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 A less happy memory of that year was my visit to St Andrews for the
1933 Open Championship. The status of a professional golfer was
still akin to being ‘in service’ in those days and we were
customarily referred to by last name only. On my first visit to the
home of golf I was to experience for the first time the full impact
of this ‘us and them’ attitude. I went up on the night train with my
buddy and regular travelling companion, Charlie Ward, arriving at St
Andrews about 9am on the Friday prior to the week of the
championship. We decided to play as soon as we could get a time and
I went to the locker room
of the R&A clubhouse, to be met by a somewhat supercilious
attendant, resplendent in livery, who demanded to see my badge. As
in cricket a distinction was made between ‘Gentlemen’ and ‘Players’
and, believe it or not, amateurs and professionals had different
shaped badges. If memory serves me right, for that event it was
discs for the amateurs and shields for the pros. “You can’t come in
here”, said the attendant on seeing my badge. I said that we only
needed to change, but was told that it was out of bounds for pros
and we would have to find somewhere “down the side”, i.e. the side
of the 18th hole where several of the town’s clubs have their
premises. They opened their doors to the pros and emptied their
lockers for our use. We were made very welcome – the real bright
spot of the visit.
 The
following day I had my first taste of international golf and it was
not quite what I expected. I had been selected to play for England
against Scotland in a match scheduled for the Saturday prior to the
Open, which commenced on the Monday. Following the pattern of
previous internationals I had thought that the match would be played
on the Open course, but the PGA’s request to charge an entrance fee
in aid of their Benevolent Fund was refused, so they decided to play
the international at the Royal Burgess Golfing Society club at
Barnton near Edinburgh (Said to date from1735 and to be the oldest
club in the world, although the English club Royal Blackheath claims
1608 as its foundation date. Muirfield, founded in 1744, is
generally credited with a better documented claim).
 The teams travelled by coach, crossing by the Forth ferry on the
Saturday morning - there was no bridge then - and played the match
during that afternoon and evening. Nine members of our victorious
Ryder Cup team were in the party and Barnton celebrated the team’s
visit in gala style. Golf Illustrated said: “The town was en fete
with bunting and flags displayed in profusion. --- Every train and
bus disgorged hundreds of spectators until a crowd of over 5000 was
assembled”. The ferry had closed down when play ended necessitating
a long detour via Stirling and we did not arrive back in St Andrews
until nearly 2am on Sunday morning. This was hardly good preparation
for the Open and I could see why Henry Cotton again refused to play,
but I did enjoy the match. I was successful in the foursomes,
partnered by Reg Whitcombe, also making his debut, and in my singles
against Jimmy Adams from Troon, then based in Northern Ireland at
the Royal County Down club. It was the first of many encounters with
Jimmy, who was one of the great characters of our era.
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