Frankie the fish is the greatest slugger we have never heard of, much like Young Tom is the greatest golfer than we have seldom heard of! I confess Frankie the Fish is not real, but he could have been! Kinda like Tommy could have been the best ever! Now don't get y'r knickers in a twist, laddie!

Before there was Tiger Woods - before there was anybody else in golf history, for that matter - there was Young Tom Morris. A prodigy of such accomplishment that he was a legend in his own time. So accomplished was Morris that he was responsible for the creation of the Claret Jug, the now-traditional trophy for the winner of the Open Championship.
But Morris' life was all too brief: He died tragically, on Christmas Day, at the age of 24.

Morris' father - Tom Morris Sr., a k a Old Tom Morris - had won four Open Championships himself, the last in 1867, one year before his son's first British Open title.

But Young Tom Morris had been winning tournaments before that. His first big win, according to the World Golf Hall of Fame, was an exhibition match in Perth at the age of 13. At 16, he won a big professional event at Carnoustie.

When he won the British Open in 1868, he was only 17 years old. Young Tom won again in 1869 and 1870. At that time, the winner of the tournament was presented with a "championship belt," officially called the Challenge Belt. The rules stipulated that anyone winning the belt three straight years got to keep it. Morris did just that, and the belt was his permanently.

Which left the tournament organizers with a problem: They no longer had anything to present to the winner.

There was no tournament in 1871, but by 1872 the now-famous "Claret Jug" was ready, and Young Tom Morris won that trophy in its first year.

Three years later, Morris was playing an exhibition match when he received word that his wife and child had both died during childbirth. Morris himself died mere months later, on Christmas Day, 1875, at the age of 24. The cause is not known, but most people at the time blamed it on a broken heart.

Young Tom Morris would be outlived by his father, Old Tom Morris, by more than 30 years.


more to come!

I would heartily recommend the book "Tommy's Honour" for anyone interested in learning more about Young Tom.

Was she one of Morrison's students?

Not to knock the King, but I'd put Snead up there at #3 or #4, if nothing else, the longevity of his career is worth a few spots!

Id move Sam to #5 personally. Cant go ahead of Jones or Hogan I dont think.

Wait One Cotton Pickin' Minute!!!!
 

In his book entitled "This Game of Golf" (1948 ), Sir Henry Cotton listed Lady Heathcoat-Amory or the former Miss Joyce Wethered as the player that stood far ahead of his or her contemporaries in both medal (stroke) and match play.

This book was obviously written before Hogan began his domination.

Here is Joyce Wethered's swing animation. I think the Stack and Tilt guys can claim her as an early proponent, backswing wise anyways.

http://www.hickorygolfers.com/swings...ed/jwdrive.htm

Striking matches
 

In their round together at the Old Course at St. Andrews in August 1930 in which Bob Jones teamed with Miss. Wethered against Roger Wethered (Joyce's brother and a fine amateur in his own right) and Dale Bourne, then recently crowned English Champion, Jones remarked, "I have never played golf with anyone, man or women, amateur or professional, who made me feel so utterly outclassed. It was impossible to expect that Miss Wethered would never miss a shot-but she never did. I have no hesitancy in saying that, accounting for the unavoidable handicap of a women's lesser physical strength, she is the finest golfer I have ever seen."

I have many pictures of Joyce Wethered at Impact and they all have better aligments from a G.O.L.F. point of view. But if she is timing a flip with a Sweep Release, as presented in the pictures supplied by O.B. (Keeler), she is doing it better than anyone else ever did.

Jones and Wethered would reunite for a match at East Lake in August of 1935. Playing the 6600 yard course and playing on Bermuda greens for the first time, Wetherd posted a 74 despite two three putts. After battling illness for weeks before the match, Jones shot a level par 71.

Early Forums
 

No she was not. She had only one formal lesson from Tom Lyle, the professional at Bude, a seaside links in Cornwall. Spending time with her older brother Roger, the 1923 British Amateur Champion, the two played constantly and studied many long hours into the night the techniques of Harry Vardon, J.H. Taylor and James Braid.

That is greatly appreciated Drewit.

Thank you.