Do you really think the 3rd at Merion works well as a reverse-redan? I'm all for the loose constructionist theory on the template holes (as evidenced by my "redan" debate with Patrick recently), but to me having the high-side kicker and the stong left-to-right, front-to-back flow of the green is pretty fundamental.
The 3rd at Merion exhibits neither characteristic. I have played any number of redans and reverse redans and I have to be honest; if I didn't know that some of the early guys called it a redan I would have never thought of it that way in a million years.
I agree that the current version doesnt look much like a redan, at least not like a mirror image of the redan at NGLA. But the fact that at least some of the contemporary scholars called it a redan is compelling evidence that these "template" concepts were not meant to be taken so literally.
IMO, anyone who judges the significance (or lack thereof) of MacDonald's influence at a course like Merion based on how closely the supposed "templates" resembled MacDonald's holes is not only missing the purpose and point of the supposed "templates," but also misconstruing most of what was going on in golf design during this period.
But speaking of the 3rd at Merion . . . I actually hit one of my few good shots of the day there. By pure dumb luck, a few days earlier I had hit what I thought was a good shot a NGLA's Redan, both with hickories. At one of the holes my ball actually ran across at least part of the green, while at the other my ball stayed very close to where it first hit. I'll bet you can figure out which one played at least a little like a redan and which one didnt.
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I'm confused TEPaul . . . when you take shots at me in posts to other people does that mean you are ignoring me, or not?