If you love golf and Harris Tweed®, there’s a brilliant little thread that ties them together.
St Andrews, The Home of Golf, is where golf became what we recognise today. And right there in the town, in 1821, Old Tom Morris was born just a short walk from the famous links.
The Open’s own history notes that Tom's father, John Morris, was a traditional hand loom weaver by trade, well known and respected in St Andrews. Old Tom Morris played a role in designing many of Britain's golf courses. He introduced many greenkeeping and course-management features that are still used today. So, Old Tom Morris, golfing legend and winner of The Open Championship, was the son of a local weaver, linking golf’s earliest professional era with Scotland’s textile trades.
That’s not “Harris Tweed” specifically yet, but it is absolutely the same Scottish tradition of cloth, craft, and practical kit for the course.
The Harris Tweed distinction: handwoven at the home of the weaver on the Outer Hebrides, not factory power-loom cloth. This is where Harris Tweed® becomes very specific and legally protected.
Under the Harris Tweed Act 1993, “Harris Tweed” must be:
handwoven by islanders at their homes in the Outer Hebrides, finished in the Outer Hebrides and made from pure virgin wool dyed and spun in the Outer Hebrides. That’s the heart of the distinction. Harris Tweed® is a traditional craft, with the Orb mark acting as your guarantee of authenticity.
Our Harris Tweed®, which we hand stitch into wonderful golf products, is handwoven by islanders in their own homes on a treadle loom, which is exactly what separates it from mass-produced tweeds woven on industrial power looms.
And then there’s the fairway connection. Golf was considered a Gentleman's game and Tweed was was considered the proper and fitting attire to wear on the golf course. Old photos of golf in Scotland show why tweed became part of the game’s visual identity: highly durable, made from wool, naturally water resistant and providing superior insulation for the player. Protection from the those early rounds were played in functional, weather-ready clothing because the links demanded it. (The Gortex of its day)
So when you choose golf and Harris Tweed® on the course, you’re not dressing up for nostalgia. You’re choosing a material that was born for wild Scottish conditions and made through one of the world’s most protected textile traditions.
We are proud to partner with St Andrews Links, "The Home of Golf" with their own Harris Tweed® design in their signature range of golf products. These can be found in the Old Course Retail shop at the 18th green on the Famous course.
