Episode 12: Stephen Proctor - The Long Golden Afternoon - Golf’s Age of Glory - 1864 - 1914

The Firm & Fast Golf Podcast

‘With his beautiful use of language, Proctor has Bernard Darwin’s gift of bringing a moment to life. Delightful and insightful, capturing the very spirit of the age. The Long Golden Afternoon is an instant classic’ - Roger McStravick - Author & Historian

Stephen Proctor joins us today to chat about his second book, a followup to Monarch of the Green and the golfing feats of Young Tommy Morris.

The Long Golden Afternoon tells the story of the transformative generation of golf that followed the rise of Young Tom Morris - an era of sweeping change that saw Scotland's national pastime become one of the rare games played around the world.

It begins with the first epochal performance after Tommy - John Ball's victory at Prestwick in 1890 as the first Englishman and the first amateur to win the Open Championship - and continues through to the outbreak of the Great War. If Tommy ignited the flame of golf in England, Ball's breakthrough turned that smoldering fire into a conflagration.

The generation that followed would witness the game's coming of age. It would see an explosion in golf's popularity, the invention of revolutionary new balls and clubs, the emergence of professional tours, the organization of the game and its rules, a renaissance in writing and thinking about golf, and the decision that the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews must always remain the sport's guiding light.

Stephen's books can be purchased from the book publishers' website links below:

https://birlinn.co.uk/product/the-long-golden-afternoon/

https://birlinn.co.uk/product/monarch-of-the-green-3/

The Classics of Golf library website can be viewed here

Tony Jacklin & Dave Marr recreate the 1860 Open Championships at Prestwick

Askernish - the 'Lost' Old Tom Morris Golf Course | Scotland From The Sky | BBC Scotland

Special Guest: Stephen Proctor.