Frederick Guthrie Tait (11 January 1870 – 7 February 1900) was an

amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

er and Scottish

soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a conscripted or volunteer enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, or an officer. Etymology The word ''soldier'' derives from the Middle English word , from Old French ...

. He won

the Amateur Championship The Amateur Championship (sometimes referred to as the British Amateur or British Amateur Championship outside the UK) is a golf tournament which has been held annually in the United Kingdom since 1885 except during the two World Wars, and in 19 ...

twice, in 1896 and again in 1898, by convincing margins. Over his short golf career, Tait recorded at least 28 tournament victories. He tied for third place in

the Open Championship The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...

in both 1896 and 1897.

Early life

Born at 17 Drummond Place in the Second New Town in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, Tait was the third son of eminent

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate caus ...

and fanatical amateur golfer

Peter Guthrie Tait Peter Guthrie Tait FRSE (28 April 1831 – 4 July 1901) was a Scottish mathematical physicist and early pioneer in thermodynamics. He is best known for the mathematical physics textbook '' Treatise on Natural Philosophy'', which he co-wrote wi ...

. The young Tait was educated at the

Edinburgh Academy The Edinburgh Academy is an Independent school (United Kingdom), independent day school in Edinburgh, Scotland, which was opened in 1824. The original building, on Henderson Row in the city's New Town, Edinburgh, New Town, is now part of the Se ...

and

Sedbergh School Sedbergh School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school) in the town of Sedbergh in Cumbria, in North West England. It comprises a junior school for children aged 4 to 13 and the main school for 13 to 18 year olds. It w ...

. He was admitted to the

Royal Military College, Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC), founded in 1801 and established in 1802 at Great Marlow and High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, England, but moved in October 1812 to Sandhurst, Berkshire, was a British Army military academy for training infantry a ...

, at his second attempt, and is credited with introducing golf there. Tait was commissioned a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

in the 2nd battalion the

Leinster Regiment The Prince of Wales's Leinster Regiment (Royal Canadians) was an infantry regiment of the line in the British Army, formed in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 100th (Prince of Wales's Royal Canadian) Regiment of Foot and the 109th Regiment of Foot ...

in 1890, and then transferred as a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

to the 2nd battalion, the

Black Watch The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland (3 SCOTS) is an infantry battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland. The regiment was created as part of the Childers Reforms in 1881, when the 42nd (Royal Highland) Regiment ...

, in 1894. He learned golf at an early age and was already swinging golf clubs as a 5-year-old child. As an adult, Tait was an extremely powerful and long hitter of the ball. At

The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews is one of the oldest golf clubs in the world. It is a private members-only club based in St Andrews in Scotland. It was previously known colloquially as "The R&A", but in 2004, a new organisation kn ...

on 11 January 1893, he hit the ball 250 yards, the ball then rolling on frozen ground and coming to rest 341 yards from the

tee A tee is a stand used in sport to support and elevate a stationary ball prior to striking with a foot, club or bat. Tees are used extensively in golf, tee-ball, baseball, American football, and rugby. Etymology The word tee is derived from the ...

. 250 yards was the exact driving distance predicted possible through a careful application of backspin by Tait's father in a paper of 1891, significantly further than the 180 yards achieved at that time. Tait won

The Amateur Championship The Amateur Championship (sometimes referred to as the British Amateur or British Amateur Championship outside the UK) is a golf tournament which has been held annually in the United Kingdom since 1885 except during the two World Wars, and in 19 ...

twice (1896 and 1898), finished third in

The Open Championship The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...

twice (1896 and 1897) and was leading amateur in the same competition on three occasions.

Death and legacy

Tait was killed in action at Koodoosberg,

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

, during the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...

on 7 February 1900 and is buried there. A memorial plaque to his (and his father's) memory stands on the inner north wall of St Johns Episcopal Church on

Princes Street Princes Street ( gd, Sràid nam Prionnsan) is one of the major thoroughfares in central Edinburgh, Scotland and the main shopping street in the capital. It is the southernmost street of Edinburgh's New Town, stretching around 1.2 km (three ...

. He is also remembered in the adjacent churchyard by a granite Celtic cross on the Tait family plot on the second burial terrace down from

. A memorial plaque from Dunalister Veterans Home is now rehoused in the

Black Watch Museum Balhousie Castle, located in Perth, Scotland (on Hay Street, originally a few hundred metres north of the medieval town), was built in the 17th century. History The castle was built in 1631, although its origins are believed to go back a further ...

in Perth.

Honours

The Freddie Tait Cup is awarded annually to the leading amateur in the South African Open.

Tournament wins (28)

:''Note: This list may be incomplete.'' *1893 Royal and Ancient Golf Club Spring Club Gold MedalDuncan, David Scott, ed. (1900). The Golfing Annual, 1899–1900. London: Horace Cox. p. 3. *1894 Royal and Ancient Golf Club Royal Medal *1894 Hampshire Isle of Wight and Channel Islands Amateur Champion *1895 Royal and Ancient Golf Club Autumn Bombay Medal, Royal and Ancient Golf Club Jubilee Vase, New Luffness Leconfield Medal, New Luffness Silver Quaich, New Luffness Hope Medal *1896

, St. George's Challenge Cup, Royal and Ancient Golf Club Silver Cross Medal, Royal and Ancient Golf Club Royal Medal, Royal and Ancient Golf Club Glennie Aggregate Medal, Royal and Ancient Golf Club Calcutta Cup *1897 Royal and Ancient Golf Club Silver Cross Medal, Royal and Ancient Golf Club Spring Club Gold Medal, Royal and Ancient Golf Club Glennie Aggregate Medal, New Luffness Leconfield Medal *1898

, St. George's Challenge Cup, Royal and Ancient Golf Club Spring Club Gold Medal, New Luffness Hope Medal, New Luffness East Lothian County Cup *1899 St. George's Challenge Cup, Royal and Ancient Golf Club Silver Cross Medal, Royal and Ancient Golf Club Calcutta Cup, Royal and Ancient Golf Club Royal Medal, Royal and Ancient Golf Club Glennie Aggregate Medal

Major championships

Amateur wins (2)

Results timeline

''Note: Tait played in only The Open Championship and The Amateur Championship.'' LA = Low amateur
DNP = Did not play
"T" indicates a tie for a place
R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in match play
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10 Sources: Open Championship, Amateur Championship: 1892, 1893, 1894, 1895, 1897

Bibliography

* selections reprinted in * * * *

References

External links

*
Archives catalogue
for Frederick Guthrie Tait Collection, The Black Watch Castle & Museum, Perth, Scotland {{DEFAULTSORT:Tait, Frederick Guthrie Scottish male golfers Amateur golfers British Army personnel of the Second Boer War British military personnel killed in the Second Boer War Prince of Wales's Leinster Regiment officers Black Watch officers Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst People educated at Edinburgh Academy People educated at Sedbergh School Golfers from Edinburgh Sportspeople from Yorkshire 1870 births 1900 deaths