Former Pupil Biographies

Sandy Herd (1868 - 1944)

Sandy Herd was born 24th April 1868 to a golfing family and had brothers who were also golf professionals. He died in London, England on 18th February 1944.

Herd was the club professional at Huddersfield Golf Club from 1892 to 1911. He won The Open Championship in 1902 at Hoylake. He had a three-shot lead after 54 holes, but nearly let the title slip out of his hands by scoring an 81 in the final round. Harry Vardon and James Braid both had medium length putts at the final hole to force a playoff, but they missed and Herd took the Championship.

Herd was the first Open Champion to use the Haskell rubber-cored ball. In 1920, he became the oldest runner-up in The Open at age 52, which stood for 89 years, until Tom Watson (age 59) in 2009. Herd's appearances in the championship spanned fifty years, the last at age 71 at St Andrews in 1939, but failed to advance from qualifying. He last played in The Open six years earlier in 1933, but twisted an ankle during the first round and had to withdraw; he last made the cut in 1927 and tied for tenth.

He won the following tournaments:

• 1895 Irish Championship Meeting Professional Tournament

• 1896 Irish Championship Meeting Professional Tournament

• 1901 Irish Championship Meeting Professional Tournament

• 1902 The Open Championship

• 1904 Leeds Cup

• 1905 Leeds Cup

• 1906 News of the World Match Play

• 1911 Sphere and Tatler Foursomes Tournament (with James Bradbeer)

• 1923 Roehampton Invitation

• 1925 Hertfordshire Open Championship

• 1926 News of the World Match Play
   

He also designed golf courses, being involved with the following:

England

• Aspley Guise & Woburn Sands GC

• Harrogate GC 1897

• Heysham GC 1910

• Lees Hall GC 1909

• Malden GC 1926

• Pannal GC 1906

• Ulverston GC 1894

• Wakefield GC 1912
   

Isle of Man

• Peel GC 1895

The Madras College Magazine for June 1936 reports:

Honour was recently paid to one who was a pupil at the Madras many years ago and who for long has been a shining light in the golfing world.

Sandy Herd was the guest of honour at a dinner held in the Mayfair Hotel, London to celebrate his jubilee as a professional golfer. Born in St. Andrews in 1868, Sandy is one of the many natives of the city who have played a big part in the making of golfing history. It is fifty years ago since Sandy, then a lad of 17, entered for his first Open Championship at Musselburgh.

When young Tom Morris was at the peak of his fame, Sandy Herd was indulging in a rather primitive form of golf popular with the young enthusiasts of that period. The "course" was North Street, the "hall" a champagne cork, and the clubs whatever the ingenuity of the youthful players could devise. For four years Sandy worked in a bakehouse and then he served his apprenticeship as a plasterer, but all the time his heart was set on a career as a golfer. By dint of much stringent saving, he collected a set of clubs, and constant practice was finally rewarded when he received a post with the Royal Portrush Club. That was in 1890, and was the beginning of a career which has few parallels in the golfing world.

The veteran golfer has won practically every honour that the frame offers, and though he has only been Open Champion once, winning the title in 1902, he has been runner-up in that event four times. He has also been third, and on two occasions he took fourth place. He won the P.G.A. tournament in 1906, and again, twenty years later, he headed the list in that competition. He captained the Scottish team in the professional international match in 1903, and in 1932 that honour was again conferred on him. No other golfer in the world can boast of such a long innings.

He also holds the world's record for holing from his tee-shot. On nineteen occasions he has holed out in one stroke, having secured thirteen "aces" on one course, namely, Coombe Hill.