Ted Ray: The Forgotten Man of Golf

By Tony Jacklin CBE and Bill Williams

This book is about Edward Ted Ray who was born in the village of Gorey, on the east coast of the island of Jersey near Grouville, which was the nursery of many famous golfers, including the legendary Harry Vardon.

Ted was one of the biggest stars in professional golf, considered a mighty driver of the golf ball and a prince of putters. He won the Open Championship in 1912, the US Open in 1920, and many other prestigious tournaments in Great Britain and mainland Europe. He played for Great Britain against the USA in 1921 at Gleneagles and in 1926 at Wentworth. He was the player captain of the Great Britain team in the first ever Ryder Cup match of 1927. Ted would also represent England against Scotland on nine occasions in their annual team matches, as well as Englands nonplaying captain in the 1930s.

Ted Ray toured the USA, along with Harry Vardon, in 1913 and 1920 to promote and popularize golf in the Americas. He, like many of the greats of the game, is one of the forgotten men of golf. The book endeavors to spotlight a golfer who is now a distant memory and one that has inexplicably never been inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Mar 10, 2018
• ISBN: 9781543481358

Tony Jacklin CBE

Bill Williams is a retired Englishman residing in Florida. He is a qualified financial accountant who ran a global IT and Business Consulting company for many years. In early life he played soccer at a high level in England and was associated with three professional clubs, later, a number of semi-professional teams. After moving to the Sunshine State, his passion became golf, playing, watching and subsequently writing about the game, moreover the history of golf. He is, by his own words, a student of golf history. Since retiring from the world of business and commerce, which took him to many regions of the globe, his pursuits include an avid interest in all sports, particularly golf. When not playing golf or attending professional tournaments, his time is taken up with reading and researching from his extensive library of biographys and reference books. This latest work is Bills third published book, and he plans several other projects, all golf related.

Book preview

Copyright © 2018 by Bill Williams. 771114

Library of Congress Control Number: 2018901178

   ISBN:   Softcover   978-1-5434-8134-1

      Hardcover   978-1-5434-8136-5

      EBook   978-1-5434-8135-8

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Rev. date: 03/09/2018

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This book is dedicated to the memory of Tommy Horton, MBE who passed away on 7th December 2017. His help and advice were invaluable to me and he was always encouraging and enthusiastic about all my literary projects. One of golf’s true gentlemen who will be greatly missed!

R.I.P.

CONTENTS

Illustrations

Foreword

Preface

Acknowledgments

Chapter 1 Ted Ray

Chapter 2 Jersey’s Golfing Legacy

Chapter 3 Churston, Ganton & Oxhey

Chapter 4 The Open Championship

Chapter 5 Crossing the Pond

Chapter 6 Ryder Cup Captain

Chapter 7 To Be or Not to Be

Chapter 8 Career Record

Chapter 9 The End

Bibliography

ILLUSTRATIONS

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Every effort has been made by the author to trace the owners of all material still within copyright. If any sources believe that the author has omitted one or more item that is theirs we sincerely apologize and ask that they contact the publisher and/or the author in order that corrections can be made in future editions.

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FOREWORD

I was born in 1944 in the English town of Scunthorpe, not a million miles from the River Humber and the North Sea. Growing up in post-war Britain during the 1940’s and 1950’s it would have been natural for me to play football, soccer to our American friends, and cricket. I did play a little football, but found cricket quite uninteresting. By the time I was nine-years old I began caddying for my father at Scunthorpe Golf Club. From this I became hooked on the game.

Living as I did for a number of years on Jersey, I came to love the island, the people and customs. It was always a source of amazement to me that an island, less than 50 square miles in area, could have produced so many world class golfers – the Vardon brothers, Harry, Tom and Alf, Aubrey and Percy Boomer, the Renouf brothers and of course Ted Ray.

Much has been written about Harry Vardon – indeed Bill Williams has written two books listing his achievements, but this book on Ted Ray fills a long overdue need, and in my opinion, is required reading for all who are interested in the history of our great game. For my own part, I am drawn to golf history and I love the historic characters of the game. Ted Ray was most certainly one of those important characters. Not only for his two major championship wins, but also for him being an ambassador to the game. Ted Ray is an important link in the chain of the history of golf, which started with Allan Robertson and continued with Old and Young Tom Morris, and so on.

When I first heard that this book was being written I did a little research of my own and discovered that Ted Ray and I had much in common. We are part of a group of four British professionals who have won the Open Championship and the US Open. The other two are Harry Vardon and Rory McIlroy. Ted Ray and I have also played and captained Ryder Cup teams, Ted’s in the day when it was a Great Britain only team.

Ted Ray was a much-loved character who did a great deal to popularise golf on both sides of the Atlantic. The public loved his flamboyant style and his ability to hit the ball prodigious distances. His win by one shot over the finest players of the time in the 1920 US Open at the age of 43 was a truly outstanding achievement. Ted’s style and swashbuckling approach made him a fan favourite in both Great Britain and the U.S.A.

I am delighted that Bill Williams has dedicated this book to the memory of Tommy Horton, a great golfer, lifelong friend and fellow Jersey resident.

It is important that we remember Ted Ray as one of the important figures in the annals of golf. Like his illustrious peer Harry Vardon, Ted was a Jerseyman who conquered the world, and his significance as one of the pioneers of the game, like Vardon, Braid and Taylor, cannot be overstated.

Tony Jacklin, CBE

PREFACE

M any golf enthusiasts would know of Bobby Jones, Walter Hagen and Harry Vardon, at least heard the names. Those that take an even greater interest in the game will even know about their achievements and what they mean to golf. However, like many of his peers, Ted Ray is one of the forgotten men of the game. People like James Braid, John Henry Taylor, Gene Sarazen and so on were equally greats of their time. Their names are no doubt familiar, but since this was a period of a century ago when TV and the internet did not exist, these icons, and what they achieved, is far from well known. The legacy they left behind is often taken for granted and their impact on the game of golf is simply not known to some, or fully appreciated by others.

Ted Ray, during his time, was one of the stars of the sport in the same way that Justin Rose, Rickie Fowler and Dustin Johnson are today, and as heralded as the likes of Byron Nelson, Alex Sandy Herd and Sir Henry Cotton, to name but a few from yesteryear. The sands of time slowly diminish their memory, and understandably so. But for the movie, The Greatest Game Ever Played recollections of Ted Ray would likely be even less than they are currently.

I am a self-confessed student of golf history, and in some respects a revisionist. It is not my intention to re-write the history of the game, but moreover to highlight it, question, and let others make their own decisions. Saying that, I am open and willing to discard traditional values, where I feel those values are flawed. Ted Ray made three visits to the Americas in 1913, 1920 and 1927. In 1913 and 1920 he was accompanied by Harry Vardon, and together they did an enormous amount to popularize golf in the USA.

This book attempts to highlight a record of a golfer that has been lost over time. Ted Ray won the two most prestigious majors in golf, namely the Open and the US Open. But for the Great Triumvirate of Vardon, Braid and Taylor that number would surely have been more.

As with my previous books about Harry Vardon, much research has gone into filling these pages. Every effort has been made to substantiate facts, venues for Ray’s engagements and so on. British and American newspaper archives have been exhaustedly searched along with old golf magazines and numerous books, including those written by Ted Ray’s peers, and his own book from 1913. In many cases golf and country clubs, in the USA and the UK, were contacted, to corroborate the details. Two world wars, inadvertent fires, other mishaps and some poor record keeping over the decades have robbed us of a treasure trove of club minutes, photographs and so on. Most golf and country clubs were extraordinarily helpful when contacted, and, their time, efforts and willingness to assist have been acknowledged hopefully without missing anyone. Without the interest and help of the many archivists and golf club historians I have got to know through my research; the completeness of this book would not be what I feel it is. Notwithstanding, whilst this is the age of the internet and social media, the fast-hi-tech world we live in today is a far cry from a hundred years ago. As such, records were not kept as they are today, and nor are they readily available or accessible without a good deal of searching. But for archived newspapers and so on, it would be impossible to see the events of bygone days. If an event was not reported or the archive does not exist, then the event is not recorded here. However, through investigation and simple chronology I feel confident this book is as concise as it could possibly be.

Ted Ray has thus far not been inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame. Others, with arguably no better résumés have been included, which, I have no doubt, is as much to do with timing and the lack of readily available historic record. I make no excuse for my efforts, through this book, to change, what I and others feel, is an oversight from golf lore. It is my strong opinion that a player’s induction goes way beyond his or her playing career. It’s not that I feel other inductees are not deserving, but moreover that Ted Ray is equally, and in some cases, more deserving to hang out with the greats of the game. The World Golf Hall of Fame is a fine institution where one can step back into the past without the use of a "DeLorean" with a time-machine.

Ted Ray is the primary objective of this book, and any detour from the subject is intentional, and I believe relative, in order to punctuate what he achieved, and the enormity of the tournaments he played in. World events can, and have, shaped golf over the last one hundred years in many ways and robbed many professional golfers the opportunity of far greater resume’s. In the case of Ted Ray, World War I came along at a time when he was at the very top of his abilities. He was robbed of further successes in perhaps the same way World War II curtailed the successes of Hogan, Snead and Nelson.

Ted Ray was a star of the game who lived in the shadow of the Great Triumvirate, similar to Lee Trevino and Billy Casper, also stars of the game, that sometimes got lost in the media spotlight to Palmer, Nicklaus and Player. References to the second Great War, 1939-1945, are there to illustrate the temporary decline in stature of the Open Championship and the reasons why British golfers lagged so far behind their American counterpart’s post World War II and into the late 1970’s.

This book, I believe, is packed with corroborated historical data, which should be of interest beyond Ted Ray. My opinion is simply that, an opinion, but one that is thought out, and without any prior agenda or prejudice. In all cases I attempt to offer sound and verifiable facts to justify a stance on any particular point. It is my opinion that you cannot get to where you are going without knowing where you came from, which is what the purpose of history, and golf history, is all about. Rather than paraphrase, I have used direct quotes in many places, which are italicized to ensure the reader they are not my words.

My hope is that the reader will find this book as interesting, and informative, as I did with putting this all together. Piecing together the records of a hundred years ago is not an easy task, but it has been a labor of love and a more than enjoyable journey. The book is full of photographs to illustrate the period, and to transplant the reader back in time when golf was different from what we see today. Playing 36-holes of golf in a single day was the norm, as was important tournaments concluding in two days rather than the four (Thursday through Sunday) that is commonplace today. The golf ball didn’t go as far back then and the club technology no comparison. Arguably, golf was more challenging a hundred years ago, and golf courses less likely to be overpowered by the field, and without the subsequent threat of becoming obsolete today. Advancement in sports comes at a price, both positive and negative.

Bill Williams (Author & Researcher)

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I have received invaluable assistance from numerous people, including golf and country clubs in both the United Kingdom and the U.S.A. Without their help, and opinions, this book would not have been possible. Special thanks go to Athan Crist, the golf historian at Brooklawn Country Club. His say it as it is approach and critiquing to several of the chapters were invaluable and kept me and the book on track. David Stott also, at South Herts Golf Club, is as knowledgeable a golf historian there is, and as encouraging as it gets. Both critiqued and offered recommendations that altered some of the following pages. Not least, Ian McKenzie Douglas the golf historian at Ganton Golf Club, who allowed me to use extracts from his book The History of Ganton Golf Club and surveyed chapter three for accuracy. Special thank you also to Tony Jacklin, CBE for lending his name to this project.

USGA Photographic Library

Library of Congress (Newspaper & Magazine Division)

Baltusrol Country Club

Inverness Club, Ohio

Royal Jersey Golf Club, C.I.

La Moye Golf Club (Jersey)

Ian McK. Douglas (Golf historian) and the Ganton Golf Club, near Scarborough, UK

British Newspaper Archives – British Library

David Stott (Golf historian) and South Herts Golf Club, Totteridge, UK

Athan Crist (Golf historian) and Brooklawn Country Club, Fairfield, CT.

Bauer Media (Golf Illustrated), Peterborough, U.K.

Branshaw Golf Club, West Yorkshire

Jersey Heritage Museum, St Helier (Val Nelson)

Tommy Horton (deceased)

Bill Zmistowski (grandson of Wilfrid Reid)

British Golf Museum, St Andrews (Angela D. Howe)

World Golf Hall of Fame (St Augustine, Florida)

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Ted Ray courtesy of Ganton G.C.

Chapter 1

TED RAY

E dward Rivers John Ray was born on 6 th April 1877 at Vingtaine de Marais in the parish of Grouville on the Bailiwick of Jersey, a British Crown dependency off the French coast of Normandy. Ted was one of five children born to his father, Stephen Ray, and his mother Mary Ann Ray (Née Arm). Ted had two brothers, Stephen and Henry, and two sisters, Beatrice and Charlotte.

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Ted’s father was originally from Faversham in Kent and his mother from Jersey. On Ted’s birth certificate Stephen Ray is described as a Seaman/Sailor and on Ted’s marriage certificate his father is described as a fisherman. Since Faversham, and particularly nearby Whitstable, are renowned for oysters it is conceivable Ted’s father came to Jersey when oyster farming was the boom industry in Jersey. Ship building, fishing and oyster farming were the staple industries of the time in Jersey that aided the island’s prosperity. It is also conceivable that the Ray family, at least Ted’s mother and siblings, spoke in both English and the dialect of Jersey French.

Ted Ray was married to Edith Hooper in 1903, but there is no record that he and wife had any children of their own, which the reports of his death in 1943 seem to confirm.

Ted was born and lived within a mile of where Jersey’s favorite son Harry Vardon was from in the Parish of Grouville, close to Grouville Common where the Royal Jersey Golf Club was constructed. Vardon was seven years older than Ted Ray so it is unlikely the two would cross paths until both were making a name for themselves through golf in mainland England. Harry’s school teacher incidentally, was George Boomer, who’s two sons, Aubrey and Percy, would also become distinguished golfers. The same George Boomer would also become school master to Ted Ray. George Boomer would later move to another part of Jersey where he became the headmaster of La Moye School. Shortly after, the headmaster laid out the rudiments of a golf course between Banques Blanches railway station to the dunes towards La Pulente in St Ouen’s Bay. In 1902 La Moye Golf Club was founded, and in June 1905 officially opened by George’s former pupil Harry Vardon.

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George Boomer back center flanked by his golfing sons. – Courtesy of La Moye G.C.

Reputedly Ted Ray turned golf professional circa 1895 at the age of seventeen or eighteen, although his first golf club appointment was not until late 1899, in England. Prior to this we know that Ted skipped school from time to time in order to help out the family finances by harvesting ‘vraic’ (seaweed). We also know that he worked as a caddie at the Royal Jersey Golf Club. The club history of Royal Jersey entitled Historical Links written by Mary Phillips describes Ted’s beginnings to the game of golf:

In 1890 Ted Ray, would have been 13 with a handicap of 22. In the Caddies Tournament, he