Ben Sayers and caddie Sandy Smith at the 4th Hole' Carlekemp' West Links, circa 1885 © Digitalsport UK

Ben Sayers was a professional acrobat until the age of sixteen when he took up golf more seriously. Within two years he gained a fourth place in a professional competition in Glasgow. He later won first prize in competitions at Dunbar, Kinghorn, Archerfield and Hoylake.

In 1876, Sayers started in business as a ballmaker, and two years later entered the Open Championship at Prestwick from Leith. In 1879, he entered the Open from North Berwick and that year married local girl, Catherine Thomson.

In 1880 and 1882, he entered from Musselburgh, but did not take part in 1881 when only eight players completed the Championship at Prestwick, due to the appalling weather. In 1883, Sayers entered the Championship at Musselburgh from his base at North Berwick, where he lived at 12, High Street.

Ben Sayers was a pioneer in leading his fellow pro's by example to acquire a new respectability

Ben's son George recalled how as a toddler he met his first golf ball in the kitchen of their home in the High Street. His mother had the dual job of raising four children and making golf balls for his father's business. At that time there was only one employee- his mother. She turned out 12 dozen balls a day.

George Sayers said he could remember his mother taking the round Gutta-percha rods, 4 feet long, 1 1/2 inches in diameter, marking them with a gauge and cutting them on the guillotine. Each piece was to weigh slightly more than 28 penny weights. Balls those days weighed 26 1/2 to 28 p.w. His father carried them in all weights in his pockets while playing. He used a heavy ball against the wind and a lighter one with the wind.
When Davie Strath the keeper of the green at North Berwick died, a benefactor bought his mould and ball-making machine for young Sayers. He later made the marks on the outer cover of the ball with a hand-held mechanical cutting machine resembling a carpenter's plane. This produced lines that were parallel, straight and fine. In 1890 Sayers was using a ball-marker press manufactured by J & A Bridges at their iron foundry on the East Bay, North Berwick. The press is now on display at the British Golf Museum.

This story told by Ben Sayers appeared in Golf Illustrated in 1906. 'A certain golfer happened to send a ball of my make, bearing my name upon it, through the window of a house near the West Links at North Berwick. A policeman came to me about it, wishing to charge me with the breakage, because my name was on the ball. I had to appear at the police court with other samples of my golf balls, before I could satisfy them that I had no hand in it.'

Ben Sayers standing 5 feet 3 inches tall, won 24 tournaments, but was fated never to win the Open. In 1888 at St Andrews, Sayers tied with Jack Burns for the Championship on 172, and when it was found that Burns had scored 86 and not 87 in the first round, he was awarded the Open title. Sayers tied for second place with James Anderson on 172 and shared the £8 and £6 prize money.

Among Ben Sayers' many scalps in tournament play were such venerable names as Auchterlonie, Morris, Taylor, Vardon and Braid. His greatest strength though was in match play, particularly when in partnership with his great friend Andrew Kirkaldy, himself twice a runner-up in The Open.They played for Scotland against England from 1903 to 1913, except 1911, and as foursome tacticians they were unequalled, as their English opponents often discovered. One typical match was all square with one to go, and the English pairing, first to play, were considering their position. Meanwhile Ben, brassie in hand, was being told off by Kirkaldy, very audibly, for over-clubbing himself. The Englishman therefore decided to play an iron and were bunkered in front of the green. Ben promptly did play his brassie and put the ball near the hole, quite dead.

Sayers gave lessons to Her Majesty Queen Alexandra over the nine hole course at Windsor Castle. He also gave instruction to the Prince of Wales, Princess Victoria, Duchess of Connaught and Princess Patricia of Connaught. Princess Victoria was a very keen golfer, and Sayers partnered her in several foursome matches at Chatsworth, home to the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire.

It was the practice at this time for the aristocracy to layout a private golf course on their estates. The best known was the seven hole course at Chatsworth laid out by the Duke of Devonshire. During this period Edward VII visited Chatsworth for a week in January, A.J. Balfour the prime minister was among the guests and invited professionals included Jack White, J.H. Taylor and Ben Sayers. Sayers often recalled a match at Chatsworth, playing with Sir Edgar Vincent, when he drove a ball up to the top of a tree and it lodged there. Sayers said " There's no rule I know for it but I'm going to play this shot." So he threw his mashie up the tree, the ball came down and he holed out in 4.

Once when J.H. Taylor and Ben Sayers were playing to the third hole at Chatsworth, His Majesty the King was seated on horseback directly in the line of play. Taylor demurred somewhat at playing the shot but Ben ventured to take the honour. Taylor followed however, and they drove their balls over the Kings head. His Majesty was heard to remark " These fellows can do anything with their shots !"
It was in teaching the game that Ben Sayers was most influential with many of his pupils taking golf to all corners of the world including Dorothy Campbell and Frenchman Arnaud Massy who became the first overseas player to win the British Open in 1907. Ben's nephew, Jack White the professional at Sunningdale, won the British Open in 1904 and his brother-in-law David Grant, also originally from Leith, was a ballmaker at North Berwick.

David Grant Jnr. living at 90 High Street, took a keen interest in ladies' golf and taught the Orr sisters from North Berwick to play the game. In 1897 the Ladies' Championship in it's fifth year came to Scotland for the first time and was played at Gullane. Two of the Misses Orr sisters contested the final with a third sister reaching the quarter finals. Miss E.C. Orr was the ultimate winner.

Ben Sayers designed many golf courses including Moffat in 1884, Rothesay with James Braid in 1892; the eighteen hole course at Archerfield and in 1898 Craigielaw Links for Kilspindie Golf Club. In 1900, Sayers was invited by the Earl of Dunraven to lay out a course on his ancestral estate at Adare Manor in north-west Ireland. The estate situated between Ballbunion and Limerick was one of Ireland's premier inland locations. In 1995 the Manor was converted into a five star hotel and a new course was laid out by Robert Trent Jones.

In 1906 Sayers designed the West Monmouthshire course and that year was invited to layout a course for the Spey Bay Golf Club in Banffshire. Accompanied by Robert Marr from North Berwick, who on Sayers recommendation became head greenkeeper and a bundle of red and white flags, he laid out the course - in 2 hours. According to the Banffshire Advertiser, Old Ben would have liked longer but it was getting dark! Sayers joined by his prodigy Open Champion Arnaud Massy and Sandy Herd played a match at the opening of the course.

The growth in the popularity of golf in Europe can be attributed to Ben Sayers, Arnaud Massy, Tom Vardon, Alex Herd, Jack White and David Grant Jnr. Who regularly took part in exhibition matches throughout the continent. The first golf club to be founded in Europe was in 1856 at Pau in France but this proved to be a false dawn, as it was another thirty years before a second club, the Royal Antwerp G.C in Belgium was founded in 1888. By 1911 the number of golf clubs in Europe had increased to; France (42), Germany (19), Italy (10), Belgium (8).

During the early part of the century there was an absence of first-class challenge matches, and the public yearned with nostalgia to the return of the golden age. This in turn brought about the first 'old timers or seniors' match, when Ben Sayers (54) challenged Andrew Kirkaldy (51) for a stake of £50, played over 72 holes. In November 1911, an article in Golf Illustrated enthusiastically covered the match, extolling the virtues of such an encounter, and how the two veterans remained faithful to the old traditions, something the younger generation could take a lesson in the manner the golfing duel was fought out. After the first 36 holes at Sunningdale, Sayers was 1 up, and following the second 36 holes at Walton Heath, Sayers triumphed 6 and 5, in what could be said, was the forerunner of today's Senior Tour.

Ben Sayers died on 9th March 1924, and J.H. Taylor wrote; " Wee Ben was an inveterate and doughty fighter. Nothing and nobody, nor any combination, could daunt his lively fighting spirit. A match need only be suggested, and Ben was found eager and willing to enlist in the ranks, whatever the opposition might be. His small body carried within it an indomitable heart, and he made up for his lack of physique with a great determination and knowledge of the psychology of his opponent which was worth many strokes. No circumstances could flurry Ben. He carried a very wise head on his small shoulders."
Sayers had two sons who followed him into the professional ranks. The eldest, Ben Sayers Jnr. worked in Berlin and at Royal Wimbledon before returning to North Berwick in 1913 to join his father in the business. Also in 1913, George Sayers took up a position in Pennsylvania, at the Merion Cricket Club near Ardmore where the East course laid out in 1912 has hosted the USGA Championship more times than any other and remains one of the top courses in America.

By the early part of the 1900s Ben Sayers & Son exported golf clubs to South Africa, Japan, Canada, Wannamakers in the USA, and India. Young Ben was a leading innovator, patenting many new designs. In 1906 he experimented with a ' Dreadnought ' driver which had an extra large rounded head, deep faced which was slightly convex, and the shaft longer than standard. The company was also one of the first to start using loft and lie machines, and also to measure swingweight to ensure that matched sets were exactly that. Young Ben also later introduced a Registered Balance Set scheme whereby a player's specifications were kept on file, and each club was stamped with an individual registered number.

George Sayers in Philadelphia gave Dorothy Campbell a lesson in 1924 when he changed her to the Vardon grip. At forty-one, she entered the U.S. Women's amateur, and in qualifying shot a record 79, the first woman to break 80 in a national competition in the U.S. Campbell went on to lift the title for the third time.

The company also produced the 'Benny' putter which was regarded as revolutionary because it had a squared-off handle, matching the square edges of the blade. The feeling that everything was right-angled made for greater accuracy. This putter was used by Britain's own Henry Cotton during his distinguished career and the Duke of York.
In 1934, Ben Sayers Ltd. opened a retail outlet at 56-60, High Street which was visited by many well known golfers. The American Walker Cup team visited in 1959 when Jack Nicklaus ordered a special mild steel putter to a design by 'Old Ben'. It later went into production called 'Old Nick' and had considerable sales in America. They also manufactured the first set of clubs incorporating carbon shafts for Raymond Floyd who was affiliated to Sayers in 1973. They trained many fine clubmakers including Bob Jamieson who was appointed professional at Turnberry and Alex Hay Director of Golf at Woburn Country Club and BBC TV Golf commentator. In 1964 the company expanded further, moving into new premises in Tantallon Road, North Berwick. In 1998, Grampian Holdings sold Ben Sayers Ltd. to the Caledonian Golf Group and in 2002 the company was acquired by Tandem plc, a Devon-based sports and leisure equipment buisness.

In June 2003 all production of Ben Sayers golf equipment will be transferred to the Tandem Group works in Devon, before being moved to China. The Ben Sayers factory will close in North Berwick after 124 years - the end of an era.