Thomas Kincaid (1661–1726), also described as Thomas Kincaid the Younger, was an

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

medical student and keen

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 ...

er and

archer Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a bow to shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting and combat. In m ...

, whose student diary includes the earliest known instructions for playing golf.

Early life and diary

Kincaid's father was an Edinburgh surgeon, Thomas Kincaid (1619–1691), who was a freeman of the Incorporation of Surgeons of Edinburgh and became its Deacon (president) in 1652. During 45 years as a surgeon-apothecary, he built up a considerable library. His son Thomas Kincaid apparently intended to follow a similar career in medicine. He studied medical textbooks by

Thomas Willis Thomas Willis FRS (27 January 1621 – 11 November 1675) was an English doctor who played an important part in the history of anatomy, neurology and psychiatry, and was a founding member of the Royal Society. Life Willis was born on his pare ...

Thomas Sydenham Thomas Sydenham (10 September 1624 – 29 December 1689) was an English physician. He was the author of ''Observationes Medicae'' which became a standard textbook of medicine for two centuries so that he became known as 'The English Hippocrate ...

and

Nicholas Culpeper Nicholas Culpeper (18 October 1616 – 10 January 1654) was an English botanist, herbalist, physician and astrologer.Patrick Curry: "Culpeper, Nicholas (1616–1654)", ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (Oxford, UK: OUP, 2004) His bo ...

, as well as learning the

Dutch language Dutch ( ) is a West Germanic language spoken by about 25 million people as a first language and 5 million as a second language. It is the third most widely spoken Germanic language The Germanic languages are a branch of the Indo-Europea ...

with the implication that he probably intended going to Leiden University for a medical degree. From January 1687 to December 1688 he kept a detailed diary, recording his studies as well as "today I thought upon" entries giving his thoughts on a wide range of subjects ranging from chemistry and

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

to horse breeding, building a meeting house, and making a blacksmith's vice. He described the best way to stand when throwing stones, and techniques for archery,

billiards Cue sports are a wide variety of games of skill played with a cue, which is used to strike billiard balls and thereby cause them to move around a cloth-covered table bounded by elastic bumpers known as . There are three major subdivisions ...

, and golf. He noted discussions on medicine with his father, visits to his married sisters, and correspondence with his brother James who was in Holland. On a visit to Holyrood Abbey, he saw "the pictures"; portraits of

Scottish monarchs The monarch of Scotland was the head of state of the Kingdom of Scotland. According to tradition, the first King of Scots was Kenneth I MacAlpin (), who founded the state in 843. Historically, the Kingdom of Scotland is thought to have grown ...

. Kincaid also visited the

physic garden A physic garden is a type of herb garden with medicinal plants. Botanical gardens developed from them. History Modern botanical gardens were preceded by medieval physic gardens, often monastic gardens, that existed by 800 at least. Gardens of ...

and Surgeons Yard. His diary entry for 6 November 1688 records "the Prince of Orange landed this day", the arrival of William of Orange which brought the Glorious Revolution.

Golf

In January and February 1687, Kincaid wrote down in his diary his detailed thoughts on

, which he played at

Bruntsfield Links Bruntsfield Links is of open parkland in Bruntsfield, Edinburgh, immediately to the south-west of the adjoining Meadows. Unlike The Meadows, which formerly contained a loch drained by the end of the 18th century, Bruntsfield Links has always ...

, near the Tounis College, and at

Leith Links Leith Links ( gd, Fìghdean Lìte) is the principal open space within Leith, the docks district of Edinburgh, Scotland. This public park is divided by a road into two main areas, a western section and an eastern section, both being largely flat ...

. His entry for 20 January 1687 noted how he read '' Chirurgia'' in the morning, then "After dinner I went out to the Golve". He described his Golf stroke: He continued on for 13 paragraphs of similar detailed analysis of how to get the best results. On the next day he considered the need for "hitting the ball exactly", not too hard as "the only reason why men readily miss the ball when they strick with more strenth than ordinaire is because incressing their strength in the stroke makes them alter the ordinaire position of their body and ordinaire way of bringing about the club." (spellings as original). Over the two months he kept returning to the theme, writing down his recommendations on techniques including some advice which still remains relevant to modern golfers. He also set out his views on the ideal golf ball which "must be of thick and hard leather not with pores or grains or that will let a pin usually pass through it the specially at the soft end", and on an early handicap system.

Later life

The Incorporation of Surgeons of Edinburgh (later renamed the

Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (RCSEd) is a professional organisation of surgeons. The College has seven active faculties, covering a broad spectrum of surgical, dental, and other medical practices. Its main campus is located o ...

) did not record Kincaid as having passed its entrance examination, and he does not appear to have qualified as a surgeon. In 1709 he donated to the Incorporation his deceased father's extensive library, and the Fellows list records that in 1710 Thomas Kincaid was admitted to the Incorporation "In regard of good deeds done by him ... without payment of any upsett money." This was one of the earliest instances of admission to the Incorporation without an entrance fee. Kincaid was an active member of the Edinburgh Company of Archers, and in 1711 became the third winner of the City of Edinburgh silver arrow, the Edinburgh Arrow which still continues today as the longest-running annual archery competition. He is buried with his parents in

Greyfriars Kirkyard Greyfriars Kirkyard is the graveyard surrounding Greyfriars Kirk in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is located at the southern edge of the Old Town, adjacent to George Heriot's School. Burials have been taking place since the late 16th century, and a num ...

in Edinburgh.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kincaid, Thomas Scottish male golfers Scottish male archers Golfers from Edinburgh Members of the Royal Company of Archers Place of death unknown 1661 births 1726 deaths

Early life and diary

Golf

Later life

Further reading

References