page_title: Seaton Carew Golf Club
section_title: Seaton Carew's Legendary Club Professional - James Kay (40 year's service 1886 – 1926)
hierarchical_section_title: Seaton Carew Golf Club / Notable Golfers on the Seaton Carew Golf Links / Seaton Carew's Legendary Club Professional - James Kay (40 year's service 1886 – 1926)
caption_attribution_description: English: This golf hole at Seaton Carew Golf Club commemorates the club's former professional James Kay who particpated in 22 Open Championships.
context_page_description: Seaton Carew has held golf games since 1874, making it the tenth oldest golf club in England. The Club is based on the North Sea coast, north of the River Tees in North East England. When it was first established this classic links course became the only golf club in the English counties of Yorkshire and Durham, hence its original name The Durham & Yorkshire Golf Club. In commemoration of this, today the Club's crest and badge retain the emblems of both the Archbishop of Durham and The Archbishop of York.
  As more golf clubs were coming into being, particularly in North Yorkshire and County Durham, the Club's Committee and members decided the old title was no longer apt and the name of Seaton Carew Golf Club was adopted in 1887. By the end of the 19th century the course was already regarded as one of the English game's premier golfing locations. In the 1888-89 Golfing Annual the course was described as being of "sandy nature, covered with soft velvet turf that springs under one's foot and rejuvenates the aged".
context_section_description: The role of a golf professional has changed through the years and it has been described in many famous golfing texts from J.H. Taylor's comprehensive "Taylor on Golf" in 1902 (which lists Seaton Carew) through to numerous biographies of the modern day. However too few of the biographies of many of golf's earlier great players have appeared in print but for these players their records speak for them. In this regard few golf clubs can boast of a golfing legend as their long-term professional, an exceptional example is that of Seaton Carew's longest serving professional, James Kay.
  Kay, born in Lieth, Scotland in 1855, was engaged by Seaton Carew as their professional on 1 May 1886 following the resignation of Tom Park a member of the famous Park Scottish golfing family. It was Kay's playing record that elevated him above his peers. Press reports of the time showed that Kay played in a total of 22 Open Championships, qualifying in 20 and twice finishing in the top six in the 1892 Open at Muirfield and 1893 Open at Prestwick. On 8 June 1908 he also represented his homeland when he played for Scotland in an international match against England at Prestwick Golf Club. In May 1909, at the age of 53, Kay won the Leeds Cup, a tournament for professional golfers; this is currently the oldest trophy in professional golf worldwide. It was presented to the Professional Golf Association on its formation in 1901 by Alderman Penrose-Green, Lord Mayor of Leeds and President of Leeds Golf Club to be competed for annually by professional golfers. The first competition was held in 1902 at Leeds Golf Club and Kay was one of its earliest winners. Contemporaries record that Kay was "a veritable demon on the green and extremely adept at laying a stymie and therefore as might be guessed was a very fine match player."
  Kay played in an era when most of golf's professional players made their money through "money matches" and this was where Kay came into his own especially when playing against the top golfers of his era. Pride of place must go to his performances against the Great Triumvirate of Golf. J.H.Taylor, James Braid and Harry Vardon. Many of these memorable matches being reported in newspaper articles of the day that are in the Club's historical archive. In 1895 Kay defeated the then Open Champion, Taylor, who had just retained his prestigious title on the Old Course at St Andrews. The match, over 36 holes, took place on 16 June and although the respective scores were equal, James Kay beat his illustrious opponent by one hole. On 22 September 1900, Kay exacted a similar outcome on Braid, although at that time Braid hadn't yet recorded any of his five Open Championship victories. Vardon was the only member of the Great Triumvirate to actually get the better of James Kay on his home course, when he won 6 and 5 on 8 September 1898. In August 1898 Kay, in an Open Professional tournament ay Earlsferry and Elie links, was second only to Vardon, then Open Champion, beating all other leading professionals including Braid, Taylor, Herd and Kirkaldy. But, eventually around the time of his Leeds Cup win, Kay exacted his revenge on Vardon in an exhibition match at Whitby, defeating Vardon by two holes in a 36-hole exhibition match. Not that these money matches were played in anything but the spirit of friendly rivalry as can be detected by Vardon's comment in his 1905 book "The Complete Golfer" where he tells how advice from his friend James Kay of Seaton Carew helped him win the 1896 Open Championship.
  Other notable wins for Kay came against other great names in golf, he played Huddersfield professional Alexander Herd who was described as "one of the finest golfers of his day" defeating him on 30 June 1894 and also with several championships to his name the well known golfer Mungo Park. Against Park, over the 72 holes, Kay was 11 up at home and 8 up away, thereby winning the match by 19 holes and perhaps more importantly the stake money of £20. A professional called Chisholm, whose home club was Redcar, suffered even greater embarrassment when he was d
caption: "Jimmy Kay" Par 4 hole  named after Club professional James Kay who played in 22 Open Championships, placed in the top 6 in 1892 & 1893.
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