

Kevin Cook's poignant biography of the Morrises brings Tom and Tommy alive for his readers. It's much more than a story of their lives. It's about fathers and sons, families, social classes, golf, and the birth of the touring golf professional. Tom's story gives us a keen insight into golf and a golfer's life in the second half of the 19th century. Many aspects of golf have changed over the years and, surprisingly, many have remained exactly as they were 150 years ago. The reason for the seemingly strange title is revealed in the final sentence of the book. This book should be on every golfer's Best-Sellers list.

If you're a golf history nut, or just interested in late 1800's-early 1900's, you'll love this book. If you just like to know more about the great game of golf, this is your book. Kevin Cook brings the world of St. Andrews and Scotland to life. You can just about smell the oil lamps burning on the streets or the low tide blowing in from the North Sea. Oh, and the history of Tom Morris and his son, Tommy, is just amazing. I felt like I was reading a novel but is was true! If you love golf or know someone that loves the game you must get this book. It's a classic.