Willie Anderson

• Born: October 21, 1879
• Birthplace: North Berwick, Scotland
• Died: October 25, 1910
• Place of death: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Sport: Golf

Early Life

William Law Anderson was born in North Berwick, Scotland, in 1879. His father, Tom Anderson, was the head professional at the North Berwick Golf Club, one of the most famous in Scotland. Willie developed an interest in golf at an early age and participated in tournaments among the local caddies even before he was a teenager. Not much is known about Willie’s early development. Although slightly built, he was strong and showed golfing talent as soon as he began playing. He was friendly and well liked, but on occasion he displayed spells of temper and introversion.

The Road to Excellence

Although Scotland was the center of the golf world during the nineteenth century, Willie decided to try his luck in the United States. His friend Frank Slazenger, the owner of a sporting goods company, influenced Willie’s decision. Slazenger found a place for Willie as the professional at a club in Rhode Island. Willie showed remarkable enterprise in coming to the United States and taking this job; he was only fourteen years old.

To understand Willie’s rise to the top, it is important to grasp that golf at the turn of the twentieth century differed greatly from golf of the present day. Golfers in Willie’s time used a gutta-percha ball that did not go very far and was difficult to control. Golf courses tended to have a large amount of rough, and golfers did not have the clubs needed to get out of trouble spots such as sand traps. Thus, accuracy counted for much more than distance. A player who could keep the ball straight and in play had a commanding edge over his competitors.

Willie’s slight physique was perfect for the style of play prominent in the early days of modern golf. His constant practice and naturally smooth swing made him one of the straightest hitters of his time. His skill was so great that he almost won the 1897 U.S. Open when he was seventeen years old. He lost when another golfer, Joe Lloyd, scored a three on the final hole, in those days a remarkable score.

An obstacle confronted Willie on his progress toward the top. In his time, professional golfers were not highly paid and respected athletes as they are today. People in polite society viewed them as ruffians not entitled to courteous treatment. They had the social status of servants and were not allowed to enter the dining rooms of the clubhouses at which they played. Most golf professionals accepted these terms, socializing among themselves. Willie was different. He bitterly resented condescending treatment and sometimes protested against it. The lack of respect to which he was subjected led him to drink heavily, a problem that plagued him later in life.

The Emerging Champion

By 1901, Willie was ready for the top. In the U.S. Open that year at Myopia, New York, the course was extremely difficult. It had been specially lengthened for the tournament, and the greens were exceptionally fast. Under these conditions, a short putt of two or three feet could run off the green entirely. Many of the top English and Scottish golfers came to try their hand.

After four rounds, Willie was tied for the lead with Alex Smith, a golfer who became Willie’s greatest rival. In a playoff, Willie defeated Smith 85 to 86. These scores seem high by the standards of golfers using late twentieth century equipment, but were significant achievements in the early part of the twentieth century. Some experts who saw him play rated Willie as among the best the game has ever known.

A new problem soon threatened his seemingly impregnable position. Coburn Haskell, an American golfer, invented a new rubber ball that was more accurate and traveled farther than the gutta-percha ball. Distance, not Willie’s strong point, was much more important, and the new ball required different techniques. Players schooled in the old way who wanted to remain at the top needed to revamp their games.

Continuing the Story

Willie had the necessary determination and skill to meet this challenge. Fortunately for him, the 1903 U.S. Open was held at the Balustrol Club in Springfield, New Jersey, one of the many places he had served as a professional. He used his superior knowledge of the course to great effect and emerged as the winner. His victory made him the first person to win two U.S. Opens.

Over the next few years, Willie was at the height of his form. He won two more U.S. Opens, in 1904 and 1905. His victory in the 1905 U.S. Open was especially satisfying; he held his lead in the last round against his old rival, Alex Smith. He also became the first golfer to win the U.S. Open four times. At the time of his fourth win, Willie was only twenty-five, and he seemed assured of a dominant place in golf for many years to come. He faced one more obstacle, however, and this he could not overcome. His years of heavy drinking had taken a toll, and he was under a doctor’s care.

In 1906, he again was locked in a tight duel with Smith for the U.S. Open title. This time he faltered in the last round, and Smith won the tournament. Willie never again finished near the top in the U.S. Open. Willie’s problems increased. Golfers in his time earned very little money and had to go on grueling exhibition tours in order to earn a living. The pace of these tours proved exhausting for Willie. In one such exhibition, held near Pittsburgh, Willie and Gil Nichols, another professional, defeated two amateurs in a close match. Afterward, Willie was exhausted, and he died two days later, on October 25, 1910, in Whitemarsh Township, Pennsylvania.

Summary

Golf in the days of Willie Anderson’s short life was not a big-time sport. Golfers had only rudimentary equipment and, by late-twentieth-century standards, scores were high. Nevertheless, some golfers of that era were undisputedly great players and Willie ranked among the best. He became a leading golfer at an early age, principally because of his unmatched accuracy. He dominated play in the United States for several years and his record of four U.S. Open wins ensured his place among golf’s all-time greats.

Bibliography

Frost, Mark. The Greatest Game Ever Played: Harry Vardon, Francis Ouimet, and the Birth of Modern Golf. New York: Hyperion, 2002.

Grimsley, Will. Golf: Its History, People, and Events. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1966.

McCord, Robert. The Golf Book of Days: Fascinating Facts and Stories for Every Day of the Year. Secaucus, N.J.: Citadel Press, 2002.