Touched by J.H. Taylor and James Braid, Banstead Downs Golf Club was inaugurated in 1890 and this natural, recently extended, 6,581-yard, lie-of-the-land course is routed over free draining chalk downland.
Touched by J.H. Taylor and James Braid, Banstead Downs Golf Club was inaugurated in 1890 and this natural, recently extended, 6,581-yard, lie-of-the-land course is routed over free draining chalk downland.
Banstead Downs Golf Club
Course Architect
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James Braid was born in 1870 in Earlsferry, the adjoining village to Elie in the East Neuk of Fife. He became a member of Earlsferry Thistle aged fifteen and was off scratch by his sixteenth birthday.
James Braid was born in 1870 to James Braid (a farm worker) and his wife Mary (née Harris) who was an accomplished weaver. His father had two other children from an earlier marriage of which he had been widowed. James came into the world at Liberty Place, between Earlsferry and Elie, but the family later moved to a small weaver’s cottage at 36 High Street, Earlsferry.
Course Architect
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Course Architect
John Henry Taylor is rightly regarded as a golfing pioneer. He was one of the best golfers of his era then played a significant role in shaping the way that the game is now played. Born into an ordinary, working class family in Devon, his father passed away when he was only eleven years of age, forcing him to leave school in favour of paid employment.
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3.5
Overall rating
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