Tom Simpson

Tom Simpson was one of the most distinctive personalities of Europe’s Golden Age. Born at Prestwich on 16 January 1877 into a prosperous Lancashire family, he studied law at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, earned his degrees and was called to the Bar. His legal career was brief. Simpson was more deeply drawn to golf, drawing, painting, art criticism and collecting. A scratch player at Woking, he watched amateurs John Low and Stuart Paton transform the course and realised that golf architecture could be approached as both visual and strategic composition. He began publishing letters and ideas about design in 1908 and joined Herbert Fowler’s practice in 1910. With Fowler, Simpson learned the profession on British projects before increasingly concentrating on continental Europe. The firm became Fowler, Abercromby, Simpson & Croome in 1923, and Simpson established his own practice in 1928. His greatest works are strongly associated with France: Chiberta, Morfontaine, Chantilly and Hardelot Les Pins. In Ireland he worked at County Louth and Ballybunion, while established courses such as Cruden Bay, Muirfield, Royal Porthcawl and Sunningdale New received his advice or alterations. Simpson regarded a course as an intellectual and aesthetic experience. His bunkers were often irregular and could distort the perception of distance or conceal parts of the playing surface. His greens demanded the correct angle of approach, and his routings pursued constant variety. A gifted artist, he illustrated plans and writings with unusual graphic sensitivity. He opposed uniformity and advocated architecture that awakened curiosity, rewarded imagination and remained engaging for players of different abilities. His books and essays contributed to his legacy almost as much as his courses. Eccentric and sometimes difficult, Simpson lived an intellectually rich life among paintings, rugs, books, wines, cigars and collections. Two world wars reduced his productive years, yet his influence on European golf remained profound. He died at Basingstoke on 10 May 1964. His work continues to be studied for its visual deception, bold greens and conviction that a great course should stimulate the mind before merely punishing error.