James Braid: One of golf’s greatest influences

When asked if they had any inclination that Braid would be thought of as one of the most important influences on golf, Marjorie answers, laughing: “None whatsoever.”

In fact, it wasn’t until she was in her late eighties that Marjorie realised that he wasn’t just her grandfather – he is a golfing legend.

“I had that photograph hanging there,” Marjorie says as she points to a Vanity Fair portrait.

“An elderly gentleman came to see us – he’d been a great man… He did a lot in both World Wars and I thought a lot of him.

“He sat down and saw this picture, the Spy caricature of my grandfather, and he said ‘Who’s that man up there?’

“I said that’s my grandfather, James Braid. He said ‘Right, I’ll stand up to that!’ and he stood up straight, this little old man.

“I realised if he knew about him and thought that much of him, he was important because, of course, he was never boasted about by his son and daughter-in-law. They were just family,” Marjorie remembers proudly.