The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Anger at name change for St Andrews shop
Descendant of Old Tom Morris voices outrage at rebranding
A descendant of Old Tom Morris has described as an “insult” the decision to rebrand a shop named after the St Andrews golfing legend.
Melvyn Morrow, 67, hit out after the name of the shop in the Links was changed from Tom Morris to The Open.
Mr Morrow is the great-greatgrandson of the sporting great who, as well as winning the Open Championship four times, made golf equipment, was the father of modern greenkeeping, and helped design the Old Course and other courses across the United Kingdom.
He said he was “extremely angry” over the change, adding: “Tom’s name has been there since 1866, well before The Open ever came to St Andrews.
“When it became a venue for The Open it was because the Old Course had been totally redesigned and extended to nearly twice its original size by, guess who, Old Tom Morris.
“The Open is played upon only one of the Links Trust courses, that being Old Tom’s Old Course, yet in their wisdom the Links Trust have decided to insult the name of Old Tom by removing his name from the shop.”
St Andrews Links Trust, which operates the shop, was not available for comment.
Old Tom Morris held the record for the largest margin of victory in a major championship until it was beaten by Tiger Woods in 2000.
He was born in St Andrews and died in the town in 1908, having lived his final years in the premises in the Links where he ran his golf equipment business.
His son Young Tom Morris continued his legacy, winning four consecutive Open Championships.
Geoff Shackelford, a senior writer for the US magazine Golfweek, wrote in his online blog that the shop’s floor still bears deep etchings from the days when it accommodated a team of artisans who crafted clubs.
“Any golfer who has spent time in a pro shop with fellow aficionados can easily imagine the conversations, brainstorming, joke-telling, commiserating and idea-sharing that took place in this 870 square feet of prime golf real estate,” he said.
“And we know from select writings that many of golf’s most important early figures were influenced by their time spent at the Old Tom Morris shop.”