DONALD ROSS CLUBS RETURN TO DORNOCH
CLUBS handcrafted by legendary US golf course architect Donald Ross have returned to Dornoch.
Photo credit: Peter Wild
Jane McElligott presents clubs crafted by her great uncle Donald Ross to (from left) Brian Munro, member of Dornoch Heritage Society and Royal Dornoch, Lynne Mahoney, Curator Historylinks Museum, David Bell, trustee of Dornoch Heritage Society and immediate past captain of Royal Dornoch and Alison Davies, chair of the Dornoch Heritage Society.
Two 19th Century woods and three irons have been gifted to the Historylinks Museum golf memorabilia collection in his hometown by Vancouver based great niece Jane McElligott.
Ross was a greenkeeper and the first professional at Royal Dornoch before crossing the Atlantic to forge a career which saw him design more than 400 golf courses in North America.
His architecture was heavily influenced by the links where he learned the game.
The generous gesture to the award-winning museum has been welcomed by Royal Dornoch general manager Neil Hampton.
“Royal Dornoch is delighted that we will have more items that belonged to Donald Ross back here in Dornoch,” said Neil.
“His talent for golf course design will attract many people wishing to see where his inspiration came from.
“Having the clubs he used to play the game and other artefacts on display in the museum will give a deeper understanding of his approach to golf course architecture.”
Several Ross stamped clubs will be on display in the new clubhouse and astatue of Ross and long-time club secretary John Sutherland will be unveiled next year as the club acknowledges the Highlander’s extraordinary role in spreading the golfing gospel.
The presentation of the 19th Century golf clubs took place in front of the Ross family home in St Gilbert Street, which is a magnet for visiting US golfers making the pilgrimage to play Royal Dornoch.
Jane, who is the granddaughter of Ross’s sister Jane Calder, told the Northern Times: “I am so pleased to share these clubs with the Historylinks Museum, and with Dornoch, which was so close to Donald’s heart all his life.
“He would be so glad to know they are here now, as is the whole family.”
Jane’s father, Donnie Calder, grew up in Dornoch and emigrated to Canada with his wife in 1951.
“When my parents moved to Canada, they had no family, but Donald Ross’s daughter, Lilian, lived a couple of hundred miles away. She and my father became close,” said Jane.
“My father visited her in New Hampshire from Montreal once, and she took him up to the barn. There was a pile of clubs lying there. She said they were her father’s clubs and that he could take as many as he wanted.
“They have been in the family ever since and have been all over the place, including Geneva when I lived there.
“I thought about what I could do with them. I could have sold them, but I really did not want to do that. I wanted them to be somewhere they could be enjoyed.”
Lynne Mahoney, curator at the Historylinks Museum, welcomed the addition to the golf exhibit room portraying Dornoch’s golf heritage and key figures from the past 100-plus years.
“We are absolutely thrilled that Jane has given such an important collection of clubs owned by Donald Ross to Historylinks,” she said.
“We know that local people and visitors alike will enjoy seeing these original pieces in our museum, shedding even more light on his amazing life story.”
Ross was born in Dornoch in 1872. His father was a stone cutter and after his schooling Donald completed a five-year apprenticeship to become a joiner.
Like other young men in the town he enjoyed taking to the links and at an early age his golfing prowess was obvious to all.
Around 1886, the then Dornoch Golf Club needed a professional to make clubs and give lessons. With his golfing ability and training as a joiner, Donald was the ideal candidate.
Ross spent a year with Old Tom Morris in St Andrews learning the club making craft and a further year at Carnoustie before returning to Dornoch in 1893.
At the turn of the century he left Scotland and after a spell at Oakley Country Club near Boston he was lured to North Carolina, where the Pinehurst No 2 course is regarded as his masterpiece.