from the original 9 holes to 12 and then to 18 will have involved Jack in extra work. Close on twenty years were to pass before the burden was eased through the appointment of a greenkeeper under Jack. With golf being new he will also have been in demand for teaching. Experienced


players were asked to


stand aside and allow new and younger members to be taught. Over the years many will have been grateful to Jack Morris for their introduction to the game. The playing skill of his uncle Tom and cousin Tommy was not inherited by Jack. He played in the Open on a number of occasions but without distinction, never finishing higher than 16th. His skill was tested at least twice a year when non- resident Royal Liverpool


members,


visiting for the Spring and Autumn meetings, would often bring a professional with them and play challenge matches. St Andrews, Prestwick, Westward Ho! and others would be represented and Jack, often with John Ball, would play for the reputation of Hoylake. His game needed to be in trim for these encounters. Jack married a local girl, Margaret


Jane Smith, in Llangollen in 1877 (she was possibly living there at the time). This marriage linked the Morris name with another that was to become equally famous to golfers a few years later—Ball. Margaret,


through her mother, shared


a grandfather with eight times Amateur Champion John Ball and was thus his first cousin. Jack and Margaret became parents of


ten children, four sons and six daughters. Despite moving south Jack kept his St Andrews family link alive, including a cousin’s married name, Hunter, in the names of his youngest son James. He was also a pall bearer at Old Tom’s funeral in 1908. The two eldest sons, Tom and


George, emigrated to America before World War One and served in the US Army when the Americans entered the conflict in 1917. Tragically the other two sons, John and James, were killed while fighting in Liverpool regiments. They are commemorated on a plaque in the Lady Chapel in St Hildeburgh’s church in Hoylake and on the War Memorial on Grange Hill in West Kirby. Tom and George both followed golf


There was never a finer gentleman than Morris


careers in America with periodic trips back to Britain. George, at great age, visited for the last time in 1967 when he had lunch at the Royal Liverpool. Surprisingly the ten children were succeeded by only two grandchildren born to the youngest daughter, the other daughters remaining unmarried. As the twentieth century dawned Jack


Morris, after thirty years’ service, was approaching an elder statesman’s role at Hoylake. The ideas for many of the refinements to the links as it became a respected championship venue would in most cases have come from the fine golfers amongst the Royal Liverpool membership, but Jack’s presence with advice and his experience in helping implement changes will have been invaluable. Holding the Morris name was a considerable asset but he gained a reputation in his own right. He was in demand to design


courses for many


of the new golf Clubs that were being formed. And through being at Hoylake so long, and acting as starter on the first tee at championships, he became known to all in the world of golf. The great writer and Times golf


correspondent, Bernard Darwin, wrote about Jack Morris in fulsome terms on more than one occasion. “There was never a finer gentleman than Morris and what fun it was to get him talking about


ROYAL LIVERPOOL GOLF CLUB 2017 MAGAZINE


13


old times” is a typical example. The continuity this remarkable man for


provided the first sixty years of


the Royal Liverpool Golf Club was a priceless part of the foundations that were laid which enable us to enjoy a Club and links admired the world over. ■


Above: The clubhouse as it would have looked in Jack Morris’ day. His workshop was on the right hand side.


Below: The Morris family grave.


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