Young Tom Morris, son of Old Tom, learned his golf from boyhood at Prestwick, and captured four consecutive Opens held there from 1868 to 1872 (there was no Open in 1871). By winning the Belt three straight times, Young Tom was entitled under the conditions of the competition to keep it, so there was no prize to play for in 1871, and hence no Open. Prestwick remained in the Open's rotation until 1925, hosting the championship 24 times in all, which is second only to the Old Course. In 1925 crowd control became very problematic, as thousands of people overwhelmed the marshals, which were far too few in number to control them, and this situation disrupted the play of the championship, affecting the outcome, since many players' shots hit spectators and were deflected. Bernard Darwin, the era's leading golf writer, reported from the scene that he doubted the Open should be held ever again at Prestwick, and such has proved the case. The course's cramped layout does make hosting of events with large galleries highly problematic, although the course's challenge remains intact to test the modern generation of players. Prestwick has also staged the Amateur Championship on eleven occasions, most recently in 2001. Natural features The River Pow, or the Pow Burn, flows through the golf club's property, and the river is a natural obstacle, there are fish and other species of rare nature in the river, so nature watchers are welcome there. There are several sand dunes in the centre of the course. The tallest of the three is Pow Hill, the next tallest is The Queens Jack, and the third tallest is Cearcevlock Hill. Blind shots from the tee at the short fifth and on the approach to the par-4 17th add considerably to the mystery and charm of the course. The most famous hole is the third, a par 5, dogleg right, of 500 yards, where the fairway simply ends about 300 yards from the tee, as the land descends into a vast, deep bunker, nicknamed the 'Cardinal', about 50 yards across, which is buttressed by railway sleepers. Many championship hopes have died in this bunker. The Pow Burn flanks the hole down its entire right side. The Irish Sea / Firth of Clyde forms the western boundary of the course, flanked by sand dunes. The Royal Troon Golf Club sits immediately to the north of Prestwick's