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

by Kevin Cook

Paper Book, 2007

Status

Available

Call number

796.3520922

Collection

Publication

Gotham (2007), 327 pages

Description

Biography & Autobiography. History. Sports & Recreations. Nonfiction. HTML:In the tradition of Seabiscuit, the riveting tale of two proud Scotsmen who beat all comers to become the heroes of a golden age�the dawn of professional golf. This essential golf history is now a major motion picture. Bringing to life golf�s founding father and son, Tommy�s Honor is a stirring tribute to two legendary players and a vivid evocation of their colorful, rip-roaring times. The Morrises were towering figures in their day. Old Tom, born in 1821, began life as a nobody�he was the son of a weaver and a maid. But he was born in St. Andrews, Scotland, the cradle of golf, and the game was in his blood. He became the Champion Golfer of Scotland, a national hero who won tournaments (and huge bets) while his young son looked on. As "Keeper of the Green" at the town�s ancient links, Tom deployed golf�s first lawnmower and banished sheep from the fairways. Then Young Tommy�s career took off. Handsome Tommy Morris, the Tiger Woods of the nineteenth century, was a more daring player than his father. Soon he surpassed Old Tom and dominated the game. But just as he reached his peak�with spectators flocking to see him play�Tommy�s life took a tragic turn, leading to his death at the age of twenty-four. That shock is at the heart of Tommy�s Honor. It left Tom to pick up the pieces�to honor his son by keeping Tommy�s memory alive. Like the New York Times bestseller The Greatest Game Ever Played, Tommy�s Honor is both fascinating history and a moving personal saga. Golfers will love it, but this book isn�t only for golfers. It�s for every son who has fought to escape a father�s shadow and for every father who had guided a son toward manhood, then found it hard to let him go.… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member gmillar
A beautifully constructed biography of the fathers of golf as we know it. I thoroughly enjoyed the read. It was carefully made relevant in today's language as opposed to trying to decipher and print the Scottish brogue of Old Tom's day. I recommend this to lovers of the game, to lovers of
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biography, to lovers of Scotland (Fifeshire in particular) and to those who just like a good yarn that is based in reality.
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LibraryThing member shiatsujude
A truely wonderful read, as a non golfer it thrilled me in a way I could not have imagined. I laughed and I cried equally. fabulous
LibraryThing member santhony
I am an avid golfer, an amateur historian and a frequent traveler (usually in conjunction with golf), having been to England, Scotland and Ireland on several occasions. That being the case, you would think this would be right up my alley. And while I can’t say that I disliked it, it was very
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simple and didn’t actually tell me a lot that I didn’t already know (though I’ve never studied the Morris family).

The book tells the story of Old Tom Morris and his son, Young Tom, golfing royalty in the mid-late 19th century. It is largely biographical, but takes enough liberties with undocumented dialogue and personal feelings to almost qualify as historical fiction. There is not enough scholarly background work to produce what could have been a highly educational and informative text, but instead just enough facts against a historical backdrop to produce a very light, entertaining, easy to read, feel good text.
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Language

Original language

English

Physical description

327 p.; 6.25 inches

ISBN

1592402976 / 9781592402977

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