Golfers Thread

[Mark Connolly]

6 hours ago, IrishBhoy said:

Just went and had a look at trying to book a 4ball on the PGA Course at Gleneagles, and I actually laughed out loud when I seen the prices they are wanting. £1200 for a 4ball on any of the 3 courses at Gleneagles? Surely that’s not right. I played the PGA about 6 months after the Ryder Cup was there and I don’t think I paid more than £100 quid. 
 

They do have a special ‘tee-time offer’, which brings the price down to somewhere around £170pp, but thats in September and only late afternoon tee times are available. I think we will find somewhere else. 

If you are a member of a course designed by James Braid, you can get on the Kings/Queens a bit cheaper, as well as discounts at the vast majority of the other courses he designed.

https://www.cbgc.co.uk/uploads/crowborough/File/Reciprocal Golf/The Association of James Braid Courses 2023 (1).pdf

[Inanimate Carbon Rod]

Dundonald for £75 is a vastly superior course than the pga.

[IrishBhoy]

8 minutes ago, Mark Connolly said:

If you are a member of a course designed by James Braid, you can get on the Kings/Queens a bit cheaper, as well as discounts at the vast majority of the other courses he designed.

https://www.cbgc.co.uk/uploads/crowborough/File/Reciprocal Golf/The Association of James Braid Courses 2023 (1).pdf

Up until last year I was a member of a James Braid course and not once did I take advantage of that deal to get a discount on other James Braid courses, even though I knew it existed. The guy must not have had a minutes peace when he was alive because he seems to have had a hand in designing a ridiculous amount of Scottish courses. 

[IrishBhoy]

33 minutes ago, Inanimate Carbon Rod said:

Dundonald for £75 is a vastly superior course than the pga.

That was genuinely second on the list although where are you seeing it for £75, the Scottish Resident fee is £110 and that’s the cheapest I can see. 
 

Looked at Robert the Bruce at Turnberry which was under 100 quid when I played it in 2021 I’m sure, and I’ve just seen it’s went up to £210. Surely that doesn’t make sound financial sense unless the course is getting booked out by tourists with too much money, because I can’t imagine too many local golfers will be paying that kind of money for a round there. It’s a nice course but I wouldn’t dream of paying the fat end of a grand for a 4 ball on it. 
 

 

[Mark Connolly]

37 minutes ago, IrishBhoy said:

Up until last year I was a member of a James Braid course and not once did I take advantage of that deal to get a discount on other James Braid courses, even though I knew it existed. The guy must not have had a minutes peace when he was alive because he seems to have had a hand in designing a ridiculous amount of Scottish courses. 

It's brilliant. Most courses will honour it for the entire 4 ball if only 3 of the 4 are Braid members as well.

The St Andrews one in New York is on my bucket list - plan at the moment is for a 50th birthday trip that includes there and at least one at Bethpage

[IrishBhoy]

8 minutes ago, Mark Connolly said:

It's brilliant. Most courses will honour it for the entire 4 ball if only 3 of the 4 are Braid members as well.

The St Andrews one in New York is on my bucket list - plan at the moment is for a 50th birthday trip that includes there and at least one at Bethpage

Aye it’s something we always talked about going and taking advantage of, but we never did. What’s the St. Andrews in New York that’s passed me by? 
 

That would certainly be one to remember at Bethpage. I’ve watched a few of those golf vloggers playing Bethpage Black on YouTube and it looks unreal. Sawgrass is one I want to tick off the list too I think that would be a surreal experience. 

[Inanimate Carbon Rod]

21 minutes ago, IrishBhoy said:

That was genuinely second on the list although where are you seeing it for £75, the Scottish Resident fee is £110 and that’s the cheapest I can see. 
 

Looked at Robert the Bruce at Turnberry which was under 100 quid when I played it in 2021 I’m sure, and I’ve just seen it’s went up to £210. Surely that doesn’t make sound financial sense unless the course is getting booked out by tourists with too much money, because I can’t imagine too many local golfers will be paying that kind of money for a round there. It’s a nice course but I wouldn’t dream of paying the fat end of a grand for a 4 ball on it. 
 

 

Ah my apologies thats from 16th october! 
Green fees on the trump owned courses are mental. But hey they have mugs who’ll pay that. 

[Mark Connolly]

7 minutes ago, IrishBhoy said:

Aye it’s something we always talked about going and taking advantage of, but we never did. What’s the St. Andrews in New York that’s passed me by? 
 

That would certainly be one to remember at Bethpage. I’ve watched a few of those golf vloggers playing Bethpage Black on YouTube and it looks unreal. Sawgrass is one I want to tick off the list too I think that would be a surreal experience. 

Founding member of the USGA

https://www.saintandrewsgolfclub.com/

[IrishBhoy]

23 minutes ago, Mark Connolly said:

Founding member of the USGA

https://www.saintandrewsgolfclub.com/

Had a wee read through the history of the course on that page there and it says Braid was commissioned to redesign holes 15-18 in 1928, which immediately made me think about the hassle he must have had getting from St. Andrews, Fife to New York in 1928  Even getting himself to Glasgow Airport would have been a nightmare in the 1920s, and he would have had to navigate his way across the Atlantic Ocean landing somewhere in NY state without even having something like Google Maps to rely on.  

[Mark Connolly]

27 minutes ago, IrishBhoy said:

Had a wee read through the history of the course on that page there and it says Braid was commissioned to redesign holes 15-18 in 1928, which immediately made me think about the hassle he must have had getting from St. Andrews, Fife to New York in 1928  Even getting himself to Glasgow Airport would have been a nightmare in the 1920s, and he would have had to navigate his way across the Atlantic Ocean landing somewhere in NY state without even having something like Google Maps to rely on.  

He never went. He designed the overseas courses using topographical maps, and rarely ever left the British Isles.

https://edinburghtoursandhistory.com/james-braid-golf-course-architect/

[keyser_soze]

On 13/08/2023 at 18:31, keyser_soze said:

Played my home course today (Balbirnie) off a single figure handicap for the 1st time. A reasonable return of 36 points in the stableford, more pleasing is that I kept a 6 and double bogey off the card for the 2nd consecutive round, checking back my stats it's now 44 competitive holes since I carded a score over a 5, hopefully it continues. 

Well that run came to an abrupt end today - at the 3rd, 9th, 10th and 13th 

87 net 78 lol

[Inanimate Carbon Rod]

Spoiler

1 hour ago, IrishBhoy said:

Had a wee read through the history of the course on that page there and it says Braid was commissioned to redesign holes 15-18 in 1928, which immediately made me think about the hassle he must have had getting from St. Andrews, Fife to New York in 1928  Even getting himself to Glasgow Airport would have been a nightmare in the 1920s, and he would have had to navigate his way across the Atlantic Ocean landing somewhere in NY state without even having something like Google Maps to rely on.  

I dont think he was a pilot.

 

[IrishBhoy]

13 minutes ago, Mark Connolly said:

He never went. He designed the overseas courses using topographical maps, and rarely ever left the British Isles.

https://edinburghtoursandhistory.com/james-braid-golf-course-architect/

That’s class from him. Working from home before it became fashionable. What a life he must have led, completely unimaginable to this current generation. Even though it was only 100 odd years ago, the speed in which technology has advanced since then means the game of golf is now something that Braid could never have possibly fathomed. I would have loved to have been around when the British Open was in its infancy, or around the time when the Americans first started coming over to compete. I think it was 1920 before the Open was won by an American, but I can barely get my head around what that tournament must have looked like compared to the current day Open.

I wonder if some of them playing back then were absolutely rotten, but the romance of history leads us to believe they were all spanking baby draws down the fairway with their hickory shaft 1 irons. 

[IrishBhoy]

7 minutes ago, Inanimate Carbon Rod said:

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I dont think he was a pilot.

 

Yeah I know that, but having access to Google maps or a similar app would have been a godsend for someone landing in New York in 1928. 

[Cheese]

Quite a bit of course design and architecture was done miles away from topographical maps back then with architects never or rarely visiting the site due to travel considerations. The prestige of having a Scot or Brit design your course was a huge draw as the game developed in the US. Mackenzie, Colt and Alison (and Willie Park jnr to a certain extent) were the trendsetters when it came to spreading golf course design both in North America and around the world before improvements in heavy machinery and the Philadelphia School changed the direction of course architecture in the US.

[IrishBhoy]

52 minutes ago, Ziggy Sobotka said:

Quite a bit of course design and architecture was done miles away from topographical maps back then with architects never or rarely visiting the site due to travel considerations. The prestige of having a Scot or Brit design your course was a huge draw as the game developed in the US. Mackenzie, Colt and Alison (and Willie Park jnr to a certain extent) were the trendsetters when it came to spreading golf course design both in North America and around the world before improvements in heavy machinery and the Philadelphia School changed the direction of course architecture in the US.

It’s a very interesting subject. I didn’t realise that a lot of the design was done on maps and not actually at the location, I would have thought that would have been pretty critical to the success of the course but obviously not. Did these Scottish course architects you mention, Braid included, make a good living from what they done? I know Braid was involved in manufacturing balls and I assume other equipment too, but were they well compensated for their work?

[Cheese]

58 minutes ago, IrishBhoy said:

It’s a very interesting subject. I didn’t realise that a lot of the design was done on maps and not actually at the location, I would have thought that would have been pretty critical to the success of the course but obviously not. Did these Scottish course architects you mention, Braid included, make a good living from what they done? I know Braid was involved in manufacturing balls and I assume other equipment too, but were they well compensated for their work?

Aye, love golf architecture stuff and the way it's developed from what was basically nature and someone thinking it would be fun to try and hit a ball from here to over there in x amount of blows.

Don't think Braid made that much but he had side gigs. All the money was in America in the boom in the 20's and 30's. Braid got paid 20 quid with 7 quid expenses to redesign La Moye in Jersey in 1934, about £2,400 in total today. Mackenzie built Cypress Point for $90,000 in 1929 after they had been quoted up to $150,000 by other architects. 90 grand is equivalent to around $1.8 million today.

 

[IrishBhoy]

4 minutes ago, Ziggy Sobotka said:

Aye, love golf architecture stuff and the way it's developed from what was basically nature and someone thinking it would be fun to try and hit a ball from here to over there in x amount of blows.

Don't think Braid made that much but he had side gigs. All the money was in America in the boom in the 20's and 30's. Braid got paid 20 quid with 7 quid expenses to redesign La Moye in Jersey in 1934, about £2,400 in total today. Mackenzie built Cypress Point for $90,000 in 1929 after they had been quoted up to $150,000 by other architects. 90 grand is equivalent to around $1.8 million today.

 

It’s hard to even imagine what their lives must have been like during that time, or if they were aware what sort of impact they would have on the game. It sounds like they made a good earning from it anyway, but I wonder if they realised at the time just how long lasting and influential their designs would be to the game of golf in 2023. Obviously it’s a complete non starter due to all of them being dead, but how fascinating would it be if you could show them what the game has become…and as you say all stemming from the natural environment that they found before them on the Scottish coastlines.

It makes you wonder just how far detached the game could become from what we know it as now. In the year 2300 will people be watching clips of Tiger Woods in the same way we look at Old Tom Morris. It’s a fascinating thought. 

[keyser_soze]

New set of irons purchased today, Cobra King Forged Tec Copper 4-PW, Firm flex Project X 5.5. Decent at £385.

Looking forward to trying them out 

 

[Ro Sham Bo]

2 minutes ago, keyser_soze said:

New set of irons purchased today, Cobra King Forged Tec Copper 4-PW, Firm flex Project X 5.5. Decent at £385.

Looking forward to trying them out 

 

Is that for 2nd hand?