29-577: The Cruden Bay Professional Tournament was a professional golf tournament played irregularly at Cruden Bay from 1899 to 1914. In the 1890s the Great North of Scotland Railway built the Cruden Bay Hotel and golf course , together with the associated transport links (the Boddam Branch and Cruden Bay Hotel Tramway ). The hotel and golf course opened in early 1899 and a professional golf tournament
58-411: A London correspondent), made the acquaintance of the district – as he tells me – by accident. He wanted to find a bracing place far north on the east coast. From a large ordnance map and the geological formations, he knew that some such place must lie between Peterhead and Aberdeen. Accordingly, he went to Peterhead and walked down the coast, and when he saw Cruden he telegraphed to his family to come on to
87-454: A fishing community to some extent but the tidal nature of the harbour restricted the size of craft which could operate from it and the village missed out on the herring boom. Tourism provided another source of income for the village. Even before the coming of the railway, the long pink curve of the Bay of Cruden sands and scenic cliffscapes to the north were attracting visitors and a small seaside resort
116-437: A golfing destination and the village sustains three smaller hotels. Although the harbour area and the local primary school are still styled "Port Errol", the railway adventure put the name Cruden Bay firmly on the map. The 1950s and 1960s was a period of rapid population decline for Cruden Bay but the coming of North Sea oil to north-east Scotland, with its attendant jobs and families looking for places to settle, reinvigorated
145-434: A medium-sized primary school . Secondary pupils are bussed to nearby Peterhead Academy. There are a few small shops, a chemist/newsagent, a post office/hardware, a craft shop and a general store. There is also a Chinese takeaway, a medical surgery and a library. There are also many sports facilities, tennis courts, and two football pitches. The school and public hall house a number of youth groups such as Girlguiding UK. There
174-403: Is a Congregational Church in the village centre and just outside the village there is a Scottish Episcopalian Church and a Church of Scotland parish. Cruden Bay is not far from the towns of Ellon and Peterhead, and is about 30 minutes drive from Aberdeen City. Holiday makers are served by 2 hotels, a pub and bed and breakfasts. Attractions for visitors include the beach, the golf course of
203-578: The Gaelic Croch Dain ('slaughter of Danes'). Today, Cruden Bay attracts tourists with its hotels and golf course. It has a long, unspoiled, beach made famous by Norwegian aviator Tryggve Gran who made the first solo flight across the North Sea . The village has associations with various figures in literature. Dr Samuel Johnson and James Boswell were guests at Slains Castle in 1773. Johnson said that "no man can see with indifference"
232-505: The Port Seton Professional Tournament earlier in the week. The format and prize money were again the same. The course had been lengthened since 1911, now measuring 6,179 yards. Harry Vardon led the qualifying with rounds of 73 and 73. Vardon beat George Duncan in the final. In 1911 Ray and Braid were tied after 18 holes and then tied again after a further 9 holes. There was then a sudden-death playoff, play moving to
261-412: The 17th and, although neither played well on the 18th, Braid holed a 12-yard putt to halve the match. It was decided that the players should play another 9 holes. Braid had a short putt at the 8th to win the match but missed. At the short 9th both played good tee shots. Ray holed his putt for a 2 but Braid missed his, so that the match was again level. The match now became a sudden-death playoff, starting at
290-603: The 17th hole which Ray won. Cruden Bay Cruden Bay is a small village in Scotland, on the north coast of the Bay of Cruden in Aberdeenshire , 26 miles (42 km) north of Aberdeen . Just west of Slains Castle , Cruden Bay is said to have been the site of a battle in which the Scots under King Malcolm II defeated the Danes in 1012. Traditionally, the name was derived from
319-498: The 17th. Braid hit his second shot out-of-bounds and took four to reach the green, so that Ray's 5 was enough to win the match. The event clashed with the Scottish Professional Championship which was held at Turnberry on 8 and 9 June, which meant that many of the leading Scottish-based professionals did not compete at Cruden Bay. The tournament was played from 4 to 6 June. A number of the players had competed in
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#1732869539396348-427: The 36-hole qualifying day with rounds of 72 and 73. Three players on 159 had to play off for the last two places. Taylor beat James Braid in the final. The tournament was played from 8 to 10 June. The format and prize money were the same as in 1909 with a first prize of £40 out of total prize money of £150. An exceptionally strong field of 44 players competed. As well as James Braid , J.H. Taylor and Harry Vardon ,
377-618: The Cruden Bay Golf Club (ranked #29 nationwide ). Although there is little evidence of its presence other than a small complex a few miles south of the village, the sands at Cruden Bay is the place where the 110-mile (180 km) long Forties pipeline operated by Ineos , in use from 1975, finds landfall. It pumps crude oil from the Forties oilfield to Whinnyfold, then by overland pipeline to Grangemouth . Port Seton Professional Tournament The Port Seton Professional Tournament
406-584: The Kilmarnock Arms Hotel. Mr Stoker has been there every summer since then, and hopes some day to have at Cruden his own pied-à-terre . Because he was a part-time writer, his Cruden Bay holidays provided him with the largest amount of spare time to write his books. He stayed at the Kilmarnock Arms Hotel in 1892 and 1894, and thereafter in cottages in Cruden Bay and Whinnyfold . The early chapters of Dracula were written in Cruden Bay, and possibly most of
435-412: The field included ex-Open champions Arnaud Massy , Sandy Herd and Jack White , future Open champions George Duncan and Ted Ray and most of the leading England-based professionals. The course measured 6,077 yards. Ted Ray led the qualifying with rounds of 74 and 73, the 73 being a new course record for the extended course. There were two £5 prizes for the best rounds of the day. Ray's 74 had won him
464-540: The harbour site. There was also a parish school since 1606, housed in the two-storey Erroll Schoolhouse from 1834; the Presbyterian Church dedicated to Saint Olaf or commonly called the Old Kirk—built in 1776, with distinctive conical towers added in 1833—and Saint James Episcopal Church , notably the first structure designed by architect William Hay on top of Chapel Hill in 1842. Port Erroll developed as
493-418: The leading 16 moving to the knock-out phase. There were two rounds of 18-hole match-play on the second day and two more on the final day. The winner won £40, the losing finalist £20, with the losing semi-finalist each getting £12, quarter-finalists £8, other qualifiers £3 and there were again two further prizes for the best rounds in each of the qualifying rounds. The course measured 6,056 yards. J.H. Taylor led
522-439: The morning prize and, although he also had the best round in the afternoon, he was excluded from winning both prizes, the £5 being shared by Herd and Massy who both scored 76. Ray met James Braid in the final. Ray had played excellent golf in all his matches while Braid had beaten both Taylor and Vardon. Braid took an early 2-hole lead but Ray had levelled by the turn and threes at the 15th and 16th put him dormie-2. Ray took 5 at
551-419: The qualifying rounds. 22 players competed in the tournament. These were mostly Scottish professionals although Harry Vardon made the trip north. J.H. Taylor was unable to play. Vardon led the 36-hole qualifying day with rounds of 79 and 83 and went on to beat James Kinnell in the final. The tournament was extended to three days, played from 6 to 8 May. The first day consisted of 36 holes of stroke play with
580-456: The rest of it was too. He also set two novels in and around the village, The Watter's Mou' (1895) and The Mystery of the Sea (1902). James Macpherson 's poem The Highlander (1758) takes the battle of Cruden as its model. Earliest nearby human traces are evident in nearby Catto Long Barrow , a massive stone structure now surrounded by agricultural fields. The nearby cliff top Slains Castle
609-605: The sea chasm known as the Bullers of Buchan , which is near the village. Dun Bay, or Yellow Rock is also near the Bullers of Buchan , and is associated with Walter Scott 's The Antiquary . Bram Stoker was a regular visitor between 1892 and 1910. An article in the Buchan Observer from 1897 discusses how he discovered the village: Cruden has an enthusiastic friend in Mr Bram Stoker, Sir Henry Irving’s manager. Mr Stoker (says
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#1732869539396638-499: The station and hotel. The Great North of Scotland Railway Company promoted Cruden Bay as a Brighton of the North, only twelve hours from London and an ideal escape for gentry and nouveau riche ; despite initial enthusiasm, neither railway nor hotel prospered. The railway was closed to passengers in 1932 and in 1939 the hotel was requisitioned as an army hospital and not re-opened after the war and demolished around 1950. Cruden Bay remains
667-473: The village; thereafter, the population rose again, with new housing added near the defunct brickworks, the site of the demolished Cruden Bay Hotel and along the water of Cruden at Morrison Place. These days Cruden Bay serves mainly as a dormitory village for the important settlements of Peterhead to the north and Aberdeen to the south. The eighteenth century timbered salmon station still operates and some seasonal commercial fishing continues. Cruden Bay has
696-587: Was a professional golf tournament played at Port Seton on 1 June 1914 to promote the new golf course. George Duncan won the event by two shots from J.H. Taylor . The construction of the Port Seton Golf Club course was largely funded by the Musselburgh and District Electric Light and Traction Company , with their terminus next to the course. It had opened in 1912, using 100 acres of land leased from Francis Charteris, 10th Earl of Wemyss . The tournament
725-458: Was arranged by the railway company to promote the new hotel and golf course. The company organised three further tournaments, in 1909, 1911 and 1914. The tournaments consisted of a 36-hole stroke-play qualifying day followed by a knock-out match-play stage. On all four occasions that the tournament was held, the winner of qualifying part went on to win the tournament. All four finals involved a Scottish player but they lost each time. The tournament
754-493: Was begun in 1597 and partly demolished in the 1920s. Bishop's Bridge spans Cruden Water and dates from 1697. William Hay, 18th Earl of Erroll , established the fishing community of Port Erroll in the 1840s and 1850s. A functional harbour at the mouth of the Water of Cruden was added in the 1870s. Before that a tiny, long-abandoned hamlet of rudimentary fisher cottages, simply known as Ward, stood exposed on top of Ward Hill, just above
783-415: Was grafting itself onto the fishing community. The Cruden Bay Golfing Society, founded in 1791, played on the open links. The railway brought grandeur but not lasting prosperity, to Cruden Bay. The Boddam branch line from Ellon to Boddam near Peterhead was opened in 1897, along with the golf course and the 55-bedroom Cruden Bay Hotel two years later. The Cruden Bay Hotel Tramway was added linking
812-553: Was played on a Monday, between the Scottish Professional Championship which had finished on the previous Friday and three days before the start of the Cruden Bay Professional Tournament . It attracted most of the leading Scottish-based players and some, although not all, of the English-based professionals playing at Cruden Bay. The tournament consisted of 36 holes of stroke-play with £54 of prize money provided by
841-413: Was played on two days, 14 and 15 April. The first day consisted of 36 holes of stroke play with the leading 4 players moving to the knock-out phase on the second day. The winner won £30, the losing finalist £20, with the losing semi-finalist each getting £12. Those placed from 5th to 12th in the qualifying received cash prizes from £7 down to £3. There were two further £5 prizes for the best rounds in each of
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