Antique Golf Clubs from Scotland: Clubmakers

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Clubmakers

Fred Herd
St Andrews/Chicago

Fred Herd was one of five golfing brothers from St Andrews, born in 1873 (see also Sandy, Jim and David). Like so many others, he served his clubmaking apprenticeship with Robert Forgan and Son and found employment with another Forgan employee, William Yeoman (and Alex Smith from Carnoustie), with the Washington Park Club in Chicago in 1898 and won the US Open at Myopia that same year. He further raised his profile in the US by winning a home and away challenge against triple Open Champion Jamie Anderson, then pro at Onwentsia. His failure to retain the title was attributed in a splendidly partisan piece of reporting in the Dundee Courier, to ‘the course at Baltimore being better suited for quarrying than for golfing purposes’.

In addition to their duties at Washington Park, Fred Herd and William Yeoman set up a clubmaking business, Herd and Yeoman between 1902 and 1909. The partnership split after Yeoman ultimately leaving to set up on his own account.

He was the professional at the South Shore Country Club from 1898 until 1920 when he returned to the UK and became professional at Knebworth from where he played in the McVitie and Price (biscuit makers) Ł800 competition at Watford in 1921. He was a veteran (47 for God's sake!) according to the Aberdeen Journal and 'in recent years little has been seen of him in competition' but his first round of 76 in the qualifier was three behind the leader, brother Sandy.

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