Henry Lamb (golfer)

Henry Alexander Lamb (24 February 1844 – 1 January 1893) was a Scottish amateur golfer who played in the late 19th century. He is most associated with Royal Wimbledon Golf Club.[1] Lamb finished second in the 1886 Amateur Championship, losing 7 and 6 to Horace Hutchinson in the finals. He placed seventh in the 1876 Open Championship and finished in eight place in the 1873 Open Championship.[2]

Henry Lamb
Lamb, c. 1871
Personal information
Full nameHenry Alexander Lamb
Born(1844-02-24)24 February 1844
India
Died1 January 1893(1893-01-01) (aged 48)
Matlock, Derbyshire, England
Sporting nationality Scotland
Career
StatusAmateur
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentDNP
PGA ChampionshipDNP
U.S. OpenDNP
The Open Championship7th: 1876
British Amateur2nd: 1886

Early life

Lamb was born in India on 24 February 1844. His father was posted in India where he worked for the East India Company.

Golf career

The 1873 Open Championship

The 1873 Open Championship was the 13th Open Championship, held 4 October at the Old Course at St Andrews, Fife, Scotland. Tom Kidd won the Championship by a stroke from Jamie Anderson. This was the first Open Championship not held at Prestwick."[3]

Details of playing conditions

In the days before the Championship heavy rains had soaked the course. However, when the first round got underway it was sunny with light winds—ideal conditions except for the wet turf.[3] Under these adverse wet ground conditions Lamb was still able to get around the links in good fashion and played consistently, posting rounds of 96-96=192.

At this time in golf history there wasn't a specific rule in place to take free drops from casual water. The only option, other than playing the ball as it laid, was to drop (or tee up) a ball behind the hazard with a 1-stroke penalty.[3][4] The winning score of 179 was the highest recorded while the Championship was over 36 holes. This was partly due to the fact that St Andrews was the toughest of the three courses used at that time for the Open and partly due to the difficult conditions. When the Open was next contested at St Andrews in 1876 the winning score was 176.[3]

The 1876 Open Championship

In the 1876 Open Championship, held on 30 September at the Old Course at St Andrews, Fife, Scotland, Lamb finished in seventh place, carding rounds of 94-92=186.[2]

The 1882 Open Championship

In the 1882 Open Championship, held 30 September at the Old Course at St Andrews, Fife, Scotland, Lamb finished in 11th place.[2]

Death and legacy

Lamb died on 1 January 1893 at Matlock, Derbyshire, England.[5] He is best remembered as a frequent competitor in both the Open Championship and the Amateur Championship. In the latter event, he played extremely well finishing in second place in 1886. In the 1870s, Lamb had two top-10 finishes in the Open Championship.

Lamb is reputed to be the inventor of the "bulger" golf club, a wood with a convex face, circa 1885.[6] In his 1890 book Golf, Horace Hutchinson advises that the theory behind the convex face is that shots hit on the heel will have less of a tendency to go to the right and shots struck nearer the toe will have a lesser tendency of traveling to the left of your target. Meanwhile, a shot struck in the sweet spot (center of the clubface) will be unaffected.[7] All woods and metal woods of the modern era incorporate Lamb's invention.

Results in major championships
Tournament 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891
The Open Championship 8 LA DNP DNP 7 LA DNP DNP T11 LA DNP DNP T11 LA DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP WD
The Amateur Championship NYF NYF NYF NYF NYF NYF NYF NYF NYF NYF NYF NYF DNP 2 R16 DNP QF R64 R16

Note: Lamb played only in The Open Championship and The Amateur Championship.

LA = Low amateur
NYF = Tournament not yet founded
DNP = Did not play
WD = Withdrew
"T" indicates a tie for a place
R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in match play
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10

Sources for Amateur Championship: 1887,[8] 1889,[9] 1890,[10] 1891[11]

References
  1. "History & Heritage". Royal Wimbledon Golf Club. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
  2. Brenner, Morgan G. (2009). The Majors of Golf: Complete Results of the Open, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and the Masters, 1860–2008. Vol. 1. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-3360-5.
  3. "Golf – Contest for the Championship at St. Andrews". The Glasgow Herald. 6 October 1873. p. 6.
  4. "Rules for the Game of Golf as it is played by the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews over their Links, May, 1858". Retrieved 12 April 2015.
  5. "Lamb, Henry". Probate Search. Retrieved 31 May 2015.
  6. Peter Davies (2005). The Historical Dictionary of Golfing Terms: From 1500 to the Present. U of Nebraska Press. p. 29. ISBN 0-8032-6654-5.
  7. Hutchinson, Horace G. (1890). Golf (1st ed.). London: Longmans, Green and Co. p. 68. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
  8. "The Amateur Golf Championship". The Glasgow Herald. 4 August 1887. p. 6.
  9. "The Amateur Golf Championship". The Glasgow Herald. 9 May 1889. p. 10.
  10. "Play For Amateur Golf Championship". The Glasgow Herald. 1 May 1890. p. 10.
  11. "The Amateur Golf Championship". The Glasgow Herald. 9 May 1891. p. 10.
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