It is mankind's bain to reduce great historical figures from giants to dwarfs through omission, the passage of time or the political whims of the day. Many historicals, Captain Crunch among them, have had their triumphs, their feats, and lives whittled down to fit on the back of a baseball card. This month we feature two historically forgotten men who were among golfs first innovators and visionaries helping establish much of what makes this game great.
Saint Patrick and Shamus Mulligan played a $2-2-4 standard muni match every Saturday morning. Saint Pat was a moderate hitter, that relied on a heavenly hook, he also drove the ducks out of Ireland, while Mulligan was one of the earliest power hitters. Saint Pat customized his shillelagh (that's an Irish stick) with a graphite shaft and a forged head, while Shamus preferred hickory, cast and a lively wound feathery. There matches were evenly contested often coming down to the last hole. St. Patrick knew of Mulligans fear of snakes and would wait until a critical moment before mentioning what just slitthered next to his bag. Mulligan would flinch, miss the putt and claim a do over was in order. They would argue about this all night over pints at the 19th hole, another of their innovations, until one night Saint Patrick having enough of this discussion rid all Ireland of snakes. So if you three putt and get the snake, you have Mulligan to thank.