Willie Tulloch, as he was known, was a member of Douglas Park Golf Club in early days of the club.

There is a reference to him in the book of Douglas Park’s history, but few nowadays will know of him and his remarkable achievements.

He joined Douglas Park as a junior member along with his twin brother Robert on 7^th May 1914 at the age of 15 years.

 

The Tullochs were obviously a golfing family. Father John T. Tulloch was possibly a founder member of the club, eldest brother John F. Tulloch was good enough to play for the Club team in the 1920s, but it is not known if Willie’s mother Catherine or his sister Catherine played golf.

 

The family business was concerned with the manufacture of sausages and seemed to provide a good living, for Willie was able to live the life of a sportsman without the need to earn his living, being what we would call nowadays a full time amateur.

 

He was a scratch handicap player at Douglas Park but on the wider stage his endeavours took him to national and international achievements mainly in the 1920s and 1930s and his record of trophies won is highly impressive.

 

With the outbreak of World War I his pursuit of golf was interrupted when he and his twin brother Robert joined up.

We know that Robert joined the 2^nd Battalion, The Highland Light Infantry, so it is likely that this was Willie’s regiment also. Willie survived the war, but brother Robert, like so many other young men, was sadly killed in action on 11^th September 1918, aged 19 years.

Back in civvy street, Willie lost no time in resuming his golf. He won our club championship in 1920 and 1924, but the paucity of his wins here is probably explained firstly by his talents increasingly taking him to national and international events, and secondly by the fact that he became a member of three other golf clubs, notably Cathkin Braes (which eventually became his home club), Prestwick St Nicholas, and Western Gailes.

 

The family lived for many years in St Vincent Street in the centre of Glasgow but later moved to a villa in Prestwick very near to Prestwick St. Nicholas Golf Club. Willie never married, but by all accounts he retained his interest in golf as he grew older, and was involved in passing on his skills and advice to the younger generation of golfers at the St. Nicholas Club. Always the traditionalist, he is reported to have continued to play with hickory shafted clubs until the 1960s.

 

He died in 1980 aged 83.

 

Among his many golfing achievements are the following :

British Amateur Championship

• Semifinalist     1928 and 1931

Scottish Amateur Championship

• Runner-up        1924
• Semi-finalist     1926 and1932

The Open Championship

• Qualified          1926
• Qualified          1932
• 2^nd Best Amateur

Tennant Cup*

• Winner              1926 and 1927

Edward Trophy*

• Winner              1924, 1925, 1926, 1929, and 1931

Glasgow Championship*

• Winner              1929

Cameron-Corbett Vase*

• Winner              1932

Arrol Cup*

• Winner              1924, 1926, and 1934

The Post and Telegraph Cup

• Runner-up        1922

Glasgow and West of Scotland

Alliance Championship*

• Winner             1936

Western Union Team Trophy

• Team Winner   1938

Member Scottish International Team

• v England       1929, 1930, 1931, and 1932
• v Ireland         1930, 1931, and 1932
• v Wales           1931 and 1932

Scottish International Team

• Captain            1932

Willie also took part in exhibition matches in various parts of the country along with players such as Henry Cotton.

Douglas Park Club Championship

• Winner            1920 and 1924

[* these were and are prestigious amateur events which attracted, and continue to attract, many of the top amateurs from all parts of Scotland and beyond.]

Thanks are due to the golf clubs of Cathkin Braes and Prestwick St. Nicholas for help in this research.

There may be other achievements of W. Tulloch which have not been elicited.

Douglas Park Golf Club is indebted to Mr. Nevin McGhee, member, historian, and archivist of Glasgow Golf Club for his generous gift of items of memorabilia relating to William Tulloch, prominent amateur golfer and member of Douglas Park Golf Club from 1914 until the 1930s.

The items consist of :-

• Replica, Douglas Park Golf Club Championship Winner’s Cup,   1920
• Replica, Douglas Park Golf Club Championship Winner’s Cup,   1924
• Replica, Glasgow and Lanarkshire Alliance Open
• Championship Winner’s Cup, 1936

Also, a collection of photographs and press cuttings featuring Willie Tulloch and some of his contemporaries.  This gift has had the effect of stimulating research into the life and times of William Tulloch, prominent member and eminent golfer at Douglas Park and other golf clubs.

In addition to the Willie Tulloch items, Mr. McGhee has gifted a copy of a book, of which he is the author, entitled “The Home of the Glasgow Golf Club”, published in 2003 to celebrate the centenary of the Glasgow Club’s move to Killermont.  This volume is No. 1,434 of a limited edition of 1,500.

Douglas Park Golf Club is extremely grateful to Mr. McGhee for these gifts, which are currently displayed in our hallway display cabinet.

H. MacAnespie
12^th July 2010