John Henry Taylor


John Henry "J.H." Taylor was an English professional golfer and one of the pioneers of the modern game of golf. Taylor is considered to be one of the best golfers of all time. He was a significant golf course architect. Taylor helped to found the British PGA, the world's first, and became respected for his administrative work. He also wrote two notable golf books.

Early life

Taylor was born in Northam, Devon. He was a member of the fabled Great Triumvirate of the sport in his day, along with Harry Vardon and James Braid, and he won The Open Championship five times. Born into a working-class family, and orphaned as a boy, he began work as a caddie and labourer at the Royal North Devon Golf Club, near Westward Ho!, at the age of eleven. He was employed as a caddie and houseboy by the Hutchinson family and was tasked to carry the bag of Horace Hutchinson.

Professional career

In 1890, Taylor became a professional golfer at the age of 19 and was employed by Burnham & Berrow Golf Club, the Winchester Golf Club – while there winning in successive years the first two of his Open Championships – then the Royal Wimbledon Golf Club, before eventually moving to the Royal Mid-Surrey Golf Club from 1899 until his retirement in 1946.
In 1901, Taylor was a co-founder and the first chairman of the British Professional Golfers' Association. This was the first association for professional golfers in the world. Bernard Darwin wrote that Taylor "had turned a feckless company into a self-respecting and respected body of men".
Taylor was a factor in the Open Championship from age 22 in 1893, until age 55, when he tied for 11th place in 1926. His five Open victories all took place before the First World War.
Open Championship wins:
Taylor captained the 1933 Great Britain Ryder Cup team to a win over the United States, and remains the only captain on either side never to have played in any of the matches.
Taylor was also involved in designing courses across England including York Golf Club in 1903, Hindhead Golf Club in 1904, Andover Golf Club in 1907, Frilford Heath's Red Course in 1908, Hainault Golf Club's Upper Course in 1909, Heaton Park Golf Club in 1912, Hainault Golf Club's Lower Course in 1923, Highwoods Golf Course in East Sussex in 1924, Bigbury Golf Club in South Devon in 1926, Pinner Hill Golf Club 1927, Axe Cliff Golf Club in 1920s and Batchwood Hall Golf Club in 1935. He is attributed with being the inventor of the 'dogleg', although holes of that form had existed on many courses before Taylor began golf course design. In 1957, Taylor was also became president of Royal Birkdale, whose course he had designed.

Awards and honors

  • In 1949, Taylor was made an honorary member of The [Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews]
  • A housing development in his hometown of Northam, JH Taylor Drive, was named in his honour

    Tournament wins

Note: This list may be incomplete
Major championships are shown in bold.

Major championships

Wins (5)

Results timeline

Tournament1900190119021903190419051906190719081909
U.S. Open2
The Open Championship13T6T9T2T222T71

Tournament1910191119121913191419151916191719181919
U.S. OpenT30NTNT
The Open ChampionshipT14T5T1112NTNTNTNTNT

Tournament1920192119221923192419251926192719281929
U.S. Open
The Open Championship12T266T445T6T1149CUT

Note: Taylor only played in The Open Championship and the U.S. Open.
NYF = Tournament not yet founded
NT = No tournament
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Team appearances