he kept returning to the theme, writing down his recommendations on techniques including some advice which still remains relevant to modern golfers. He also set out his views on the ideal golf ball which "must be of thick and hard leather not with pores or grains or that will let a pin usually pass through it the specially at the soft end", and on an early handicap system. Later life The Incorporation of Surgeons of Edinburgh (later renamed the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh) did not record Kincaid as having passed its entrance examination, and he does not appear to have qualified as a surgeon. In 1709 he donated to the Incorporation his deceased father's extensive library, and the Fellows list records that in 1710 Thomas Kincaid was admitted to the Incorporation "In regard of good deeds done by him ... without payment of any upsett money." This was one of the earliest instances of admission to the Incorporation without an entrance fee. Kincaid was an active member of the Edinburgh Company of Archers, and in 1711 became the third winner of the City of Edinburgh silver arrow, the Edinburgh Arrow which still continues today as the longest-running annual archery competition. He is buried with his parents in Greyfriars Kirkyard in Edinburgh. Further reading Thomas Kincaid's diary References Scottish male golfers Scottish male archers Golfers from Edinburgh Members of the Royal Company of Archers Place of death unknown 1661 births 1726 deaths