Century celebrations for Goodwood

Golf At Goodwood is celebrating 100 years of classic golf on the award-winning Downs Course which was originally designed by five time Open Champion James Braid (above) who played a challenge match against great rival Ted Ray at the official opening in 1914.

The course nestled on the Sussex Downs will host a series of unique golf events to mark the anniversary which was sewn in early 1912 when  Lord Bernard Gordon Lennox, third son of the Duke of Richmond who owned the magnificent West Sussex estate, engaged Braid to design and produce a course of the highest quality.

Moreover, Braid isn’t the only golfing great to leave his fingerprint on the Downs Course.

Sir Henry Cotton, three times Open Champion was consulted on design aspects in 1964 as was Fred Hawtree in 1967, a member of the distinguished dynasty of golf course architects.

Braid was undoubtedly one of the greatest golfers of all time and most influential figures in golf course design in the UK having been part of the Great Triumvirate alongside Harry Vardon and JH Taylor.

In 1912 Braid already had a formidable reputation in professional golf and was making a successful transition to a career in golf course design.

The classic downland course at Goodwood now measures 7,104 yards and displays many of Braid’s original trademark design features such as the “dog leg”.

The shrewd Scot believed that each hole should have two ways to play it, the more difficult of which rewarded the golfer with the opportunity to pick up a shot when played correctly.

Braid also introduced blind tee shots to test commitment and maintain the mystery of the hole and  clever positioning of bunkers pulled forward of greens and landing zones still perplex golfers today when judging distance.

His layout stood the test of time for almost 90 years, then in 2003 the club’s new chairman Lord March commissioned Howard Swan former President of the British Institute of Golf Course Architects to transform the downs Course to elevate it to a world-class test of golf.

 The brief was to preserve the timeless features of Braid’s design and further enhance the course to make Goodwood one of the finest golf courses without compromising its natural beauty.

The transformation of the Downs Course included the creation of six new holes from one to three and 16 to 18 which lengthened the course to 7,104 yards from the championship tees.