Tales From The Back Nine

ANCESTORS I~By Monroe S. Miller

Traffic was light and yet it seemed to place. It was so long ago when he maneuver a car with the steering on take forever to make the relatively short died-January 27, 1717-and so the wrong side of the dash along the trip to Chicago. I swung into the parking much had happened in all the years wrong side of the highway. The signs 101at O'Hare's international terminal since. for the A80 came up quickly and I left and took the nearest parking space. William hadn't come to Boston from the heavy traffic behind and turned Clear weather practically insured near in eastern Ross-shire, northeast toward . my flight would leave on time, and the by choice. He had been a Traffic thinned dramatically and that high pressure centered over the east- soldier fighting for fhe interests of King gave me a chance to give attention to ern U.S. made it likely this trip to Charles I and was captured by the landscape I was moving through. It Scotland via Washington D.C.'s Dulles Cromwell. Along with other prisoners, was mostly flat, with some rolling hills Airport would make good time. Arrival he was shipped from on interrupted by slag heaps, ugly signs schedules don't always give enough November 11, 1651 for banishment in of civilization. credit to strong west to east tailwinds. America. At Stirling I first started seeing the The flight left O'Hare Who could miss the twist in life's beauty Scotland is known for and the at 12:30 p.m. and landed Dulles at events? William's decedents-grand- Scotland seen in photographs. Quickly 4:30 p.m. An hour and a quarter later sons, great grandsons, nephews, the colors green and purple dominat- we took off for . The plane grand nephews and more-would ed. Youth on a farm and a career on a was full and I had a window seat. I fake the first stand against the King, golf course have highlighted my love watched the airline crew load the lug- only a little more than a half century of the landscape. Stirling is set in gage of our D.C. passengers-it after his death, right there on the lovely fertile farmland, along the River seemed about a third of them were Lexinqton green and a short couple Forth. I saw the first castle here, sitting accompanied by their golf clubs. hundred yards from his grave. The 77 high on a volcanic cone that thrusts Who could be surprised? Scotland, minutemen who confronted the British above the plain below. It had been after atl, is the ancestral home of qolt. on April 19, 1775 after warnings from there since Roman times, between Curious. Ancestors inspired my trip Paul Revere included seven Munroes. A.D. 80 and A.D. 410. - family ancestors and a career ances- Much to my surprise the Scottish The temptation to stray and explore tor and an ancestral ground. customs area wasn't staffed, so we around Stirling was great and not I lost track of time on the transat- hustled right through to the baggage unlike that calling me to find the old lantic flight. clocks claim. Thank goodness my one suit- golf courses I'd read about that were showed it was almost 6:00 a.m. when case had arrived with me. I grabbed it (Continued on page 25) I walked from the plane info the air- and headed to the car rental desk to port. My watch still read Wisconsin get keys to my reserved car. With time-12:00 midnight. some luck I'd get out of the airport and Not long after our departure from in front of the Glasgow morning rush PENDELTON Dulles my excitement subsided and I hour. slipped into thoughtful reflection about The civility of the Scottish people I'd TURF SUPPLY this long planned and even longer dealt with so far impressed me. Even Ed Witkowski dreamed about pilgrimage. What coin- the gent who corrected my pronuncia- cidence that an individual could make uon-c'u's Glaz'go, matey"-did so • Chemicals one voyage and return to the places, with politeness. I'm not sure you'd • Full Line of Turf so close in proximity, where family- experience the same at O'Hare at six Products the Clan -and work-Qld Tom in the morning. He even laughed when • Competitive Pricing Morris-lived. I suggested ''you guys talk funny." I recalled the sentimental moment, I pulled the rented Sierra ouf of the • New Product the exact moment, I promised myself I airport and onto Highway M8, heading Information would travel to Scotland and see for the A80. Glasgow, from its high- where my seven-great grandfather ways, looks pretty much like big cities Satisfaction Guaranteed lived and worked before coming to in our countries. Its ancient cathedral America in 1652. I was at the foot of rose up from the city in the early morn- 414-421-6474 his gravestone in the Lexington, ing light, stark and dignified. 9305 Oak Creek Ct. Massachusetts, flushed with emotion Admittedly I couldn't pay too much Franklin, WI 53132 at finding this ancient relative's resting attention; my hands were full trying 10

23 (Continued from page 23) history- Taln where WiUiam was born had given me. so near, no matler where you were in and raised, , Tarbot, , With notes in hand I left. AI every Scotland. I resisted because I had a Avoch, Fortrose, Cromarth. She told stop for the next two days, as I reservation at the Hotel, me how to get to the summit of Ben roamed the and areas sur- many miles and hours north. Wyvis. I Inquired about Culloden, rounding , I felt awe and The geography changed dramatical- where the and Mackenzies pride. And gratitude for the good luck ly around Perth. Farmland was less fre- ended their centuries of fighting over of making this trip. quent north of Perth as Route A9 now control of this area of Scotland in one While I was in Tain and the country- led a little northwest. It followed Glen big battle. The Munres lost their chief, side near there, I made my first visit to Gary through the Pass of Drumochter but the Mackenzies lost their land. an ancestral home of my profession. to Glen Truim. I allowed one side trip "And how do you get to Foulis As the crow flies, Tatn is only five just past the town of Pitlochry in the Castle?" I asked her. I penciled her miles from Dornoch, home of the Grampian Mountains. At that point you reply with the other instructions she Royal Dornoch Golf Club. To get there are well aware that you are in the . A few miles west of the Pass of Killiecrankie is the "Queen's View", a breathtaking spot over Loch Tummel. I bought a cup of WhenIt Comes tD TuifManagement ... hot coffee and relaxed there for a bit. The push for on the way to and a needed rest at the hotel took me through Spey River Valley. The excellent malts from here made the area around Kingussie the best whiskey making region, not only in Scotland but in the world. I wished for an appreciation for Scotch this once, a taste I'd never developed. Dusk had fallen when I reached the Ben Wyvis Hotel at Strathpeffer. What a relief! It seemed so long ago that I'd left Middleton. Fact was, this was my first chance since leaving to get show- ered and a long night's rest. I was exhausted, not just from travel but from the tension associated with driving on the left-hand side of the road. The hotel was old and a little worn but very clean and comfortable. It was carpeted by beautiful woven car- pets that had been made even more beautiful with time. I think I was asleep before my head hit the pillow. The morning dawned sunny, a pleasant break from the dreary cloudy weather of the previous 24 hours. I had a little breakfast before stepping Your cne-srop shop for all turf management needs. Ask about our outside. When I did I was treated to the immaculate grounds around the hotel. cornplete line of chemicals, fertib'zers and seed, The lawn was a deep green, healthy and thick, Far off was Ben Wyvis, namesake of the hotel and one of the Wilbt-lr-EUis.. dedicated 10 quality, customer Sel'ln.ce and highest mountains in the British Isles. environmemal stewardship. Its snowy top was ringed by forests of spruce, a calendar picture scene. The fresh air and my refreshed body made Contact Ed Witkowski at me anxious to get started with a few or )'OU: days of exploring my ancestral home. (414) 534-3334 the 800 number nearest The friendly elderly gal at the hotel IL 800747·7400 desk was helpful when I inquired about WI 800728-1090 directions. "What toons er ya lcokin' for, lad------~ die?" she asked. WILBIJR ELLIS I went through my list of villages and ntu II 'In 1111' churches significant to our

25 1drove A9 from Tain across the bridge time, before being banished to recording Alexander'S pay for 1820- over Dornoch Firth to Evellx. turned America. four pounds! He was employed for right and drove the two miles to Reluctantly, I rose to bid my hosts "taking charge of the links and provid- Domoch. The course had been used for farewell. I needed to move on, east, ing accommodations for the members' golf since 1616. The village was charm- toward my next stop on the east coast boxes." He was atso to pay special ing and small, a picture perfect for a of Scotland. attention to keeping the holes in good postcard from Scotland. The club was a The discovery of oil in the North order. Don't ask me how to interpret long walk up from the center of the vil- Sea was a major find, and it was evi- the fact that in 1822 his pay was lage. The setting was breathtaking. It dent by an offshore platform in the docked to three pounds. He must've was steep in some places, rolling in oth- Cromarty Bay. I expected to see more had a terrible year in 1821! ers. It was craggy in some comers, gen- as I left Inverness and headed for I left the old Granite City and headed tle and smooth in others. Nairn and Elgin. The highway would south along the coastline, on AgO, trav- II one place held everything about take me close to the North Sea. elling through quaint fishing villages my Scotland trip in its hands, this little At Elgin A96 turned to the south- along the way. Off the coast the skyline village was the place. Dornoch was at east toward Aberdeen. The city for was punctuated with huge drilling rigs, the heart of where my lamily began generations had been known for its harvesting the North Sea underground and it was a significant golf venue. fishing and distilling industries. Now oil oil. I stayed at a small place, on the This old course was Donald Ross' had brought unheard of prosperity. I water, at Thornyshire Bay. course-he had been a greenkeeper asked an old fellow about it when I Morning fog slowed my departure, and clubmaker here. He left with ideas pulled into a petrol station outside but it was the perfect excuse to sleep and attitudes that created 500 golf Aberdeen for fuel. a little later after a busy day previous. courses in his life. History has it Ross "Fit are ye talkin' aboot, man? The Although it was tempting to stay on became Interested in course design as oil's bin line-it doesna' interfere wi' a teenager, when Old Tom Morris visit- oar whiskey an' oar fish." ed Dornoch from St. Andrews in 1886 He laughed and added "Naehin' to work on the Dornoch golf course. interferes wi' fish an' whiskey!" Yes, our Old Tom Morris. THE Old I told him I wasn't really interested Tom Morris. Our ancestor. in any of them. I was focused on find- I saved the best until last. Foulis ing the Aberdeen Golf Links. Castle had been the home to the I had little lime but was driven to Munros for the past 600 years. The see the golf course and maybe lrquire -2IIII1lIRD residents 01 Foulis today, still Munros, about the great irony I had discovered make family members from the world years ago. I hoped to convince course over feel welcome. Fields of oats and officials to let me peruse old records. n oz/lOOO' ft barley and forages surrounded the The irony was this: Ihe green keeper castle, located near Evanton. It faced at Aberdeen Golf Links in the early south, overlooking Cromarty Firth. I 1820s was Alexander Monroe. It took drove to the front of the castle, parked little imagination or convincing for me and got out of my car, pausing long to believe that he probably was an enough for a long look. A formidable ancient relative. Aberdeen was really stone and wrought iron fence surround close to the towns and villages and Foulis. A flag with the Clan coat of farms of those known to my relatives arms fluttered above the castle in the 01 old. The spelling 01 his name had Wind, yellow with its familiar red eagle. likely changed as mine had-from Captain Patrick Munro welcomed Munro to Munroe to Monroe. In the me at the top of the stairway at the 1820s people with the same name double entrance. 'welcome to the from area most likely were related. home of all Munros," he said to me There was no doubt for me. At some while offering his right hand. future trip I would investigate the oz!lOO1J2 ft After some pleasant conversation, genealogy of Alexander and find the this distant relative of mine allowed shared relative. me to wander at my leisure through For now I was struck by the coinci- what was his home. I looked through dence that so long ago such an the high ceiling rooms. I climbed into uncommon profession was occupied Outstanding,longlasting the four story tower with its barrel- by a Monroe. Who knows-if vaulted chamber and 16th century gun Alexander had lived near Tain where control ofdollar spot, ports. From there I could look across William Munroe was raised, he was the blue water of Cromarty Firth and only a lew miles from Dornoch. He brown patch, pythium see the crops and pastures of the could have learned his craft there, Black Isle on the other side. even if it was before the days 01 and more. Once satislied with my self guided "Aoyal~. RHONE POULENC AG COMPANY tour, I rested on a bench in the sub- Club employees were gracious P,O. Box 12014,2 T. W. AlexanderDrive stantial courtyard, admiring the lawn although far less outgoing than the Research TrianglePark, NC27709 and the gardens. I wondered if old same people at my club would be. I 9191 549·2000 William Munroe had been here at any- was allowed to look at the documents

26 AgO for the sake of time, I continued S1. Andrews, golf course and town, was the New Course, another of Old along the coast on A92. The going have honored our ancestor, Old Tom Tom's I could see. was slow, but the beautiful scenery Morris, for all the time during his career It seemed likely that little had was worth it. It also took me within a and after his death. His presence is changed on the Old Course since few minutes of Carnoustie, another of everywhere. Residents talk about him Tom's departure, despite all that has Scotland's famous links. as if he is still leaning on one of the rails happened in golf course management There was wisdom, as it tumed out, at the 18th green, watching the players, just during my own career. He was for staying on the coastal route. Slow moving them along or giving a word of known to cry "Mair saund, Honeyman" travel and an easy pace gave me think- advice. Old Tom won the British Open to his assistant; some seem to think ing time and time to feel a part of the four times. So did his young son sand topdressing is something new to land where golf began. The Scots call Tommy. Old Tom finished close in the past dozen or twenty years. this linksland, an old word for the land many other Open championships. I Nowadays some courses have greens at the edge of the sea. The land was found myself on Tom Morris Drive in a rollers, "new equipment for new always considered worthless, except to newer part of town, close to the med- times." Yet I would bet Old Tom Morris shepherds and their flocks. And to the ical center. I shopped in the Tom Morris himself had rolled the greens at St. early golfers. What I saw for miles was pro shop, now run by his descendants. Andrews a hundred years ago, or sandy shorelines and beaches, dunes And players on the Old Course finish more. Our solid tine aerifiers were Old large and small and grasses of all their game on the eighteenth hole, a Tom's pitchforks. We have low nitro- kinds. I felt the ever present northeast hole named for Old Tom. gen programs, a relatively new wind and saw the multitude of green I ventured to the cathedral ruins on approach to fertility. New? Old Tom shades in contrast with the blue water the east side of St. Andrews, to the Morris never had anything but low fer- and the sand. It was an experience that cemetery. In no time I found the grave tility programs for his course. is difficult to really describe. It has to be of Old Tom Morris, close by the resting Some are working to get their golf seen and felt in person. place of his son Tom. Young Tom courses closed a day a week in the Carnoustie interested me for any passed away in 1875, at the age of 24. U.S. Old Tom's saying about Sunday number of reasons-Ben Hogan's Old Tom lived until 1908, to the age of golf was well known: "If you gentlemen British Open win here in 1953, the 87. j also happened upon the tomb- dinna need a rest on the Sawbath. the course reputation as one of the world's stone of Allan Robertson. links does." greatest and toughest, and others. But Old Tom Morris was born in St. My time in St. Andrews had to end. I mostly I wanted to see it because Old Andrews and lived most of his life in was sad as I walked to my car for the Tom Morris had laid out the last eight the town. In 1851, not long after his trip to the Glasgow airport and the holes, years ago, completing the job marriage, he was invited by Colonel flight home. began by his mentor, Allan Robertson. Fairlie to go with him to Ayrshire, south I promised myself to return to this I noticed there the tolerance of the and west of St. Andrews on the west country of ancestry. Every New Year's Scottish golfers-Carnoustie was a coast. Tom was 30 years old. He laid Eve we sing Rabbie Burns' song "Auld haven not just for the golf players but out the links of Prestwick and stayed Lang Syne". The words mean "old by for joggers, walkers, fishermen, kite until 1865. They were happy years for since" or "the days of long ago". They fliers and anyone else it seemed. Such him. The course was known for its say a lot about Scotland and her peo- is not Ihe case on my home course-- magnificent turf and became one of the ple. The Scottish love the past and too much worry about lawsuits and champion courses of Great Britain. have preserved it for sentimentalists vandalism. The Royal and Ancient Club in St. like me. The least I and others like me The road 10 S1. Andrews took me Andrews invited Tom back in 1865. His can do is visit. 'W' through Dundee, across the Firth of duties were given to him like this: "To Tay, around the St. Andrews Bay and keep the putting greens in good order, into the town. Excitement and anticipa- to repair when necessary, and to make tion filled me to the brim. I wasted little the hole." For heavy work, Tom was time in finding a room, unpacking the allowed help at the rate of one man's IHI KALO Sierra and getting cleaned up to look labor for two days a week. He was 10 around and find something to eat. work under the Green Committee. He I had an immediate love for this was paid 50 pounds per year as custo- town. You have to, if you love golf. St. dian and 20 pounds a year for upkeep Andrews is taken over by golf, despite of the links. its university and cathedral and scores The day was beautiful and there of interesting shops. St. Andrews has was nowhere in the world I'd rather be Turf and Soil Wetting Agent two courses, but the Old Course is the than where I was. Hanging out, soak- A Proven Water Management Tool home of golf. You sense here that it jng up the tradition, leaning on the rail- Increases Water Efficiency Without really is a "royal and ancient qame." ings outside the clubhouse at the 18th The cold East Fife wind off the North green, watching others making their Increased. Watertng Sea came up and I could see how own pilgrimage. The image of the club- Distributed by: Scotsmen of hundreds of years ago house, the hotel, the Bay and Old tried to keep warm by hitting round Tom's Shop would never leave me, nf SPRING VALLEY. stones with sticks. ''Where else would that was a certainty. M Turf Products the game more likely have started than I had seen the nine holes he laid out here?" I asked myself, now knowing at Dornoch, and only yesterday my 1-800-635-2123 the answer for sure first hand. feet were on Carnoustie. Here also

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