What's the One Question ....

[Padraig Dooley]

What's the one question you can ask an architect or an architecture buff to ascertain they know what they're talking about?


What kind of answer would you expect? If there is a correct answer?

[Adam Clayman]

How about...

 Define penal architecture?

If the answer is contrary to Geoff Shackelford's, found in "grounds for golf", they might be an imposter. Either that or a student.

one more..

What are the two weakest design elements?

[Doug Ralston]

Only one:

Whose design philosophy do you follow?

If they list ANYONE, forget them!

I am not a golf architect ...... but I KNOW it is art, thus fully individual or cheap imitation.

Doug

[Jim Thompson]

Easiest question on the board...

What's you favorite course, of course?

All architects know the real answer to this question.

Cheers!

JT

[tonyt]

Padraig,

Is there any reason why you've joined in the deplorable habit of using incomplete questions as thread titles? I can't judge you personally, so this rant is at the boards as a whole, not you.

The board's intelligence and discourse has dramatically lowered since this ridiculous habit started taking hold. Treat it like a hundred year old quirk that served its time and died out when it should have.

The reason there is no need for it is that the intelligence of those on here should be adequate enough to come up with a thread title. Incomplete questions assumes lack of ability to do otherwise or show any intelligence, or any basic ability to speak English.

[Gib_Papazian]

Tony,

Do they have anger management classes in Australia?

Are your related to Bruce Crampton?

You need to take your medication.

[tonyt]

Gib,

Hardly,

We've all tolerated it for months now. A first mention isn't exactly a blow up.

The practice doesn't have to indicate a lack of intelligence. Just an unwillingness to use it. Those on these boards are better than that.

[Jim Thompson]

Can't believe we haven't gotten an answer to mt question yet.  Lay folk please try to answer this question.  I can tell you that EVERY architect I have ever dealt with or met has answered the question with the exact same answer.

Cheers!

JT

[Mike_Cirba]

Who were Capability Brown and Gertrude Hawks?  

[Jim Thompson]

Mike,

I figured you'd ask something along the lines of "how do you feel about women with genetic virility issues?"  Talk about obscure.

Cheers!

JT

[paul cowley]

Mike ....you meant Gertrude STEIN.....right?
I mean she's part of GCA 101, right up there with 'whats the correct degree of loft for a baffin spoon?'

[David Stamm]

Mike and Paul,


Great, round 2 bewteen the Tom's is about to commence. "LLLLLeeeetttt's get ready to rrrrruuuummmbblllle."

[Matt MacIver]

"What is a redan?" worked until Shinnecock.  

[Dan Kelly]

Padraig,

Is there any reason why you've joined in the deplorable habit of using incomplete questions as thread titles? I can't judge you personally, so this rant is at the boards as a whole, not you.

The board's intelligence and discourse has dramatically lowered since this ridiculous habit started taking hold. Treat it like a hundred year old quirk that served its time and died out when it should have.

The reason there is no need for it is that the intelligence of those on here should be adequate enough to come up with a thread title. Incomplete questions assumes lack of ability to do otherwise or show any intelligence, or any basic ability to speak English.

Bravo, Tony T.!

Thanks so much for being the grump who bothered to gripe about this.

I was afraid if I did it, someone would accuse me of being off my meds!

P.S. to Jim Thompson: "My next one"?

[Padraig Dooley]

Sorry Tony, in future I'll have complete statements as thread titles, no more obscure thread titles.

I thought the full question would be too long for a title.

[Chris Cupit]

Padraig,

I interviewed 3 different architects before picking one for my course.  I spent hours with each one since I didn't think one question would give me a good enogh appreciation of their work or themselves.  Also, I wasn't smart enougfh to figure out one really good question.

I had a familiarity with several courses from each architect and I did ask each one to tell me which hole they did that they hated the most and why.

In visiting sites had taken notes about holes that I thought were good or that I thought I didn't like.  It was interesting and revealing to me to see what they thought was best and worst about their own work.

One thing that struck me was that very often the architect is hamstrung by a budget or owner and has no choice in some things.  I remember wondering why one green was located in a particular location and it turned out the owner/developer was saving the area that would have been far better for the green for 2 lots he wanted to sell--the architect didin't make a bad choice, he had no choice.



   

[Patrick_Mucci]

What's the one question you can ask an architect or an architecture buff to ascertain they know what they're talking about?


Do you know who Ran Morrissett is ?
[/color]

What kind of answer would you expect?


Yes, or, No[/color]

If there is a correct answer?

Yes[/color]

[Dan Moore]

How do you like your mounds?

Seriously though, in the very unlikely event I would ever be in that position, I would use Chris' approach and spend time on the ground with each finalist.  

[James Bennett]

Easiest question on the board...

What's you favorite course, of course?

All architects know the real answer to this question.

Cheers!

JT

Jim

I'll have a shot.  The Old Course.  The appreciation of St Andrews seems to be the common link across such a diverse outcome of architecture styles.  I don't think this answer tells you very much about the architect though.

James B

[paul cowley]

Padraig....I for one am not at all offended by your use of 'English'....but more offended by the language police types that think others are less 'proper', or of a lower 'status' [either class or education, or both], than those who don't speak or write as they do......its much more important what you have to say than how you say it [but I'm sure the 'proper' ones would state that in reverse].
....and hell, your're Irish anyway, and of a race that can take the Brit language and make it special....written or spoken.

[Jim Thompson]

Dan,

Spot on!

JT

[Joel_Stewart]

Chris:
I know an architect who can talk about all of the classic courses, played most of them and has studied Raynor.  He is still a hack architect, and never produced anything worth while from maybe 30 golf courses.  My answer is show me what you have done and leave the bs at the front door.


Regarding whats the one question,  I went to a party for my daughters school and finally had a discussion with this guy who has been wanting to talk golf with me for 2 years.  He's a 5 handicap and belongs to a private club.  He's also fairly well off.  He's never played Bandon, Cypress Point, Pine Valley or Shinnecock.  In fact he's never really played any private club other than his own.   The discussion was over fairly fast.

[Tim Bert]

If I could use visuals, I would ask "Who is this?"

[JohnV]

Padraig,

Is there any reason why you've joined in the deplorable habit of using incomplete questions as thread titles? I can't judge you personally, so this rant is at the boards as a whole, not you.

The board's intelligence and discourse has dramatically lowered since this ridiculous habit started taking hold. Treat it like a hundred year old quirk that served its time and died out when it should have.

The reason there is no need for it is that the intelligence of those on here should be adequate enough to come up with a thread title. Incomplete questions assumes lack of ability to do otherwise or show any intelligence, or any basic ability to speak English.

Bravo, Tony T.!

Thanks so much for being the grump who bothered to gripe about this.

I was afraid if I did it, someone would accuse me of being off my meds!

Tony,

I concur.  I was getting ready to post on PMS (Pat Mucci Syndrome), but you beat me to it.  Thank you.

[Mike_Cirba]

"What is a redan?" worked until Shinnecock.  

Since we're piling on Patrick here, I would say that Matt's question worked until Patrick last week unilaterally redefined a hundred years of general understanding concerning the commonly accepted definition of a redan.    

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