The "advantages" and "disavantages" of Texas Architecture?
Hmm, the advantage is we get to play golf without leaving Texas.....the disadvantage is we get to play golf without leaving Texas!
Interesting ground contours? Only in selected areas of DFW (Dallas National and my Tangleride sit on the limestone escarpment that runs down I35 and gives Austin its character) and even less in Houston, where a buffalo wallow, hog hoof print or wagon wheel rut qualifies as a major topography change! Great land near Austin and SA, though.
Seriously, coming here from Chicago, I was dissapointed in the quality of the courses in 1984. The guys from Philly and NY and possibly LA would really be dissapointed. Even vaunted Colonial is only a top 50 course, and thats probably about right, since it is on flat ground.
Most of the Maxwell stuff around here is actually Press Maxwell, and not Perry. Pretty good, but the originals, mostly long gone, were a bit repetitious - bunker left, bunker right.
As you mention, there are a few Tillie and Ross courses, although Ross' Galveston CC is long gone, and DA Weibring restored/renovated Cedar Crest, which may just have Tillie bunkering. Rees redid Ross River Oaks in Houston, doing a nice job, and its a great course, but the Ross is gone.
Somewhere, I have an article on Bredemus, who is an interesting story in himself. A woman named Francis Trimble in Humble, TX has done quite a bit of research on Texas golf courses and may be of some help if you want to really extend your research in this direction.
I hate to diss my adopted home state, but the lack of mentions in magazines of our "classics" is probably not a case of NE bias as much as a true reflection on how few great courses there were here. As Matt suggests, we certainly tried to catch up later, since Texans aren't against spending big money for name designers, good sites, etc. We probably have as many good modern clubs, upscale and moderate public courses as anywhere.