THANKS FOR THE MEMORY: Murcar and the Northern Open

            Eric Brown in action at Murcar in the 1961 Northern Open won by Harry Weetman.

                                      Picture by courtesy of The Press and Journal

MURCAR CAPTAIN DAVID GRANT (when he was a boy!) CADDIED FOR ERIC BROWN, THE 1955 WINNER

By COLIN FARQUHARSON

Colin@scottishgolfview.com

The announcement that the Paul Lawrie Golf Centre is going to sponsor the Northern Open at Murcar Links from June 17 to 19 brought memories flooding back, not only to myself but also to David Grant, the present club captain.

I can remember the days when Bill Connon and Jack Hall ran the Northern Open - long before the Scottish PGA took it over.

Bill and Jack would raise each year's prizemoney from the original rota of host clubs, such as Royal Aberdeen, Murcar, Nairn, Inverness, Royal Dornoch and Moray, as well as from golf-minded

businessmen in the Aberdeen area.

The tournament, until the Scottish PGA took over, was played, usually in a bitterly-cold wind, in early April.

I can remember the tournament's great rivals, John Panton (record-setting seven wins) and Eric Brown (five), dominating the scene with 12 wins between them from 1948 to 1962.

Panton, pictured right at his peak, the master of ball control, I saw playing  long irons down the shaft and with a half to threequarter swing,  low and straight into the teeth of a gale-force wind for shots of little more than 100 yards at Lossiemouth.

I can remember Open champion-to-be New Zealand left hander Bob Charles and South African star Harold Henning playing in the Northern Open at Murcar in 1961.

Harry Bannerman (pictured left) I saw win the Northern Open three times in the space of six years. Harry a golf writer's dream with his quotes, win or lose. 

Then there was Brian Barnes with his can of beer placed beside the tee marker while he drove. That would not be tolerated nowadays!

And I was there in 1992 at Murcar when Peter Smith (pictured left) set a Northern Open and  Tartan Tour record low 72-hole aggregate of 264.
And I was there at Meldrum House last year when James Byrne, the first man to win the Northern Open two years in a row since Colin Brooks (1989-90), eventually lowered Smith's record to 261 (19 under par for Meldrum House). I suppose that Peter still holds the under-par record because 264 at Murcar equates to 20 under par.

And so it goes on.

But I was merely a golf writer, a paid onlooker.

David Grant was actively involved in the Northern Open, first as a caddie and later as a low handicap amateur entrant.

David caddied for Eric Brown when he won the Northern Open at David's home club, Murcar, in 1955.

            David Grant, captain of Murcar Links Golf Club with the Northern Open trophy.

Here is David Grant's story:

"I was a 15 year old schoolboy and had just become a junior member at Murcar. The Northern Open was played in the Easter school holidays at that time and I cycled out to Murcar as I stayed in Sunnyside Road, Aberdeen.

"In the first two rounds I caddied for a lesser known player from the Central Belt somewhere, I can't remember his name, and Eric Brown had a local, semi-pro caddie, a lazy kind of guy who stayed in the Spittal and who worked at Murcar and Royal Aberdeen  at the weekends. 

"In the second round Brown played the wrong ball for his second shot at the 11th, the drive being blind. Eric blamed his caddie for not checking the ball and sacked him.

"My man did not make the cut so Bill McHardy, the Murcar club pro at the time, thought I was the right person for Brown in the last two rounds, which traditionally were played over one day, the Thursday. 

"I used a caddie car that day and at the end of 72 holes it was a tie between Eric Brown and his great rival John Panton.

"It was an 18-hole play-off for the title and Eric Brown wanted me to carry his bag for this round but he discarded any unwanted items from it to make it lighter. 

"We won, note the 'we,' but the only thing I can remember about it is at the fourth green, I was standing at the edge of the green and it was Brown's putt. Panton's full time caddie said to me 

'Get up there, laddie, and hold the flag for your man.'

"I can't remember what Eric Brown (pictured right) paid me but it was quite generous and he took me into the pro's shop and told me to pick any club I wanted. I had a mixed set of hickories and should have taken a driver but I was still using my mother's 1920s Rubber Shop putter so I chose a John Letter's Golden Goose which was fairly new on the market. I still have both putters to this day.

"I played in the Northern Open in the early 1960s as a three-handicapper, you will have to check which year it was. Harry Bannerman and I played with Bob Charles and Bob Tuohy, an Australian, in a practice round. 

"Charles, pictured right in his prime, was trying out a new set of John Letters clubs so he played a nine-iron at the par 3 fifth to see how strong it was and reached it OK! 

"They were both immaculately dressed and Charles had his hair well Brylcreamed. We were more impressed with Bob Touhy as he hit the ball so straight whereas Charles hit everthing with a draw. But the New Zealand left hander was a marvellous putter.

"Harry Weetman and Harold Henning both played at the Northern Open at Murcar in 1961 when Weetman was the winner.

Editor's note: Weetman (pictured right) was suspended by the PGA at the time - for publicly criticising the body's hierarchy - and unable to play in their events but because the Northern Open was an independent tournament, the Selsdon Park pro was able to play in it.

David Grant continues:

"Weetman was an extremely powerful player and Henning, with his Bulls Eye putter, was thought to be the best putter in the world.

"Eric Brown, the ex-fireman in a British Rail engine, was a heavy smoker and he liked his dram, a complete contrast to 'Gentleman John' Panton."

WINNERS OF NORTHERN OPENS AT MURCAR AND THEIR TOTALS

1933 Jack McLean (Hayston) (am) 294

1946 W S Forrester (Belgium) 305

1955 Eric Brown (Buchanan Castle) 283 (after play-off v John Panton).

1961 Harry Weetman (Selsdon Park) 282

1968 David Webster (Lundin Links) 278

1974 Willie Milne (Crieff) 277

1985 Brian Barnes (Ellersley House Hotel) 274

1992 Peter Smith (Kings Links) 264 (record low).
2001 Graham Rankin (Drumpellier) 203 (reduced to three rounds by bad weather) 

Another flashback - courtesy of The P and J - to the1961 Northern Open at Murcar with Nairn's Kenny Cameron, who later became the Tournament Director before the Scottish PGA took over, displaying the fisherman's catch, from the turn that traverses the seventh and 15th fairways. Also in the picture Harold Henning and others you might recognise. For instance that is J Iver McGee, who would later become club captain, is the man on the extreme right of the picture.
Iver's widow, son and grandson are still members of the Murcar club.
The man to the immediate right of Kenny Cameron is either Hugh or Bill Livingston from Peterhead. Can't remember which one!
Interesting to note in this picture and the one at the start of the article, that golf-watchers wore their "normal" street clothes out on the links. Nowadays they would have on their golf gear, waterproof jackets, etc. Not to mention the golf caps that came in to replace bonnets and hats.
If you have any memories of the Northern Open - especially the ones at Murcar - Email Colin Farquharson at Colin@scottishgolfview.com

FOOTNOTE FROM MURCAR LINKS CAPTAIN DAVID GRANT:

Sorry I can't remember what that building was (see picture at top of article)  but it is on the sand hill which belonged to Joss the haulage contractor at the Bridge of Don and where the tip was later built in the 80's or 90's. 

In the other photo of Harold Henning etc it is Iver McGee and Bill Livingston of Peterhead. His brother Hugh was a member of Murcar for a couple of years about 1960 and I played with him quite a lot. I once played in the three or four-day tournament a Peterhead during the Trades fortnight about the same time, qualified for the match play, beat Hugh in the first round in the morning and was narrowly beaten by Bill in the afternoon. 

Eric Buthlay, the Aberdeen solicitor who ran the event, warned me if I had beaten both Livingston brothers on the same day I would have been run out of town!

In the Eric Brown photo at the start of the article, the chap with the long coat and bonnet next to the caddie is Murcar member Douglas Murray who was a killer at the slaughter house in Hutcheon Street, as was his brother Tom, both of whom were dance teachers in the evenings I believe.

Harry Weetman won the Northern Open in 1961 and the joke among members was that he was so powerful that he didn't go over the hill at the 13th with his drive, he went through it!