Lochmaben

When Lochmaben Golf Club was established in 1926, the club committee had the good sense to call in a reputable architect and so James Braid was engaged to lay out a course for the members. Within a short space of time, Braid had pegged out nine fairways around one side of a small loch, and in no time at all, local golfers were indulging in their new sporting pursuit.

In the book James Braid and his Four Hundred Golf Courses by John F. Moreton & Iain Cumming, the authors comment on the modern day course in relation to the original layout: “In 1995 the course was extended to eighteen holes, so that Kirk Loch now has two-thirds of it surrounded by golf holes.”

The book continues: “Braid’s first three holes are now 4, 5 and 6; his 4, 5 and 6 are now 16, 17 and 18; his 7th the present 1st. His 8 and 9 are the lost holes. The new holes are, suitably, in character. The local paper purred at the formal opening in 1929, calling Braid ‘that prince of architects’ and commenting that the layout was typical of his cunning.”

Nowadays, the course extends to slightly less than 6,000 yards from the back tees, with only two par fives on the card at the 11th and 15th. One of the newer holes, the 120-yard 8th, is now regarded as the signature hole, requiring the tee shot at this short par three to be played over a loch inlet towards a green benched into the hillside overlooking the water.