Reid, the son of Arthur Reid and his wife Elizabeth Reid née Potter, studied club and ball making under Tommy Armour's father, Willie, in Edinburgh, Scotland. A scratch golfer at 15, Reid turned professional at 17 and was a protégé of Harry Vardon who helped him get a club professional job at La Boulie Golf Club, Versailles, France, in 1901. In 1905 he became the professional at Banstead Downs Golf Club in Sutton, London, England, for roughly nine years and was a successful tournament player. Reid – who was never short on confidence – was a fine competitive golfer despite being small of stature, and he beat his mentor, Vardon, on several occasions. In March 1906, Reid married Stella Toft at Nottinghamshire, England. The couple would have four children.
1913 U.S. Open
On 7 August 1913 Reid set sail from Liverpool aboard the RMS Celtic and visited America with Vardon and Ted Ray where they played in a number of tournaments including the famous 1913 U.S. Open in which he tied for 16th. Reid tied Vardon for the 2nd round lead and played with Francis Ouimet in the 3rd round. In 1915 he tied 10th. His best finish, a tie for fourth, came in the 1916 U.S. Open held at the Minikahda Club in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Emigration to America
In February 1915 Reid emigrated to America at the invitation of Clarence H. Geist to be the golf professional at Seaview Golf Club in Galloway, New Jersey, after the outbreak of World War I. He later, at the suggestion of the DuPont family, became the golf professional at the Wilmington Country Club, Wilmington, Delaware. He became a member of the PGA of America in 1917 and was appointed to the national PGA Executive Committee as a vice-president at large, a position he held for two years. In August 1920 he was elected vice-president of the PGA of America and he was re-elected in 1921. In 1920 and 1921 he also held the office of secretary of the Southeastern Section PGA. In 1921 Reid obtained U.S. citizenship and in December of that year attended the founding meeting of the Philadelphia Section PGA and was a member of the organising committee. Later in 1929 he was the president of the Michigan Section PGA for three years.
Reid was also a golf course designer. Reid began designing golf courses at an early age and laid out courses in Europe and Britain before settling in the United States. He once estimated that he had designed 58 courses and remodelled some 43 others during his design career. While based in Michigan during the 1920s, he partnered with another club professional, William Connellan. The firm of Reid and Connellan designed some 20 courses in Michigan alone. Reid retired to Florida in the early 1950s and consistently improved his game in both social and competitive rounds. Even into old age he continued to "beat his age" in score on his birthday.
Death and legacy
Reid died on 24 November 1973 at West Palm Beach, Florida. He was posthumously inducted into the Michigan Golf Hall of Fame in 1985, and the Michigan Section PGA of America Golf Hall of Fame in 2015.
Note: Reid never played in the Masters Tournament, founded in 1934. NYF = Tournament not yet founded NT = No tournament DNP = Did not play CUT = missed the half-way cut R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in PGA Championship match play "T" indicates a tie for a place Yellow background for top-10
Team appearances
England–Scotland Professional Match : 1906 1907, 1909, 1910, 1912, 1913
