Background
Foulis was born on 19 April 1868 in the family home at 9 Crails Lane in Street Andrews, Scotland, to James Foulis (1841–1925) and Helen Ann Foulis (née Jamieson) (1847–1928).
Foulis was born on 19 April 1868 in the family home at 9 Crails Lane in Street Andrews, Scotland, to James Foulis (1841–1925) and Helen Ann Foulis (née Jamieson) (1847–1928).
Foulis tied for eighth place in the 1897 United States. Open, held at the Chicago Golf Club in Wheaton, Illinois. He was the inventor of the golf hole cup liner or "golf flag support" and received a patent for the invention in 1912. At age 23 he was working as an ironmonger"s assistant.
He emigrated to the United States in 1896 and became a naturalized American citizen.
He scored rounds of 86-87=173 and tied for eighth place with Horace Rawlins and H. J. Whigham. In 1921 David became the professional and greenskeeper at the Hinsdale Golf Club in Chicago where he remained until his retirement in 1939.
Golf flag support invention
He was the inventor of the "golf flag support" and received a patent on 5 April 1912 for the invention. Mashie-Niblick invention
They invented the bramble patterning for Coburn Haskell"s new rubber-cored ball.
In response to the demands of the new ball they developed the "mashie-niblick", the modern 7-iron, which fell between the traditional mashie (5-iron) and niblick (9-iron), and patented the design.
Foulis had four brothers (John, James, Robert, and Simpson) who were all professional golfers. He also had two sisters, Annie and Maggie. Foulis died in 1950 at Hinsdale Hospital in Chicago, aged 82.
He was buried in Wheaton Cemetery in Wheaton, Illinois.
Foulis is remembered as the inventor of the golf flag support and the modern 7-iron, two significant inventions in the history of golf.