| James Braid | |||
|---|---|---|---|
&sq=&lang=&file=File:James_Braid_golf_1904.jpg) Braid in 1904 | |||
| Personal information | |||
| Full name | James Braid | ||
| Born | 6 February 1870 Earlsferry, Fife, Scotland | ||
| Died | 27 November 1950 (aged 80) London, England | ||
| Sporting nationality |  Scotland | ||
| Career | |||
| Status | Professional | ||
| Professional wins | 19 | ||
| Best results in major championships (wins: 5) | |||
| Masters Tournament | DNP | ||
| PGA Championship | DNP | ||
| U.S. Open | DNP | ||
| The Open Championship | Won: 1901, 1905, 1906, 1908, 1910 | ||
| Achievements and awards | |||
| |||
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&sq=&lang=&file=File:James_Braid_Vanity_Fair_26_June_1907b.jpg)
James Braid (6 February 1870[1] – 27 November 1950) was a Scottish professional golfer and a member of the Great Triumvirate of the sport alongside Harry Vardon and John Henry Taylor. He won The Open Championship five times.[2] He also was a renowned golf course architect. Braid is a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame.
Braid was born in Earlsferry, Fife, Scotland, the son of James and Mary (née Harris). He played golf from an early age, working as a clubmaker before turning professional in 1896. Initially his game was hindered by problems with his putting, but he overcame this after switching to an aluminium putter in 1900. He won The Open Championship in 1901, 1905, 1906, 1908 and 1910. In addition, Braid won four British PGA Matchplay Championships (1903, 1905, 1907 and 1911), as well as the 1910 French Open title. He was also runner-up in The Open Championship in 1897, 1902, 1904, and 1909. His 1906 victory in The Open Championship was the last successful defence of the title by a European until Pádraig Harrington replicated the feat in 2008.[3]
In 1912, Braid scaled back his tournament golf, and became a full-time club professional at Walton Heath; he had begun a relationship with that London-area club more than a decade before. He developed a very successful career in golf course design,[4][5] and is sometimes regarded as the "inventor" of the dogleg, although holes of similar design had been known for centuries (for example, the Road Hole at the Old Course at St Andrews). Among his designs are the "King's Course" and the "Queen's Course" at Gleneagles, and the 1926 remodelling of The Open Championship venue Carnoustie Golf Links.
Stranraer Golf Club's course was the final one that was designed by Braid in the year that he died, 1950. He was called out of retirement to plan Creachmore, which was to be his last commission. Braid never lived to see the course completed. He died in London on 27 November 1950.[6]
Harry Vardon and Braid collaborated on several editions of Spalding Athletic Library "How to Play Golf".[7] Braid also wrote "Advanced Golf, or, Hints and Instruction for Progressive Players" in 1911. There is also a book about all the courses Braid designed as an architect titled "James Braid and his 400 courses."
- ^ "Births in the Parish of Kilconquar in the County of Fife". Statutory Births 436/00 0009. ScotlandsPeople. Archived from the original on 21 November 2008. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
- ^ "James Braid". The Open. Archived from the original on 16 October 2013. Retrieved 16 October 2013.
- ^ "Harrington sets 'exclusive' goals". BBC News. 21 July 2008. Retrieved 14 August 2008.
- ^ "The James Braid Golf Trail". Visit Scotland. Archived from the original on 19 May 2005. Retrieved 13 August 2009.
- ^ The Golf Courses of James Braid by John F Moreton, Grant Books, 1996.
- ^ "History of Stranraer Golf Club". Archived from the original on 7 December 2013. Retrieved 16 October 2013.
- ^ "How to Play Golf". Hathitrust. Retrieved 16 December 2020.