John Ernest Laidlay (5 November 1860 – 15 July 1940) was a Scottish amateur golfer. He invented the most popular golf grip used today, although the grip is credited to
Harry Vardon, who took it up after Laidlay.
Early life
Laidlay was born in
Seacliff, two miles east of
North Berwick
North Berwick (; ) is a seaside resort, seaside town and former royal burgh in East Lothian, Scotland. It is situated on the south shore of the Firth of Forth, approximately east-northeast of Edinburgh. North Berwick became a fashionable holi ...
, East Lothian, the son of
John Watson Laidlay FRSE
Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and Literature, letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". ...
. His brother was the cricketer and artist,
William Laidlay. He became quite prominent at golf while a schoolboy from 1872 to 1878 at the
Loretto School in
Musselburgh
Musselburgh (; ; ) is the largest settlement in East Lothian, Scotland, on the coast of the Firth of Forth, east of Edinburgh city centre. It had a population of as of .
History
The name Musselburgh is Old English language, Old English in ...
, near
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
. Following completion of his education at Loretto, he moved to North Berwick and played out of the famous
North Berwick Golf Club.
Golf career
British Amateur Championship
Laidlay won the
British Amateur Championship twice, in 1889 and 1891, and was runner-up three more times, in 1888, 1890, and 1893, during a six-year stretch from 1888 to 1893. He was also runner-up in the
1893 Open Championship. He won over 130 amateur medals during his playing career, represented Scotland every year from 1902 to 1911, and also played
cricket
Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...
for Scotland. After
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, he moved to
Sunningdale, near London, where his former
caddie Jack White
John Anthony White (; born July 9, 1975) is an American musician who achieved international fame as the guitarist and lead singer of the rock duo the White Stripes. As the White Stripes disbanded, he sought success with his solo career, subse ...
was the club professional at the
Sunningdale Golf Club. He has been called the 'last of the gentlemen golfers'.
Overlapping grip
Laidlay was using the grip which was credited to
Harry Vardon for some years before either Vardon or
J.H. Taylor adopted it. The grip is taken by overlapping the little finger of the bottom hand between the forefinger and middle fingers of the top hand, with thumbs pointing down and the remaining fingers of both hands wrapping around the club, with the club held lightly. The lead thumb should fit into the palm, along the lifeline of the trailing hand. Since 1900, most professionals, top amateurs, and average players around the world have adopted this grip, known as the Vardon or overlapping grip. Probably 90% of the world's golfers use it, although there are exceptions, including
Jack Nicklaus
Jack William Nicklaus (; born January 21, 1940), nicknamed "the Golden Bear", is an American retired professional golfer and List of golf courses designed by Jack Nicklaus, golf course designer. He is widely considered to be one of the greate ...
,
Tiger Woods
Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in List of golfers with most PGA Tour wins, PGA Tour wins, ranks second in List of men's major championships winning golfers, men's m ...
, and
Gene Sarazen.
Laidlay also played one match for the
Scotland national cricket team in 1878.
Death and legacy
Laidlay died on 15 July 1940 at Sunningdale, England. He is best remembered as a 2-time winner of the British Amateur Championship and the first golfer to employ the overlapping grip.
Major championships
Amateur wins (2)
Results timeline
''Note: Laidlay only played in The Open Championship and The Amateur Championship.''
LA = Low amateur
NT = No tournament
"T" indicates a tie for a place
R256, R128, R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in match play
Team appearances
*
England–Scotland Amateur Match (representing Scotland): 1902 (winners), 1903, 1904 (winners), 1905 (winners), 1906 (winners), 1907 (winners), 1908 (winners), 1909 (winners), 1910, 1911 (winners)
References
Sources
* British Open:
www.opengolf.com* 1885 British Amateur:
The Glasgow Herald, April 21, 1885, p. 7.* 1886 British Amateur:
The Glasgow Herald, September 23, 1886, p. 5.* 1892 British Amateur:
The Glasgow Herald, May 14, 1892, p. 4.* 1894 British Amateur:
The Glasgow Herald, April 28, 1894, p. 11.* 1895 British Amateur:
The Glasgow Herald, May 9, 1895, p. 3.* 1896 British Amateur:
The Glasgow Herald, May 21, 1896, p. 11.* 1897 British Amateur:
The Glasgow Herald, April 28, 1897, p. 10.* 1899 British Amateur:
The Glasgow Herald, May 25, 1899, p. 8.* 1900 British Amateur:
Golf, July, 1900, p. 21.* 1901 British Amateur:
Golf, June, 1901, p. 413.* 1902 British Amateur:
Golf, June, 1902, p. 397.* 1903 British Amateur:
Golf, July, 1903, p. 8.* 1904 British Amateur:
Golf, July, 1904, p. 9.* 1905 British Amateur:
Golf, June, 1905, p. 341.* 1906 British Amateur:
Golf, July, 1906, p. 30.* 1907 British Amateur:
The Glasgow Herald, May 28, 1907, p. 12.* 1908 British Amateur:
The Glasgow Herald, May 27, 1908, p. 14.* 1909 British Amateur:
The Glasgow Herald, May 27, 1909, p. 13.* 1910 British Amateur:
The Glasgow Herald, June 2, 1910, p. 8.* 1911 British Amateur:
The Glasgow Herald, May 31, 1911, p. 10.* 1913 British Amateur:
The Glasgow Herald, May 28, 1913, p. 15.* 1914 British Amateur:
The Glasgow Herald, May 20, 1914, p. 12.* 1920 British Amateur:
The Glasgow Herald, June 9, 1920, p. 11.
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Laidlay, Johnny
Scottish male golfers
Amateur golfers
Golfers from North Berwick
People educated at Loretto School, Musselburgh
1860 births
1940 deaths