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.

James attended Williamsburgh primary school and caddied at the local links, where he learned how to play the game. Entering a junior caddies competition aged eight, he won the event with many strokes to spare. A year later, he saw every shot played by Champion Golfer Jamie Anderson who was playing in a Professionals v Amateurs match on the Elie course.

Braid finished his schooling aged 13 and became an apprentice joiner, walking three miles to and from his place of work six days a week. Two years later, he had enough money to pay his entry fee and annual subscription as a member of Earlsferry Thistle, the artisan club attached to the Elie golf course, and he won the second medal he contested on what was then still an 11-hole layout.

Braid moved to St Andrews in 1889, playing in matches against Andrew Kirkcaldy and his brother Hugh, then moved to Edinburgh two years later, joining the Edinburgh Thistle Club which played on the Braids municipal moorland course overlooking the capital. He spent another two years working there before heading south of the border.

His cousin Charles Smith, the foreman clubmaker at the Army and Navy Stores in London had notified Braid of a vacancy that had arisen. So, although Braid had never made a club in his life and knew nothing about the process, he set off for the Big Smoke with at least an understanding of how to work with wood and tools.

From late 1893 until the summer of 1896, Braid’s time away from his London day job saw him practice at a number of clubs, including Chiswick, Sudbrook Park and Mid-Surrey. He also assisted at Hastings in 1895 before becoming the fulltime professional at Romford a year later.

Braid laid out the course at nearby Theydon Bois in 1898, receiving £4.13s.6d for his efforts. It was a 9-hole affair (which 

 extended to eighteen holes in 1971), most of which is still intact. It would be the first of many courses he’d design but his professional playing career was also in full swing.

Three years after winning his first Open in 1901, Braid moved to Walton Heath and he would remain Head Professional there until his death forty-six years later. The club’s two courses are the work of 

 and the canny Scotsman knew better than to tinker with layouts generally accepted as being among the best in the British Isles.

Instead, he concentrated on winning the Open again and by the end of the decade, he would be crowned Champion Golfer of the Year and hold aloft the Claret Jug a further four times; twice at St Andrews in 1905 and 1910, at Muirfield (again) in 1906 and at Prestwick in 1908.

Braid had a remarkable playing record in The Open, entering every championship between 1896 and 1938. All told, he took part in 39 events (38 consecutively) with an astonishing nineteen Top 10 finishes.

His record in the News of the World match play was also very impressive, competing in 32 consecutive tournaments from 1903 to 1939 (winning four times and finishing runner-up twice).

It’s reckoned that Braid played more than 1800 rounds of 18-hole golf during his playing career in matches, tournaments and qualifying events and his record stands up well against the other two members of the Great Triumvirate – versus Harry Vardon it’s 55 won, 12 drawn, 49 lost and against J.H. Taylor it’s 41 won, 11 drawn, 36 lost.

Braid’s contract at Walton Heath allowed him to be away from the club for up to ninety days during a year so, when he was not competing in tournaments, he was able to travel the length and breadth of the country designing new courses or modifying and advising on existing layouts.

During his career, it’s reckoned Braid designed more than a hundred 9-hole and 18-hole courses. He also extended more than fifty 9-holers to 18-hole layouts and he either reconstructed or altered over two hundred courses in some way or another, even if just advising on new bunker schemes.

Braid rarely travelled abroad – he was apparently affected badly by motion sickness – so his foreign designs are limited to around a dozen in total in N. Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and the Isle of Man. He ventured occasionally to play on the continent of Europe, winning the French Open at La Boulie in 1910.

Braid used Paisley contractor John R. Stutt for construction work on at least fifty of his projects over a time span of more than quarter of a century and it was his trusted friend Stutt who completed his last course at Stranraer in Dumfries and Galloway, shortly after he died in 1950.

James Braid and his Four Hundred Golf Courses

, authors John F. Moreton and Iain Cumming had this to say in their epilogue: “Braid’s courses seem to stand the test of time better than most… [his] work will never become obsolete: it has actually become ‘required reading’ for today’s trainee architects who, it is to be hoped, will remember the values which Braid established.”

Kevin Kenny ended an essay entitled ‘The design work of James Braid in Ireland’ in the book 

Golf Architecture: A Worldwide Perspective (Volume Six)

“When summing up Braid’s work in Ireland, two things stand out: firstly, the simple but effective practice of adding trees and bunkers to provide definition to the courses under his care; and, secondly, and of greatest significance, the efficient and distinctly non-fussy manner in which he went about his work.

J.R. Stutt, who did most, if not all, of the construction work on Braid’s Irish designs, confirmed that ‘his plans were always crystal clear and definite; and it was exceptional indeed for even minor alterations to be made during the carrying out of his work’.

Similarly, when assessing his qualities as a golf course architect, Bernard Darwin, his friend and biographer, declared that Braid had a ‘good eye for country, a temperate judgement and a fund of plain common sense.’

These qualities were seen to great effect wherever he worked in Ireland. Invariably, this involved short visits, followed by a succinct letter or plan of his suggestions. And Braid’s willingness to utilise nature, as much as sensibly possible, was a constant hallmark.

Today, in an era of large golf design teams utilising earth-moving technology, and firms who introduce artificial water hazards, it is worth remembering that one of the game’s true and lasting giants found such economical ways to create courses. These have been challenging and enjoyable to play. Furthermore, they have endured the test of time.”

Author George E. Payne’s brilliant three-volume book 

Divine Fury of James Braid: Professional Golf Standard Bearer

 pays tribute to James Braid, the man, as illustrated in the following edited extract:

“James Braid was a friend of king and road sweeper alike who never moved a step to seek popularity and yet attained it in rich measure. He refused to have a telephone at home saying if he had one he would never get any peace. Never possessing a car, Braid travelled everywhere by train and was said to know the train timetables to golf venues off by heart.

Over his 80-year lifespan Braid was seldom seriously ill unlike his great friend and rival Harry Vardon. His eyes were his most frequent problem (resulting) from an accident during his time as a joiner in his teens, when he accidentally got lime in his eyes, leaving him almost blind in his left eye.

Vardon, J.H. Taylor and Braid were all relatively abstemious, but all enjoyed a drink. Braid’s favourite tipple was a glass of port. Early in his career Braid was said to be a smoker but by 1911 it was recorded that ‘he never smokes’. In later life he was said to be partial to a pinch of snuff.

Braid was a grand gallery player and crowd pleaser. Wherever he went, if he failed to break the course record, he would certainly hit some record drives, carries and cleek shots, the like of which had never been seen on the course before. This made him a more interesting player to follow than those who played a more methodical steady game without serious risk taking.

Braid habitually went for the big shot if there was any chance of achieving it. They say he was never happier than when playing from deep rough. No rough was too dense for his excavations and no carry too intimidating for his courage. He found the clubs of his day inadequate for getting out of heavy rough and invented the great big niblick.

Braid maintained a Ledger Book in which he kept details of his non-Walton Heath professional’s trading between 1919-20 and 1939-40. Braid’s income after expenses was an average £302-15-5 per annum. The ledger also contains names of greenkeepers who were seeking employment and quotations from clubmakers and tree surgeons.

Braid, though by nature reserved to the point of shyness, was a man of great character. His opinion, if he could be persuaded to give it, carried immense weight and his wisdom and judgement were universally recognised. He had a truly Scottish pawky sense of humour and retained every national characteristic of a Scot, even his accent went unchanged despite the long time he lived in England.

Braid entered hospital in November 1950 for what seemed a routine appendix operation, but sadly he failed to recover from the trauma thereof and passed away, in the presence of his sons, some three weeks later in a nursing home on 27th November. James had the good fortune to lead a full life up to the very end, a happy warrior still in harness.”

Harry Vardon wrote in 1912: “I enjoy nothing more than the sight of Braid getting out of the rough. The best – worst – of Braid in the rough is that it generally means no punishment at all for him. It is a real treat to watch him playing a shot in an extremely difficult position. He has no equal at it. The only place in which he is beaten is the place in which he has no room to swing his club. Give him just enough space to raise the implement and he will recover from anything. The trouble may be gorse or rank grass, or rocks or a railway track; as he takes the club up you know something will have to go, and that the ball will go with it.”

Bernard Darwin wrote in 1934: “As regards golfers, nobody could look so wise as James Braid is. There is nobody whose every word and action is so redolent of sagacity. One thinks of him first and foremost as a man of extraordinary cool, wise judgement. Certainly, no man ever played golf with a wiser head. He was a superb iron player, a master of very kind of running shot and though not a naturally good putter he made himself for one period of his career almost a great one. A better player out of difficulties I am sure was never seen, he was as skilful and resourceful as he was strong.”

J.H. Taylor wrote in 1943: “James had tacked on to him the reputation of a bad putter. This may have been justified when in the early days he was gathering the threads of his game together and showed weakness when it was a matter of knocking the ball into the hole from short distance, a weakness that afflicts all. This supposed weakness is more than compensated by the exactitude of the long run-up approach putts. As a diviner of the true line to the hole there is no superior – I have yet to meet the player who could hole the ten-yard putt with greater regularity.”

Henry Cotton wrote in 1948: “This tall, stooping, ruddy-complexioned old Scot is one of the wonders of the golfing world. Jimmy, besides being a great golfer from a technical point of view, is the possessor of a wonderful temperament; he learned never to show any emotion in his golf, and in addition is a man of very few words. He has a great eye for a golf hole and will cross a tract of virgin land and plot out golf holes as well as any man. He has been a successful golf architect and his many golf courses are not rubber stamped; they are original.”

James Braid and His Four Hundred Golf Courses

 by John F. Moreton and Iain Cumming (2013)

World Golf Hall of Fame – Class of 1976: “James Braid’s worst finish in The Open Championship from 1901-1910 was fifth. In 1904, he was also the first player in an Open to break 70, shooting 69 in the third round at Royal St. George’s.”

James Braid

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.

 with Ken Cotton, who subsequently became his senior partner. He was building two courses – St Pierre and Ross-on-Wye – in the early 1960s, so he went to both locations and wrote a piece about building new golf layouts, which he found absolutely fascinating.

They kept in touch. Then about two years later Ken contacted Donald as he wanted a bit of help and asked if he’d be interested. Donald stopped him before he’d even finished the question and said, “Thank you very much!” Before long, he joined forces with Ken Cotton, 

 and Charles Lawrie in their design practice.

Donald describes Cotton as “a pupil of 

, a fine player himself, [who] decided to embark on a third career as an architect to establish his own name and portfolio in spite of the fairly flat market. St Pierre and Ross-on-Wye couldn’t have been more different, St Pierre almost ready-made and Ross-on-Wye carved out of poorly drained woodland.”

Steel continues: “Brickendon Grange was another of Ken’s new courses around that time and there was also a pleasant journey with him to Brecon to look at a course called Penotre, now named Cradoc. He was also responsible for the extension from 27 holes to 36 at Frilford Heath.

His best course abroad was Olgiata in Rome, scene of great Britain and Ireland’s first victory in the 1964 World Amateur Team Championship, but perhaps Ken’s greatest act of kindness to me was his bestowal of Tom Simpson’s ‘Golf Architect’s Bible’ which is an amazing leather bound miscellany of architectural and greenkeeping ‘secrets’. The fact that there is only one copy is because it is predominantly hand-written.”

A graduate of Cambridge University, Cotton was a scratch amateur golfer who was both a school teacher and golf club secretary between the wars before moving into golf course design when he saw potential opportunities in reclaiming layouts that had been neglected or fallen into disrepair during World War II.


“It is a fitting tribute to Ken Cotton who died last Wednesday a few weeks before his 87th birthday that the week’s two major tournaments, the County Champions and the Dunlop Masters, were played on courses which he designed, Ross-on-Wye and St Pierre.

Their creation marked the beginning of the wave of new courses which have sprung into being in Britain in the last 10 or 12 years and their contrasting delights display the very best of Cotton’s undoubted talent as an architect.

His knowledge and appreciation of the art were based on his own considerable skill as a player whose handicap was once plus two; but one of the remarkable facts about an enviable life was that he graduated from Cambridge having played virtually no golf there, and did not take up golf course architecture seriously until the end of World War II when well over 50.

In between times he taught as a schoolmaster before drifting into golf in the role of secretary at Parkstone and Stoke Poges – and Oxhey where Ted Ray was professional and with whom he must have made the best professional secretary foursomes partnership in history.

His experiences as a secretary, together with those of a player, enabled him to get to know golf inside out and with the encouragement of his brother and some expert advice from his friend Tom Simpson he launched himself with immediate success on a third career. As in the other two, his kind and thoughtful manner won him nothing but friends and he will be widely missed.

In an effort to safe guard clients against golf course architects with little knowledge of their trade, he was co-founder of the British Association of Golf Course Architects and in June of this year succeeded 

It is sad to reflect that he and Mackenzie Ross represent almost the last of a generation which has seen so much change in the game this century, but it is unquestionable that their influence upon this change has been both lasting and good.”

“C.K. Cotton, a graduate of Cambridge University, took up the game of golf after college and quickly developed into a fine player. He was a scratch golfer for over thirty years. Cotton worked for nearly twenty years as a club secretary at a series of golf clubs. After WWII he decided to assist in reconstruction of the many war-torn layouts.” Geoff Cornish and Ron Whitten 

C. K. Cotton

Cotton didn't take up golf course architecture until the end of WWII when well over 50. In between times he taught as a schoolmaster before drifting into the role of secretary at Parkstone and Stoke Poges.

Angus & Dundee

Boys Amateur

Scottish Open

British PGA Matchplay

Women's Home Internationals

Jacques Léglise Trophy

Scottish Amateur

Scotland

The inaugural Scottish Open, sponsored by Sunbeam Electric, was held at Downfield Golf Club in 1972. The event moved to St Andrews (Old) in 1973 and was then dropped from the European Tour calendar until 1986 when the tournament went to Haggs Castle under new sponsorship. 

On the outskirts of Dundee, lies Downfield Golf Club, a lovely parkland course little known outside Scotland. Paul Lawrie came through Open Qualifying here in 1999 and went on to win the Open at 

. Downfield also hosted the inaugural 1972 Scottish Open (sponsored by Sunbeam Electric), when England's Neil Coles won after a play-off with Wales’s Brian Huggett. Undoubtedly, Downfield is a gem and one of the most beautiful inland courses in Scotland, with more than 100 species of trees lining the manicured fairways.

A modest nine-hole course was laid out at Downfield at the turn of the century but the land was returned to agriculture during the First World War. The club was reformed in 1932 and the great James Braid laid out a new course. Houses now occupy most of the 1930s layout – only five original holes are incorporated into the course we play today, which was laid out by a Downfield Golf Club member with advice and guidance from C.K.Cotton.

Downfield represents a differing challenge, depending on which tees are used. From the back tees, the course measures more than 6,800 yards against a par of 73, but from the regular men’s tees, three par fives become testing, long par fours. There are six par fives for the ladies, against a par of 75. Water, in the shape of ditches and ponds, come into play on seven holes, adding to the obvious main hazard – the trees. The 11th though to the 13th are probably the best collection of holes. 11th and 13th are both tough par fours from the regular tees and the 12th is one of Gary Player’s favourite par threes, called “Davy Jones’s Locker”.

The 61st edition of the British PGA Matchplay was held here in 1974 then three years later the club hosted the Boys Amateur championship. More recently, the female golf teams from England won both the Women’s and Girls’ Home Internationals when the matches were staged at Downfield in 2019.

Downfield

Letham Grange (Old)

Britain & Ireland

On the outskirts of Dundee, lies Downfield Golf Club, a lovely James Braid-designed parkland course little known outside Scotland.