Charles Lawrie Explained

Charles Dundas Lawrie (8 February 1923 – 31 August 1976) was a Scottish amateur golfer,[1] administrator, and golf course architect; described as one of golf architecture's finest representatives.[2]

Personal life

Lawrie was born on 8 February 1923, in Edinburgh, son of Alfred Lawrie, a stockbroker and president of the Scottish Rugby Union,[3] and Jean Maxwell Lawrie (née Cook). The family lived at 5 Moray Place on the prestigious Moray Estate in west Edinburgh. His father was partner in Lawrie & Ker of 4 St Andrew Square.[4]

He and his family moved to North Berwick where he learned to play golf, winning the Elco Medal in 1937 at the children's course at North Berwick Golf Club. He won the Gold Medal at a junior tournament at Carnoustie in 1939. He was educated at Fettes and Oxford, where 'he was a cricket star'. Whilst at Oxford University he gained five "Blues" in different sports. His cousin, James Haldane Lawrie, was a businessman, financier and patron of the arts. James was Chairman of the English Opera Group, and Benjamin Britten dedicated The Beggar's Opera (1948) to him.[5]

Charles fought in World War II as a 2nd Lt.[6] in the Coldstream Guards. As Sheriff of Anglesey, he took part in the Queen's coronation visit in 1953 in Caernarvon Castle.[7] He died aged only 53 in his birthplace, Edinburgh.[8] He is buried in North Berwick Cemetery. The grave lies near the south-west corner.

Playing and administrative career

Lawrie competed as an amateur in The Open Championship in 1955 and 1957.[9] He was the non-playing captain of the Great Britain and Ireland team in the 1960 and 1962 Eisenhower Trophy, and the non-playing captain of the Great Britain and Ireland Walker Cup team in 1961 and 1963;[10] teams which included Michael Bonallack and Joe Carr. The 1961 American team included a young Jack Nicklaus, playing well enough to ensure a dominant victory that year.[11] It was much closer the next time the two teams met.

In the 1960s and 1970s, Lawrie held various posts with the Royal & Ancient, including Chairman of the Amateur Status Committee, Deputy Chairman and Chairman of the Championship Committee, and Chairman of the Selection Committee.[12] He was president of the National Golf Club's Advisory Association in the mid-1970s.[13] In "Palmer's Open" in 1962, Lawrie was referee for the final round pairing between Arnold Palmer and Kel Nagle. James Cusick of The Independent reports how the crowd were so fierce that year at Royal Troon that at the 15th, Lawrie was 'knocked head-first into a bunker during one of the crowd's surges'.[14]

Golf architecture

Lawrie went on to design golf courses as a partner of the golf architecture firm "Cotton Pennink Lawrie & Partners", which designed golf courses around the world. He designed the Duke's Course (1976), the location of the British Masters for 20 years,[15] and the Duchess' course (1978) at Woburn Golf Club.[16] The Duke's course has been described by Today's Golfer as a masterpiece,[17] and regularly appears in the top 100 ranked courses in Great Britain and Ireland.

Golf courses designed by C.D. Lawrie

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Obituary: John Beharrell, former golfer, 72. The Scotsman. 2015-12-02.
  2. Web site: David White meets Neil Whitaker, down amongst the sheltering pines of Woburn, and learns how once Poa-dominated greens were tran . archive.lib.msu.edu . 2015-12-02 . bot: unknown . https://web.archive.org/web/20160304121913/http://archive.lib.msu.edu/tic/bigga/gki/article/1992feb33.pdf . 2016-03-04 .
  3. newspaper clippings and photograph
  4. Edinburgh Post Office Directory 1911
  5. Web site: Britten Thematic Catalogue - BTC1020 - The Beggar's Opera. brittenproject.org. 2016-06-10.
  6. Web site: 4352 Supplement to the London Gazette, 1 October, 1943 . thegazette.co.uk . 2018-08-03 .
  7. Book: Coronation Visit of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II to Caernarvon Castle Friday July 10 1953. Her Majesty's Stationery Office. 1953. Cardiff. 7.
  8. Book: Cornish, Geoffrey. The Architects of Golf. HarperCollins. 1993. 0062700820.
  9. Book: Brenner, Morgan G. . The Majors of Golf: Complete Results of The Open, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and the Masters, 1860-2008 . McFarland . 2009-07-01 . 9780786453955 .
  10. Web site: Club Makers, Professionals and Course Designers . North Berwick . 2015-12-01.
  11. Web site: Wayback Machine: The Northwest's 'majors' . Sportspress Northwest . 2015-12-02.
  12. Book: Goldie, William C. . 1964 Golfer's Handbook . The Golfer's Handbook . 1964 . 98.
  13. Letter from the National Golf Club's Advisory Association, 6.12.1975
  14. News: The Open: Troon Talk . The Independent . James . Cusick . 21 July 1997 . 2015-12-02.
  15. Web site: Woburn Golf Club . ispygolf.com. 2015-12-02.
  16. Web site: History The Duchess' Course. woburngolf.co.uk. 2015-12-01.
  17. Web site: Today's Golfer Article: Woburn (Duke's). Today's Golfer. 2015-12-02.
  18. Web site: Ballyliffin. Signature Golf UK. 2015-12-02.
  19. Book: Today's Golfer. 2018. 123.
  20. Web site: Fleming Park Golf Club, Eastleigh, Hants.. golfsmissinglinks.co.uk. 2015-12-02.
  21. Web site: Open Fairways Haverhill Golf Club. openfairways.com. 2015-12-02. https://web.archive.org/web/20151208041749/http://www.openfairways.com/Courses/courseresults.asp?id=872. 2015-12-08. dead.
  22. Web site: Keerbergen Golf - Geschiedenis. https://web.archive.org/web/20110515133132/http://www.golfkeerbergen.be/nl/keerbergen-golf-club. dead. 2011-05-15. golfkeerbergen.be. 2015-12-02.
  23. Web site: Southwick Park GC Review. warksgolf.co.uk. 2015-12-02. https://web.archive.org/web/20151208080014/http://www.warksgolf.co.uk/article/rw/area/F_CourseProfiles/id/3556/SOUTHWICK-PARK-GC-REVIEW.html. 8 December 2015. dead.
  24. Web site: The 18-hole course. activeluton.co.uk. 2015-12-02. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20151208054204/http://www.activeluton.co.uk/stockwood-park-golf-centre/the-courses/the-18-hole-course. 2015-12-08.
  25. Web site: About Westhill. aberdeenshire.me. 2015-12-02. PowerShock. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20151208095439/http://aberdeenshire.me/content/about-westhill. 2015-12-08.
  26. Web site: History Winter Hill Golf Club. www.winterhillgolfclub.com. 2015-12-02. https://web.archive.org/web/20151208093550/http://www.winterhillgolfclub.com/pages/history. 8 December 2015. dead.

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