Finlay Morrison

Died: August 21, 2015.

Finlay Morrison, who has died at the age of 100, was, rather like the golf course he created in the Western Isles, one of Scotland's best-kept secrets. A blithe fellow with a passion for life on the links, this was a man who never made a fortune from the game, nor signed any of the eye-watering sponsorship endorsements which we take for granted these days.

But he had riches enough from his peripatetic career as a PGA stalwart, who rubbed shoulders with many of the legends of the game and transformed part of his beloved Harris at Scarista into his own personal fairway from heaven.

Morrison was born in Scalpay as conflict erupted throughout the globe, and served his country with the RAF in the Second World War; he was an amiable, engaging character, who liked nothing better than to carry his clubs onto a course - and he played at hundreds of different settings throughout his career. He appeared in five Open Championships, finished runner-up at the Welsh Championship in 1956 and wore as many hats as Audrey Hepburn while fulfilling a string of different roles.

It was perhaps fortunate that Morrison moved to Burntisland as a three-year-old, because, while his father, Kenneth, found work at Rosyth Dockyard, the youngster was soon discovering the joys of the pursuit which moulded his existence in one of its richest settings. He started playing seriously at the age of 15 and gradually, with the minimum of fuss or look-at-me prima donnaism, began to stamp his imprint on the game.

On the course, his talents were prodigious enough for him to pick up £30 here, £40 there and his achievement in Wales brought him all of £80 - yes, this was another time, another place. But he wasn't merely content to swing clubs when he could revel in other areas.

Thus it was that Morrison combined the duties of greenkeeper and golf professional at Leuchars, Glamorganshire GC, Elgin and Deeside, as the prelude to travelling to Edinburgh and plying his trade at Braid Hills and then Bruntsfield, where he worked for more than a decade before retiring in 1981.

He was a meticulous teacher, patient with even the most abject of duffers and prepared to lend his expertise wherever it was required. And although he never courted the limelight, he amassed a list of friends which reads like a Who's Who of golf, including such stellar figures as Gary Player, Tom Watson, Byron Nelson and a triumvirate of his compatriots from different generations in John Panton, Sam Torrance and Paul Lawrie. He even mixed with senior political figures during his time at Bruntsfield, but, for Morrison, the game was what mattered.

Nor did he ever forget his roots. As a fluent Gaelic speaker, there was something modestly epic about the manner in which he brought his knowledge to bear in orchestrating the resplendent course at Scarista.

Morrison said in an interview: "I was at home in Harris in 1981 and someone asked me if I would help them with redesigning the course. So I spent the next few weeks walking the machair with my clubs and suggested where they should put the tees and the greens."

The culmination of this venture was a truly special venue as anybody who has ever visited the Western Isles will testify. But while Morrison was understandably proud of how the project gathered momentum, he was still happiest with a club in his hands even as he passed 90. At that stage, most of his old friends had moved on to that great clubhouse in the sky, but Morrison still had the ability to shoot below his age on a regular basis.

As the renowned golf writer Colin Farquharson, declared: "I knew Finlay through being a member at Deeside GC where he was the popular professional in the 1960s and 1970s. He was a first-class businessman as a club pro and would attract golfers from all over Aberdeen when they wanted to trade in their old clubs for new ones. They knew they would get the best deal available from Finlay."

That little vignette sums up this redoubtable individual and helps explain why he was given the inaugural John Panton Lifetime Achievement award by the PGA in 2009 to pay tribute to his myriad services to the game. At the ceremony, as one might have anticipated, he was in exalted company and Peter Alliss and Paul Lawrie were among the attendees. But, for once, he took centre stage, delivered a speech which was described as word perfect and was the master of the hour.

Anybody who reaches their own personal century has clearly seen all facets of life, but Morrison never changed in his attitude to those around him, whether it was among his allies in Scalpay or among the jet set on the international golf tour.

Finlay Morrison is survived by his daughter, Catherine, and son, Kenneth, his two granddaughters, Katrine and Sara, and three great-grandchildren, Breagha, Anders and Mikel.

NEIL DRYSDALE