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James Braid and his contribution to golf - podcast
Thomas Dai:
Here is a link to the first of three CookieJar podcasts with James Braid historian and contributor herein Simon Barrington.
https://t.co/9pYGVV7AIv
To be as elite a player as James Braid was plus to also be as elite as he was at laying out courses often with little funds available and on less than ideal land is pretty remarkable.
Someone with a truly outstanding and unique position within the game I’d suggest.
Enjoy.
Atb
Niall C:
David
Are you suggesting that typically Braid was given poorer land and had more limited budgets than what his contemporaries typically got in the UK ?
Niall
Mark Pearce:
--- Quote from: Niall C on December 17, 2024, 08:14:22 AM ---David
Are you suggesting that typically Braid was given poorer land and had more limited budgets than what his contemporaries typically got in the UK ?
Niall
--- End quote ---
Indeed, an interesting suggestion.
Simon Barrington:
--- Quote from: Thomas Dai on December 17, 2024, 07:33:17 AM ---Here is a link to the first of three CookieJar podcasts with James Braid historian and contributor herein Simon Barrington.
https://t.co/9pYGVV7AIv
--- End quote ---
Dai, thank you so much for sharing. Too kind.
It was joy to be able to introduce James Braid's story as a man, golfer, and character of contrasts to a wider audience, hopefully in an engaging manner with a connected narrative.
There are several architectural nuggets in Episode 1, and more to come in Episode 2 which is more focused on his unsurpassed design output.
Some of the stories will surprise, amuse, and hopefully interest GCA participants.
Would be good if these may even cause debate/discussion on here.
There is much misunderstanding and (false) assumption about Braid's work and his contribution to our shared passion.
For those without Apple accounts it can be found on the front page here:
https://www.cookiejargolf.com
Cheers & Thanks again
Simon Barrington:
--- Quote from: Niall C on December 17, 2024, 08:14:22 AM ---David
Are you suggesting that typically Braid was given poorer land and had more limited budgets than what his contemporaries typically got in the UK ?
Niall
--- End quote ---
I'll let Dai answer for himself, but...
I would note that Braid would take on smaller prosaic projects (often on wild land) that the amateur architects priced themselves out of.
They saw it both as an art and as a business. Lesser jobs satisfied neither.
Braid saw it as a passion and his responsibility to make the game accessible to all (as seen by involvement in Women's courses, Municipal courses incl. the oldest existing Pitch & Putt, Artisan movement and the PGA) hard to argue he didn't succeed.
There are numerous examples of others asking for more in terms of fees, often multiples of his.
His fees were incredibly reasonable, especially when one looks at the resulting courses.
He created FUN, challenging, good strategic golf for many that has stood the test of time (well over a century in many cases).
Having said that, when he did have a larger budget which was often the case, and I note he never advertised for his design work, he soared to great heights...too many to list here.
Additionally he was the first "Open Doctor" (Prestwick, Troon, Deal & Troon were all remodelled extensively and respectfully by him for Open Championships)
Not many have the range he had on every type of land, his routing skill was incredible; the variety in his work, including in style, is truly astonishing.
Cheers & I hope you enjoy the podcast for more...;-)
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