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When it comes to the Open Championship, there is a compelling argument for Earlsferry-born James Braid to be considered the greatest player in its history.

Put it this way, few would have a case to argue against.

The Fifer was part of a golden generation of golfers, forming part of the Great Triumvirate with his contemporaries Harry Vardon and JH Taylor.

However, many consider Braid to be ahead of the others – and with reason.

Born just a short distance from the Home of Golf in the village of Elie in Fife’s East Neuk, it was perhaps written that he would become one of the foremost figures in the history of the game.

• The Scots who shaped golf (at home and abroad)

Braid’s Open story took a while to get going; indeed, he was 31 by the time he won his first championship. Comparatively, Vardon had been 26 and Taylor just 23 when they took home their maiden Claret Jugs.

Braid entered the history books as the first man to secure a quintet of Open titles. What’s more, they had all come in the space of a single decade, and he had also become the first golfer to win twice at both St Andrews and Muirfield.

Two years after his last Claret Jug victory, he stepped back from competitive golf to focus on his role as professional at Walton Heath.

He later went on to become one of the foremost golf course architects in history, with hundreds of iconic tracks to his name. His designs were so successful that golfers now play the James Braid Trail, a selection of his most well-known courses, and some gems.

We’ve handpicked some of our favourite places to play. We suspect you’ll like them…