JOE AND JESSIE ANDERSON'S PLACE IN BRAEMAR GC HISTORY

By BILL HOGG
My thanks for your excellent recent obituary on Moira Milton who although a bit before my time, was a name I do recall from my early days in golf. Her career covered somewhat of a golden era for Scottish ladies' golf, and you rightly name her perhaps more illustrious contemporaries in Helen Holm, Jean Donald and especially Jessie Valentine whom I recall passed away about six years ago in a nursing home in Bridge of Earn.
Jessie Anderson as she was then was a class-mate of my late father at Perth Academy in the 1920s and 30s. Although I don’t recall ever seeing her play, I must be one of the few left alive to have had golf lessons from her father, the legendary Joe Anderson who, in addition to being a famous professional golfer of his day, also represented Scotland at cricket and curling.
In his later years, Joe had his own successful sports shop in St John Street, Perth and I recall having indoor lessons there in a net he had erected for the purpose in the first-floor of his shop.

Funny how your above article rekindled such a memory of an event taking place around 1955 when I was just taking up the game aged 10 years old!

Jessie’s father, Joe was a much revered sporting figure in his native Perthshire and your under-noted thoughts about his connection with Braemar are spot on and it was indeed there that Jessie started learning the game of which she became such a master for so many years.

(Jessie Valentine is pictured right by Cal Carson Golf Agency at the age of 90 in 2005 and below with her father Joe in May 1934, an illustration from Eve Soulsby's book).

I dug out of my golfing library the Eve Soulsby book on Braemar which she undertook to mark the club’s centenary in 2002 and it includes a whole chapter on Joe’s and Jessie’s respective sporting careers and connections with Braemar, including some great photos.

One fact I learned from the book was that Joe’s sports shop in Perth was founded way back in 1899, much earlier in his career than I had imagined.

By the way, in case you wonder about Eve Soulsby’s kind inscription to me on the inside front cover of the above book, referring to my support for Braemar G C, this came about through my long involvement with the Atholl Hotel and it’s annual Golf Society Outing to Braemar which Stewart Spence started in 1972 when Sheila and he bought the Hotel.  

When I become co-owner in 1989, we decided to continue the tradition and last October celebrated our 40^th consecutive outing to Braemar, quite a remarkable feat I think you will agree. 

Stewart joined us on this occasion (as he did for the 25^th Outing) and regaled us with tales of the early years of the outing which used to be rather more riotous affairs than nowadays!

Bill Hogg

Editor's Note: Royal Aberdeen GC member Bill Hogg was a top North-east golfing prospect in his teens when he was good enough to play for Great Britain and Ireland against the Continent of Europe in the Jacques Leglise Trophy boys' international match. Bill pursued a career in business or he might well have made his mark in golf in his 20s and 30s.

Below is reproduced an excerpt about Joe and Jessie Anderson from Eve Soulsby's "Braemar Golf Club: The First 100 Years."

JOE ANDERSON PLAYED FOR SCOTLAND

AT GOLF, CRICKET, CURLING AND BOWLS

Joe Anderson was born on the 31st of January, 1878. His father, William. was a good amateur golfer at Craigie Hill Golf Club in Perth and Joe was the professional there and later at King James VI Golf Club.

In 1899, he founded the Joe Anderson Sports Shop in St John Street, Perth, the premises now occupied by Austin Reed Ltd.

Joe came to Braemar when term finished at Glenalmond School were he coached games. Although Jessie is the member of the family who gained world renown, Joe was no mean sportsman himself.

He played cricket for Perthshire and subsequently opened the batting for Scotland. He also represented his country at curling and bowling and, of course, at golf. Furthermore, he is reputed to have been an excellent fisherman and a more than adequate footballer.

It was very much to the credit of the Braemar club committee that they were able to attract such a talented professional. Perhaps the seasonal nature of the employment was the attraction for Joe; perhaps it was the scenic location of the course or the friendliness of the locals. Whatever the reason, Braemar was the beneficiary and inordinately proud of the association.

Joe Anderson supervised many alterations to the course in the late 1920s. He continued as professional to the club until 1938 when he was 60 years of age.

Jessie recalled spending many happy summers at Braemar, honing her golfing skills in the company of Jean Moir Scott (later, Jean Donald).

At the age of eight, Jessie's father gave her two more clubs and when she was 12, she was allowed to have another four so, in all, she had a brassie, spoon, mid-iron, mashie, mashie niblick, niblick and putter.

With these seven clubs, Jessie won the Perthshire championship aged 15 and reached the semi-final of the British girls championship in 1932."

Colin Farquharson writes: And so Jessie's golfing career was off and running. She would win that British girls title the following year at Stoke Poges, the first of her great collection of championships. In 1937, she was considered the best female amateur golfer in the world.
I interviewed Jessie Valentine - she married George Valentine, a Perth garage proprietor - a couple of times in her later years and there was a big difference between Joe Anderson and many fathers of golfing girls in the modern era.

Joe kept his daughter's feet firmly on the ground by being very sparing in his praise of her achievements. 

Perhaps Joe overdid it. I remember Jessie telling me a story that brought tears to the eyes of this hard-nosed golf writer that it was only on his death bed that her father really acknowleged how proud Jessie had made him down through the years.

When Jessie said: "But you never told me at the time," her father replied along the lines that he had not wanted to make her big-headed, especially as a girl. 

If you can get your hands on a copy of Eve Soulsby's book, I am sure you will enjoy it as much as I did from cover to cover.

E-mail from Martin Taylor

I always enjoy your articles/obituaries. They conjure up fantastic images of these Golfing Greats. The list of  Jessie Anderson's first golf "clubs" in today's article are fantastic, niblick and mashie.

I don't what they are so I'll google them.

Fantastic article, Colin

Martin Taylor

(whose daughter Lauren just happens to be the reigning British women's open amateur champion!)

Colin's comment: In case Martin can't get the answers from Google, a brassie was a No 2 wood, taking its name from the brass plate on the sole of the club; a spoon was roughly a No 3 wood; a mashie was the equivalent of the No 5 iron and a mashie niblick had slightly more loft than the mashie. Remember all these clubs that Jessie played as a youngster had hickory shafts.


E-mail from Iain Valentine

Just seen your article on my Mother, Jessie Valentine, and Grandfather Joe Anderson in Gillian Kirkwood’s Golf News and wanted to say how nice an article it is and is much appreciated.

Many thanks,

 Iain Valentine

Chief Executive

Hong Kong Golf Association

Suite 2003 Olympic House

1 Stadium Path

So Kon Po

Causeway Bay

Hong Kong

Website : http://www.hkga.com/