Why does James Braid

[Sean_A]

get so little respect in the world of architecture?  Perhaps the question is misplaced, but my perception is that he doesn't get the recognition he deserves.  Braid was a major influence in the development of the game by laying out or reworking loads of courses.  Many of these courses are known the world over.  In many ways Eddie Hacket has continued the ideal of bringing golf to the masses.  His reputation is lacking as well.  What place does the great Braid hold?  Is he undervalued as an architect?

Ciao

Sean

[Bill_McBride]

Sean, # 14 at Pennard is called "Braids."  Is that a reference to James Braid?  Did he lay out the course?  When was the course built?  In my report onPennard, I referred to that sneaky little fairway pot on that hole.  Now I see it on the Stroke Saver, I guess the play is well right of the directional marker.  Don't you hate it when that happens?  

[Jonathan Cummings]

I've always thought that Baird's bunkering at Gleneagles in nothing short of brilliant.  Go to Bandon.  If you have played Gleneagles it's impossible not to see the Baird bunkering in Kidd's Bandon course.

JC

[T_MacWood]

Darwin was not a big fan of his work...and he wrote his biography. Regarding Glenaeagles, Darwin and MacKenzie gave credit to CK Hutchison for the quality of that course. Most of the courses that are celebrated as his best work today are actually jobs he was called on to remodel...hard to say what is his work and what was there when he got there.

[David_Tepper]

Sean -

Are you familiar with the Braid Golf Trails that have been created throughout Scotland? I did a post here on them last October (I think).

I believe there are 5 or 6 loops of 4-6 golf courses that Braid has designed in various regions of Scotland. A very nice brochure has been created to highlight Braid's impressive course design work. Have you seen it? Hopefully, it will make the golfing public a little more aware of the many courses he did.

As I recall, the Braid Highlands Trail includes Brora, Golspie, Fortrose & Rosemarkie, Nairn and Boat of Garten.

DT

[Jonathan Cummings]

I admit to not knowing the Gleneagle history well.  If Baird was not the architect of the King's and Queen's course greens and bunkers than whoever was should be championed.  Regardless, David Kidd is surely emulating these at Bandon.

JC

[T_MacWood]

"However, it is also abundantly clear that Braid could be a genius when given good property. "

Sean
You are probably right. Which of his original works would you consider genius?

[Yannick Pilon]

I have the brochure you guys are talking about.  I ordered it from one of the Golf Scotland website....  

I will try to post more info on it later tonight.  It's quite a nice brochure, outlining four different regions of Scotland and their James Braid courses.

The bunkering at Gleneagles was, I agree, fantastic!  I am so glad I played the Kings course.

[johnk]

Boat of Garten is genius...

Some of his others are merely great:
Brora
Southport & Ainsdale
Carnoustie
Gleneagles King's

I think that if you travel around Scotland, you end up being surprised at the quantity and quality of his work.

Don't forget that Braid was a superb player - he won the Open 5 times!  So it's an understatement to say he was pretty influential in his day.

[Brent Hutto]

Would Jack Nicklaus be the apt comparison with Braid? Great player, always in demand even if he only spent two days on site, a few really good courses and many competent ones.

Like Jack didn't he even have a readily identifiable style? In Braid's case he liked Par 4's of all different lengths more than he liked one-shotter and especially three-shotters. Or is that too much of a stereotype?

[EDIT] Upon further review, I should have said he lied Par 4's of all different lengths more than he like three-shotters since some of his well known courses have notably good Par 3 collections.

[John Goodman]

A few weeks back I had a chance to play Brora, Golspie, Nairn and Boat of Garten, and a chance to see the King's Course.  I have played several other of his courses on other trips.  I agree that, as a matter of generalization, the par 4s (both long and short) on Braid's courses are far more memorable, tough and pleasurable than the par 3s and 5s.  You wouldn't get to play very many of the "biggies" if you went to Scotland and just played Braid courses, but you wouldn't run into many American golf tour buses either, and you'd see some very solid GCA, in my view.            

[Brent Hutto]

John G.,

On my trip to the Highlands next year I was already planning on playing Brora and Golspie and Mark Rowlinson offered to hook me up with a friend who's a member at Nairn. Sounds like I ought to catch Boat of Garten on the way from or to Glasgow and make a little study of Braid's contribution to the art. I doubt I'll find myself at Gleneagles, though.

[David_Tepper]

John Goodman -

Having played Golspie 15 to 20 times and Brora 3 or 4, I am not too sure I would agree that Braid's par-3's are in any way weaker or less interesting than his par-4's.

I think the five par-3's at Golspie are the strength of the course.  #16 could be the best par-3 in the Highlands. Brora's are quite good as well and each plays into a different direction of the compass. The other nice thing is that for each course you have to use a different club for each of the par-3's.

DT    

[Brent Hutto]

I think the five par-3's at Golspie are the strength of the course.  #16 could be the best par-3 in the Highlands. Brora's are quite good as well and each plays into a different direction of the compass. The other nice thing is that for each course you have to use a different club for each of the par-3's.

To thread-jack for a moment...

David has hit on one of the biggest ripoff in a course routing. Am I the only one who walks away with disappointed when I finish a round at a course that features a downhill 175-yarder, a dead level 165-yarder and a slightly uphill 160-yarder as three of its four Par 3's?

Or worse yet. The third nine at my home club has three Par 3's in the final five holes, all three are under 140 yards, all three are drop-shot holes and I play them all with exactly the same club unless the wind is blowing hard. What's up with that?

[John Goodman]

David - you're right about 16 at Golspie - a great natural green there.  I didn't feel as strongly about the others; though no. 6 (I believe) features a great vista including the backside of the Mannie up on Ben Bhraggie.  The first par 3 at Brora is a super hole too, as is 18.  I would certainly defer to you on this, as I've only played Brora twice and Golspie once.

Brent - whether you stop at the Boat depends maybe on how you feel about playing what is in essence a "birch and heather" mountain course when you could drive on another hour and be on a links.  BOG was excellent, though, great "rumple" to the fairways, great scenery, some thrilling blind shots, a lot of fun.  If you decide to invest a day there, Kingussie (about twenty minutes southwest) is also very good.  It's a Vardon course that has probably better scenery (especially on the front 9) and just as much quirk, but does have some pedestrian holes on the incoming 9.  Apparently most of the members are old "shinty" players and have really weird swings as a result (hands never getting much higher than the waist).  I didn't see this in action though.
 

[Yannick Pilon]

As I promised earlier, here is a bit of info on the the James Braid Golf Trail Brochure that David Tepper mentionned in his post.

The brochure is maid by Visit Scotland (http://golf.visitscotland.com/jbcollection) and is presented the following way:

"The essential guide to six Scottish golf trails, exploring a selection of the courses designed by Scotland's internationally renowned golf course architect, James Braid"

The trails are the following:

The Angus Golf Trail
(Edzell, Forfar, Downfield, Alyth, Blairgowrie - Rosemount)

The Lothian Golf Trail
(Dalmahoy - East and West, West Linton, Royal Musselburgh, Lothianburn, Ratho Park)

The Gleneagles Golf Trail
(Gleneagles - King's and Queen's, Alloa , Crieff , Taymouth Castle)

The Links Golf Trail
Elie, Lundin, Arbroath, Carnoustie, Panmure, Scotsgraig

The Highland Golf Trail
(Nairn , Boat of Garten, Golspie, Fortrose & Rosemarkie, Brora)

The West Coast Golf Trail
(Irvine , Ayr Bellisle , Stranraer , Routenburn, West Kilbride)

Some of these courses are redesigns, but most of them seem to be his courses, at least according to the brochure.

While a was doing research for my first trip to Scotland, I was really surprised to find his name attached to so many of the good courses in Scotland.  For someone so prolific, he seems to be flying under the radar in most of the golf course architecture books or magazines that I have seen.

I would surely like to know more about him.... If anyone has a good book to recommended, I would appreciate.

[T_MacWood]

I'm not sure how much Nairn and Brora are Braid's. He was paid £25 at Brora for his efforts and a similar amount at Nairn. Like I said, Darwin and MacKenzie gave Hutchison much of the credit at Glenaeagles. My impression of Braid is a home body. He was known to make quick trips to a site, make his suggestions and then was on the next train home. He was also, from what I understand, a talented artist.

Darwin notes his best work in Braid's biography:

Gleneagles (w/Hutchison), Carnoustie (r.), Dalmahoy, Blairgowrie, Royal Blackheath (r.), Ramsey (r.), Queen's Park (Bournemouth), Rhyl, Scarborough North Cliff, Leamington Spa, Wildernesse, Burnham Castle, Weir Park, Arcot Hall, Truro, Belleisle, Drayton Park, Kingswood, Finchley, Dunstable, Bangor (r.), Mullingar, Waterford, Hilton Park, Torquay (r.), Stover-Newton Abbot, Eaglescliffe (r.), Dawlish, Middlesborough, Greenock (r.), Welshpool, Oswestry, Forfar (r.), Boat of Garten (r.) and Oresett.

[Andy Levett]

Sean
A chap called Moreton (I think that's the correct spelling) wrote 'Golf Courses of James Braid' for Grant Books. If you can find a copy let me know what it's like.

I like lots of 'Braid' courses but it would be several lifetimes' work to determine what he did, what was there before and what his 'people' like Hutchison and Stutt did.
You go somewhere like Brora and think he was a genius, then go somewhere like Saltburn and wonder at how many blind 300yard par 4s an architect can find on a not especially hilly  site.

[T_MacWood]

The two good books on Braid are his biography 'James Braid' written by Darwin and 'The Golf Courses of James Braid' written by Moreton.

Brora existed prior to Braid's visit. He visited the course in 1924 walked the course with a member, made his suggestions and was on the next train home that afternoon. His fee £25.

From what I understand at Nairn 9, 10 and 11 were the only new holes Braid added to that course.

In the Heathland Braid re-bunkered Royal Blackheath, and did some work at Berkhampsted and Hankley Common, but perhaps his best course in the area was called The Naze, but it was lost during the war.

Darwin was never a great fan of his work, he thought Braid leaned to heavily upon on the penal use of bunkers. Fred Hawtree devoted a chapter to Braid in his last book on golf architecture. My impression is that he had a similar attitude to Darwin.
 

[Andy Levett]

No, I don't know of any others. Maybe someone should do a nice coffee table tome, though it would have to be titled something like How To Cure Your Slice On The Golf Courses Of James Braid to interest UK publishers.

[T_MacWood]

Penal bunkers would be bunkers designed to catch a bad shot, as opposed to bunkers designed to elicit a risk and reward opportunity.

[T_MacWood]

Thats one way to look at. I don't believe Low, Colt, Simpson, MacKenzie and others looked at it that way.

[T_MacWood]

Sean
A good illustration of strategic vs penal design thought would be Oakland Hills...the Ross scheme vs the RTJ scheme.

[T_MacWood]

The holes that have bunkers left and right pinching the landing area (#1, #2, #4, #5, #8, #10, #18)....in contrast to Ross's en echelon bunkering pattern.

C&W's 'The Golf Course', Doak's 'Anatomy of a Golf Course' and Shackelford's 'Grounds for Golf' have some good illustations of the difference between penal and strategic design if you are looking for more.

[Kyle Harris]

Tom, et al,

I define Penal Hazards as hazards that do NOT offer a strategic advantage for being challenged.

For example, a hazard that is carried or played near but yet does not offer a distinct advantage for the next shot (It may not offer a disadvantage either).

A forced carry to a fairway with a green that has a bunker on the right side, for example, would be penal, though the position in the fairway may favor one side over the other. There is no way to avoid the hazard.