OLD TOM MORRIS

Tom Morris was one of the founder members of the St Nicholas Golf Club. He was Greenkeeper to the Prestwick Golf Club from 1851 to 1864 when he returned to St Andrews as Greenkeeper to the R&A. He took up his duties early in July 1851 and finding quite a number of golfers outside the newly formed Prestwick Club he visualized the possibility of these individuals playing the game in their spare time forming the nucleus of another club. The idea was pursued by Morris and when there was sufficient interest a meeting of those interested was held in the Red Lion Inn on 3rd November 1851. He proposed that the Club should be known as The Mechanics Club, but it changed in 1858 to St Nicholas Golf Club. He was an Honorary Member of the Club.

CHARLIE HUNTER

Being half of the famous pair of golfers in the old black and white picture of our original members, Charlie Hunter was a prodigious golfer winning the Eglinton Medal a number of times before becoming an apprentice to Tom Morris. This was the beginning of a life-long friendship. At the age of nineteen Charlie Hunter became Captain of St Nicholas 1856-58, and played in the very first Open with Morris in 1860. He became Professional at Royal Blackheath and in 1868 he returned to work at Prestwick Golf Club until his death in 1921. He laid out various courses including our Monktonmiln Farm course, our Prestwick Moor course and finally our current course at Grangemuir Road. He was an Honorary Member of the Club.

ANDREW STRATH

Strath was the only player to challenge the early dominance of Willie Park and Old & Young Tom Morris in The Open Championship, winning the belt in 1865 to become the only person other than Park or the Morris’s to have his name on the belt, before Young Tom made it his property, with the third of three successive wins in 1870. Strath also finished second in The Open Championship in 1864, third in 1860 and fourth in 1863 & 1867. When Tom Morris left Prestwick to return to St. Andrews in 1865, Andrew Strath succeeded him as keeper of the green at Prestwick, where he died of tuberculosis in 1868, aged 32. His grave can be found in the burial ground of the Auld Kirk, overlooking the present first green of the Prestwick course.

JOHN GRAY

John Gray was the only iron clubhead maker in the west of Scotland. A blacksmith to trade, his forge was situated at the corner of Main Street and Gardener Street in Prestwick and all his heads were hand-forged. He was Captain 1852-1853, our second Captain, and an example of his work is displayed inside the Clubhouse. When the St Nicholas Club was formed in 1851, he made the club-forging side of his business particularly successful and no golfer in the west of Scotland considered his set of clubs of any value until he possessed a “John Gray” cleet or iron.

JAMES HENRY ROGER

James Henry Roger was a prosperous and respected Glaswegian business man who at one time was a bodyguard to Queen Victoria, had a hand in the founding of Rangers Football Club, owned one of Glasgow’s most iconic bar/restaurants and was involved in a long-running court battle over the design of a revolutionary golf ball – the ProV1 of its day. Roger was a member of St Nicholas in the club’s early days and was a contemporary of Old Tom Morris. He donated a major trophy, the Roger Casket, that is still a significant Open Competition event in the Club's calendar. It has a separate history here

JAMES KINNELL

Born 1876 in Leven, James, or Jimmy as he was known, became the professional at Prestwick St Nicholas in 1897, but having only been in the post for about a year was approached to move to Royal Norwich GC. A frantic search ensued, calling upon the knowledge of Tom Morris and Charlie Hunter, whose unanimous recommendation was to hire Jimmy’s brother David. Beyond his appearances in 11 Open championships, Jimmy moved from Norwich to the leafy Purley Downs GC where he retired.

DAVID KINNELL

Born 1879 in Leven, David played in the 1898 Open for the first time as a pro whilst working at Leven Thistle GC. Appointed professional to succeed his brother at Prestwick St Nicholas he laid out an 18 hole course for the Ladies Club in 1906 with Charlie Hunter. He established and operated a club-making business in Prestwick with his brother called D & J Kinnell. Laterally he designed the 9-hole seaside stretch of the current Girvan GC. David retired at 57 having been professional at St Nicholas for 34 years, becoming caretaker of Prestwick putting green until he died in 1951, 100 years after his Club had been formed.

JAMES ROBB

​Moving from St Andrews to Prestwick, the young James Robb very quickly established himself as an impressive golfer, cementing that fact with his first win of the Amateur Championship at Hoylake in 1906, having been runner-up in 1897 and 1900. He played for Scotland against England in 1902, 1905-7. He was a made a Life Member of the Club and in 1917 he became Secretary and Treasurer retiring in 1921. His medals can be seen in the British Golf Museum in St Andrews.

ROBERT ANDREW

He was recognised as a force in British Amateur golf. A Scottish internationalist he held the Amateur record on the St Nicholas course until this was broken by Gordon Lockhart. He represented Scotland against England between 1905 and 1910 and in the 1908 Open at Prestwick set a new Amateur record for the course of 72. He won the Arrol Cup on five occasions and in 1911 left Scotland to take up an appointment to the Newhaven Country Golf Club in the USA.

JOHN WILSON

This local teacher won the Arrol Cup on six occasions and had the distinction to win the first Scottish Championship played at St Andrews in 1922 when he defeated Edward Blackwell at the 19th hole. His success was repeated at Prestwick in 1931 when he defeated Andrew Jamieson by 2 & 1. Selected for the Walker Cup matches at St Andrews in 1923 and represented Scotland against England in 1922-24 and 1926 and against Ireland in 1932. He won the Hillhouse Cup on three successive occasions between 1921 and 1923.

WILLIAM TULLOCH

Originally a member of Douglas Park GC in Glasgow, the family moved after the First World War to Prestwick where Willie continued his love of the game, his endeavors taking him to national and international achievements mainly in the 1920s and 1930s and his record of trophies won is highly impressive. He was the Arrol Cup winner in 1924, 1926 and 1934, represented Scotland between 1929-32, and was his country’s Captain in 1932. Willie also took part in exhibition matches in various parts of the country along with players such as Henry Cotton. His list of achievements in the Amateur Championships is equally impressive and is a player whom we should record as one of the most consistent Amateur golfers in major events in the years after the First World War.

PAUL GIRVAN

At the age of 16, Paul was the first player to win both the West of Scotland Boys’ match play and stroke play championships. He was a bronze medalist in the Scottish Amateur Championship in 1986 and represented Scotland the same year against England, Ireland and Wales in which the Scottish team was victorious in all three matches. In 1987 Paul played for Scotland against Germany and also in the European Team Championship before being picked to play in the Walker Cup. For his long list of achievements, Paul was awarded Honorary Life Membership of the Club.

MATT ALEXANDER

Matt holds the record for the number of Club Championship wins. Between the years of 1952 and 1975 he won the championship no fewer than ten times, including five consecutive years from 1961 to 1965. Given his work in the family business it proved impossible for Matt to compete in open tournaments so his skills were never given the wider recognition which they so richly deserved.

NAN BAIRD

Nan enjoyed tremendous success from 1929 through the ‘30s and the ‘40s when she won the British Girls Championship, being capped 7 times for Scotland and twice for the British Isles. She was a member of the 1938 Curtis Cup team, a unique honour for a St Nicholas member. She represented Great Britain against France in 1935 and against Canada and the United States in 1938. She was given life membership by the Club in 1930, recognizing her achievement at being the first Scot to win the Girls Championship.

BETTY SINGLETON

The commemoration of Betty’s contribution to Prestwick St Nicholas by way of a foursomes competition and trophy understates the great honour she brought to the Club. Her ten caps for Scotland, her selection as a Curtis Cup reserve and two caps for the British Isles against Belgium and France are matched by her success regionally and locally, as well as 19 victories in the Ladies St Nicholas Club Championship between 1933 and 1973. She also held the course record at the Club until the layout was changed almost 20 years after she died. Betty was made an Honorary Member of the Club in 1974.

GAVIN LAWRIE

​Gavin represented Scotland in 1990 and 1991 against England, Ireland and Wales having won the East of Scotland Championship in 1990. Even more impressively, Gavin then went on to be Club Champion of Prestwick St Nicholas in the three consecutive years from 2004, an impressive achievement.

MALCOLM FOGGO

Malcolm joined St Nicholas in 1951 and quickly identified himself as a very accomplished golfer winning many club competitions in his time. Malcolm won the Jubilee Cup on five occasions between 1956 and 1983 and still holds the record for winning the Jubilee the most times. He, at one time, played off a handicap of 1.  Malcolm was elevated to Club Captain in 1974 and in 1981 took over the role of Match and Handicap secretary, a position he held for an amazing 33 years. Malcolm was awarded Honorary Life Membership in 2015.