Pat and Mark
You might be interested in the following:
"History of Mullingar Golf Club
The story of how James Braid designed this marvellous course has gone down in Irish folklore. Brought over from Scotland by the old Dublin boat train from Glasgow, he arrived at Mullingar with the early morning dew, and after a little “liquid refreshment” to enliven his flagging energy, simply asked for “a hatchet and three dozen wooden tees”. Then, before the astonished eyes of the founder members, he simply chopped and hacked his way into the middle of the then formidable gorse. With his trademark walrus moustache flapping in the wind, in four hours flat he had “pegged off” the now famous eighteen holes and greens, using the little wooden golf tees as markers. He then simply pointed to where the clubhouse should be built, handed the members his bill, and stepped back into his motorcar for the return journey to Dublin.
This story by itself would be incredible enough, given the totally incredible amounts of money and man-hours that are now spent on course design, but it doesn’t end here. As the course was nearing completion, someone suddenly realised that no provision had been made for any sand traps. An urgent telegram was sent to the unflappable Braid, asking him to return forthwith and “finish” his design. By return, a telegram winged its way to the members. “Play your new course for a month, and where you see the most divot marks, that’s where you put your bunkers!”
Rich