James Foulis Golf player
James Foulis (11 December 1870 – 31 October 1928) was a Scottish professional golfer who won the second U.S. Open.Foulis was born in the "Home of Golf", St Andrews in Scotland. His father was foreman at Old Tom Morris's golf shop and clubmaking business, and Foulis spent some time working at the shop. In 1895 he travelled to the United States to take up a job as golf professional at Chicago Golf Club, which was the first club in the United States to have an eighteen hole course. He was the first golf professional in the western States.Foulis was one of the eleven players who took part in the first U.S. Open in 1895, and he came third. The following year he won the tournament at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club on Long Island. He was representing the Chicago Golf Club and he won $200. He was helped out by the fact that twice British Open champion Willie Park, Jnr, who would have been odds-on favourite if he had reached the United States in time to play, did not arrive in America until the day after the tournament. The following year the Open was played at Foulis's home club, and he finished third. The most notable aspect of his game was his driving; it is said that he often drove over three hundred yards using the relatively primitive clubs of his day. He continued to compete in the U.S. Open until 1906, but did not win again.Jim Foulis and his brother Dave ran a golf shop at the Chicago Golf Club, and were played a significant part in the evolution of golf equipment. They invented the bramble patterning for Coburn Haskell's new rubber-cored ball. In response to the demands of the new ball the developed the "mashie-niblick", the modern seven iron, which fell between the traditional mashie (5-iron) and niblick (9-iron), and patented the design. Jim Foulis also worked as a golf course designer from 1896 until his death, designing the first golf courses in many communities across the Midwest.
