Slag:
I would be very happy to help Tom in any way I could, but, no, I did not serve as his editor for the Confidential Guide. My only connection to the book is to discourage Tom from doing an update any time soon.
It's a landmark book, but an update before 2020 would be most unwise, in my view. No matter how many people pressure him, I hope Tom resists.
Chris Clouser:
I don't think Tom would mind me saying that the scale is a measure of how far out of your way you should go to visit and/or play a course. In a world filled with marketing promotions, Tom's courage to print such a book (and step on many toes) is much appreciated. I don't have time to see all the "7s", but anything rated higher I sure want to experience at least once.
What makes the Confidental Guide so interesting, is not the ratings Tom gives, but his willingness to express why a course received whatever number given. Then, too, Tom offers comments you might not expect.
Candidly, when I purchased the book I did have the concern Tom mentions in the Introduction: was there a conflict of interest between being a critic and being a practicing architect? In the end, however, Tom sold me that he really tried to be as objective as possible within the framework of his own openly stated preferences.
If there was one review that made me give Tom a seal of approval it was Winged Foot. Nobody would dare criticize the place. but, I grew up near the course and always preferred Quaker Ridge. Tom helped me articulate why: in truth, for all Tillinghast did, the land itself at Winged Foot really isn't anything special.
Find a copy of the Confidential Guide. There is no chance you will regret the effort to track it down. My only hope is that Tom can surpass it with a book on Pacific Dunes.