A Wee Note From Scotland: The Claret Jug

St Andrews is a beautiful little town, situated in the County of Fife in Scotland. The county is sometimes known as the `Kingdom of Fife’ because it really is a wee world all of its own. The town overlooks the North Sea and is famous for its university, cathedral and, of course, the most well-known golf course in the world – The Old Course. St Andrews is known as the Home of Golf – and what a home!

People have been coming to St Andrews since ancient times. Originally, pilgrims came to visit the relics of St Andrew whose bones were brought to this little town and placed in the Cathedral built in his honor. To prove that they had, indeed, made the journey they would buy something called a Pilgrim Medal, which bore the distinctive Cross of St Andrew, made by local craftsmen. Nowadays the pilgrims who come are more often of the sporting variety and they wish to pay their respects to the Home of Golf. These pilgrims buy small souvenirs – usually in the form of ball markers – to prove that they have made the journey to the hallowed place.

I have the dream job of so many of the pilgrims. I am lucky enough to work in St Andrews in the golfing industry and a large part of my job is to meet with these voyagers on their visit to this special place. It is my great pleasure to have contact with so many people who are utterly delighted to have succeeded in visiting St Andrews. Imagine the luck to have a job where everyone envies you and is thrilled to visit the place you know as your ‘workplace’! Tough – but someone has to do it!

Modern pilgrims are full of enthusiasm and also questions. I have been asked e.g.

‘What does the word ‘golf’ mean? I heard it meant ‘Gentlemen Only, Ladies Forbidden.’

and;

‘Why are there 18 holes on a golf course? Is it because there are supposed to be 18 measures – ‘nips’- in a bottle of whisky? Is that right?’

Many of the questions center on the Claret Jug – so often seen held aloft in victory by the legendary heroes of golf. As many people know, the Claret Jug is the prize given to the winner of golf’s oldest and most prestigious tournament – the British Open. The Open is the second of the four Major competitions held every year. The first is the Masters and the others are the US Open and the USA PGA.

The Open has been played since 1860 right up to the present day with only three gaps – one in 1871, for a very particular and unusual reason, and two for the First and Second World Wars. In 1871 there simply was no trophy to be played for so no tournament was held. Why was this so?

Let me explain. The Claret Jug was not the original prize given to the winner of the Open. The original prize was something called the Championship Belt and golfers fought for this prize between 1860 and 1870. But – there was a rule that anyone who won the Belt three times in a row was allowed to keep the Belt. Surely an unlikely situation!

They reckoned without Young Tom Morris. Young Tom was blessed with sublime golfing prowess. In 1868, 1869 and 1870 Tom held the title and claimed the Championship Belt as his own. Poor Tom was not so fortunate in his private life – but more of that, and the story of his illustrious father, later.

The gentlemen of The Royal and Ancient and Prestwick Golf Club (did you know that the first Open was held in Prestwick in 1860?) now had a problem. You can’t really have a tournament if you have no prize to offer, can you? It took them a while to come to a decision – hence no tournament 1871. We like to get things right in Scotland – especially about golf!

Eventually the Claret Jug was commissioned. This was a very suitable kind of trophy in that day and age. Claret, which is a corruption of the English words clear red, was hugely popular among the professional classes, with many well-to-do households ordering it by the gallon.

However, even then the Claret Jug was not ready for presentation in 1872 – when it was again won by Young Tom! In order that the winner should not go away empty handed, a gold medal was presented to Young Tom and although he was not presented with the Jug itself, his name is the very first to be engraved upon it. Furthermore, to this day every winner of the Open is presented with a gold medal very similar to Young Tom’s. In 2000, every surviving Open winner was given an exact replica of Young Tom’s medal.

Finally, I must emphasize that the winner of the Open never lays hands on the Claret Jug itself. It never leaves the Royal and Ancient Clubhouse. The Jug the winner keeps for the year of his reign is a replica. There are actually five replicas which are produced for various PR occasions. The first winner who actually touched the original, actual Jug did so by mistake. (If you ever quote this I will deny it!) When returning the Jug, the winner, who shall be nameless but sounded like Tom Watson, apologized for the dent on the Trophy. The Dent, however, was the sign that this was the original. The culprit was forgiven.

Thanks for visiting and keep coming back!

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