Royal Birkdale Golf Club

John Henry Taylor is rightly regarded as a golfing pioneer. He was one of the best golfers of his era then played a significant role in shaping the way that the game is now played. Born into an ordinary, working class family in Devon, his father passed away when he was only eleven years of age, forcing him to leave school in favour of paid employment.

Hawtree is the longest continuous practice of golf course construction and design on record. Started by Frederick George Hawtree in 1912, the firm was then operated by his son Frederick William Hawtree after World War II until grandson Martin Grant Hawtree took over the reins in the early 1980s.

Hawtree is the longest continuous practice of golf course construction and design on record. Started by Frederick George Hawtree in 1912, the firm was then managed by his son Frederick William Hawtree when he joined the firm in 1938. Grandson Martin Grant Hawtree entered the family business in the early 1970s, taking over operations a decade later.

Hawtree is the longest continuous practice of golf course construction and design on record. Currently, Martin Hawtree is the third generation practitioner in a business started by his grandfather, Frederick George Hawtree, more than a hundred years ago. His father, Frederick William Hawtree, ran the firm after World War II before passing on the baton to Martin.

Tom Mackenzie was born in the west of Scotland, the son of a mechanical engineer father and a mother who was a historian and Old Norse linguist. While still a teenager, his family moved to the Highlands and he spent a good part of his formative golfing years in Dornoch working as a greenkeeper and a caddy.