I second the recommendation of Dream Golf. It's a very good golf book. In light of the recent thread on RTJ I think this paragraph is of interest...
"Collectively, the architects of the modern era were creating a new kind of golf course, and their innovations gave a new twist to the questions of fairness that had always been woven into the discussion of golf course architecture. On a links course, designed by the Almighty, there was no way to complain about fairness unless a golfer felt like embarking upon a theological argument. If a shot down the fairway hits a natural mound and kicks sideways toward a bunker, well, the Scots were of the opinion that a golfer should accept his punishment as part of the Almighty's possibly capricious plan. But if the golf archtect was a fellow named RTJ or Dick Wilson, and he had moved mountains of earth in order to create a lake, and he then tucked the green on a peninsula jutting out into that lake -- in that case a golfer might be entitled to mutter a word or two about fairness." Stephen Goodwin in Dream Golf
The whole paragraph begs the question about the fairness of historic ruins in the middle of a fairway, but well...nevermind.
Full disclosure: I don't know Stephen, but I did take a couple of his lectures at George Mason. He was one of the most interesting and dynamic profs I encountered. Interestingly, at the time, I had NO idea he knew golf existed.