[1] As a young man, he had powerful arms and wrists, a quick swing, and was a long hitter of the golf ball.

[2] In 1909, Walter Travis, editor of The American Golfer magazine, described Maxwell as "... a big, tall, powerful man with massive proportions and a fine pair of legs under him.

He made news in the 1897 tournament at Muirfield by beating John Ball, the 4-time (and later 8-time) Amateur champion, and also knocked off Harold Hilton.

[1] In his match against Ball, Maxwell stymied the great champion on three of the first eight holes, and eventually finished him off by the score of 6 & 4.

The 1902 Open Championship was held 4–5 June at Royal Liverpool Golf Club in Hoylake, England.

Scottish professional Sandy Herd won the Championship, a stroke ahead of runners-up James Braid and Harry Vardon.

Dressed in his normal brown tweeds and smoking his short, straight pipe—which he put into his pocket while still lit before hitting shots[6]—Maxwell was in good form during the tournament and beat Cecil Hutchison 1 up in a closely contested match.

Maxwell came out of retirement and played in the Amateur Championship one final time after World War I concluded, but it was largely a ceremonial appearance[2] at Muirfield where he had so many fond memories of past success.