Tom MacWood,
It would seem logical, that if Ross and Travis were so friendly that they entered into a gentleman's agreement with respect to courses in their relative backyards.
It makes sense geographically and it makes sense in the context of personal relationships amongst good friends.
With respect to your quotes from different sources, you have to temper the words of the author in the context of autobiographical egotism.
Individuals often give themselves credit for accomplishments, ideas and deeds that often far exceed their actual involvement.
A perfect modern day example would be Friar's Head.
It's my understanding that the bunting for the flag sticks was the idea of our very own Tommy Naccarato.
The nautical signals for F and H, for Friar's Head.
If the above is true, and I believe it to be so, If Tommy Naccarato said that he was involved at Friar's Head, he would be technically correct. However, "involved" isn't very descriptive and could be interpreted in a million ways, and without clarity, without the facts, you can't assume that because someone, especially someone with an enormous ego, said that they were involved, that it means that they were intimately and intricately involved in the specific design and construction of the entire golf course, holes or specific features.
Who was it that said he invented the internet, Al Gore ?
Who said that he was the inspiration for "Love Story".
You seem to continually take the words of the authors, authors with large egos, as the Gospel, and that's often a quantum leap of faith, especially absent the corroborating facts.
TEPaul,
Blue Bloods or WASPS, they all wanted the best golf course possible, so I doubt they established an unwritten restrictive policy with respect to certain architects, and it also doesn't address the architects chosen for the Jewish courses on Long Island. Why wouldn't they have wanted to enlist Ross's services.
I like my theory the best