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 Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...

er and

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a Conscription, conscripted or volunteer Enlisted rank, enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, a warrant officer, or an Officer (armed forces), officer. Etymology The wo ...

. 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 is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

, 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 cau ...

and fanatical amateur golfer

Peter Guthrie Tait Peter Guthrie Tait (28 April 18314 July 1901) was a Scottish Mathematical physics, mathematical physicist and early pioneer in thermodynamics. He is best known for the mathematical physics textbook ''Treatise on Natural Philosophy'', which he ...

. The young Tait was educated at the

Edinburgh Academy The Edinburgh Academy is a Private schools in the United Kingdom, private day school in Edinburgh, Scotland, which was opened in 1824. The original building, on Henderson Row in Stockbridge, Edinburgh, Stockbridge, is now part of the Senior Scho ...

and

Sedbergh School Sedbergh School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Private schools in the United Kingdom, private boarding school, boarding and day school, day school) in the town of Sedbergh in Cumbria, North West England. It comprise ...

. He was admitted to the

Royal Military College, Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC) was a United Kingdom, British military academy for training infantry and cavalry Officer (armed forces), officers of the British Army, British and British Indian Army, Indian Armies. It was founded in 1801 at Gre ...

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

in 1890, and then transferred as a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

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 t ...

. 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

Having already been wounded at

Magersfontein The MagersfonteinMisspelt "Maaghersfontein" in some British texts ( ) battlefield is a site of the Battle of Magersfontein (11 December 1899), part of the Second Boer War in South Africa. The battlefield is located at south of Kimberley, Norther ...

, Tait was killed having only just rejoined the Black Watch when General MacDonald led the decimated Highland Brigade once more into action at Koodoosberg,

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, during the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...

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 () 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, Edinburgh, New Town, stretching around 1.2 km (three quar ...

. 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 (24)

:''Note: This list may be incomplete.'' *1894 Royal and Ancient Golf Club Royal Medal *1894 Hampshire Isle of Wight and Channel Islands Amateur Champion *1895 Royal and Ancient Golf Club Jubilee Vase,Duncan, David Scott, ed. (1900). The Golfing Annual, 1899–1900. London: Horace Cox. p. 3. 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 Glennie Aggregate Medal, New Luffness Leconfield Medal *1898

, St. George's Challenge Cup, 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
"T" indicates a tie for a place
R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in match play 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 Golfers from Edinburgh Golfers from Yorkshire British Army 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 1870 births 1900 deaths