Adam,
That comment re Colt may hold true south of the border but in Scotland I think Colt's work is few and far between while Braid seems to have been everywhere, and to great affect (or is it effect ?).
Jerry
I really don't know too much about Ross to go in depth on any comparison but the fact that they were both pro's and quite prolific with their design work would be something they had in common. When we look at the ODG in the UK we tend to place the "gifted amateurs" like Colt, MacKenzie, Simpson, Fowler, Abercromby etc over Braid and it is true that perhaps some of their courses are more revered than Braids but I think that is partly to do with him not getting a sniff at the posh clubs that had a higher profile and the snobbery of the time. Darwin, who was a wonderful writer but also a terrific snob, did more than anyone to eulogise Colt etc but when he wrote Braid's biography you felt any praise he gave was almost grudging and had to be qualified in some way.
Did Ross get the same treatment in America ? No idea.
Braid's routings have tended to hold up well which can't always be said about MacKenzie for instance who even though he was a doctor wasn't too hot on health & safety. What we don't tend to think of with Braid (or is it just me ?) is the artistic side of things. Braid could do frilly edged bunkers with capes poking out of the face as well as undulating greens. There was a thread a while back asking which NLE courses you wish you had seen and for me it is the 2nd course at Turnberry that Braid redesigned in the early 1920's. Photos I've seen of that look fantastic.
Niall