Tour the many golf courses linked to Old Tom Morris
Using Golf Digest's 2014 ranking of the World's 100 Greatest Courses as a guide, nobody has influenced more top 10 entrees than Old Tom Morris.
Morris, the four-time Open champion from St. Andrews, worked on Northern Ireland's Royal County Down (no. 4), the Championship course at Royal Dornoch Golf Club (no. 6), the Old Course at St. Andrews (no. 7) and Muirfield (no. 8). It's true that all of them have been enhanced by other architects over the years, but the clubs proudly cherish their early ties to Morris.
Roughly 60 golf courses in Scotland, England, Wales, Ireland and Northern Ireland are attributed to Morris, who lived during the critical period from 1821-1908 when golf began growing globally. Morris worked on other world top 100 courses such as Carnoustie Golf Links (no. 31), Machrihanish Golf Club (no. 57), the Old Course at Lahinch Golf Club (no. 64) and Cruden Bay Golf Club (no. 70).
It should be noted that the Dunluce Course at Royal Portrush Golf Club (no. 16) is mostly credited to Harry S. Colt, although Morris did lay out an earlier version.
Many other courses linked to Morris are just as worthy of praise, such as Tain Golf Club near Dornoch, the Balcomie Links at Crail Golfing Society in Fife and the celebrated Nairn Golf Club. St. Andrews' New Course and Jubilee Course are popular choices, too. The Old Course at Prestwick Golf Club, host of 24 Open Championships, still has several original Morris greens in play.
We've compiled photos from 32 of his courses to showcase the depth of his impact as an architect. His birthday, June 16, is celebrated each year on Twitter as #TomMorrisDay. Tell us about your favorite Old Tom Morris course in the comments below.