Jeff,
I also like the "old GCA guys". I got to meet and play golf with Gib P. in Bandon this year. He is a blast and I'm sure his posts were great. I know he lurks but I find it impossible to believe that he no longer posts because he does not know how to say no to an access whore! That is not the guy I met...
I never really buy stories about "the good old days" because such tales invariably involve a heavy dose of selective memory. People remember the good and forget the bad, it is human nature. I spent two hours reading ten-year-old threads. Some were good, MANY were lame. There were many threads complaining about how far the ball travels today, calls for a rollback on the ball and equipment, etc. People complained about the scores pros were shooting on great courses, etc...all stuff we talk about today. In no way were the old discussions "architectually pure." In no way are there less good architecture discussions today. And today's posts often include GREAT photos of golf courses that many of us will never get to play. There were no such photos in the old threads I read, so GCA.com is FAR better in that respect now.
What IS different is that the site is no longer brand new, and like your first true love, some things cannot be duplicated...So instead of complaining, start making some good posts relating to architecture. I really don't know your occupation and what happened with acess requests.
Bill,
Gib is a legend. He is one of my favorite people on the planet. I met him at the King's Putter II at Pasatiempo and he and I started to talk about the greatness of NGLA. As we discussed in detail the holes Gib literally pulled out his pencil from the round and turned our conversation into a diagram on the table cloth to help explain what we were discussing to those that had never been there. It was then and there that I knew GCA had attracted a group of people that "got it". Gib and I both have similar situations in our personal lives and he directed me to some stuff that not only helped my family but changed our lives for the better. I will forever be indebted to the man for his acts of kindness to me, a virtual stranger up until we simply talked about a golf course.
Look, I have never met many of the "new guys". My comments aren't directed at individuals (except for my total incapability of understanding much of what Melvyn Morrow says and what I think is a squandered ability to use his family name). I certainly don't think every single person on here is looking for access to golf courses. However, to deny it's existence and its total infiltration of the site is blind. It doesn't have to be public in the threads to be real. I can't speak for Bob Huntley, but I can only imagine how many requests he has gotten over the years. It shows you what kind of character he has to have been so gracious to so many people, even those that appealed to him unsolicited.
My experience is different. I was a golf pro at a high profile club. People figured I could just wave a magic wand and get them out. Sorry to say, that unless you were a PGA member or played with me, I couldn't do much for you (I say "you" in general terms). I was working 50+ hours a week and teaching another 10+ on top of that and I literally had guys from GCA.com that I had never met asking me to make time on my days off so that they could play Riviera. Now, you and many here weren't the culprits, nor does it really matter to most of you. I'm ok with that. But when I see threads that are pissing contests of what courses we have all played and the "light hearted" posts about how to get on at "such and such" country club, I start to question the motives of many and the overall direction of the site. After hosting some of these people they didn't attempt to enlighten others of their experience in an educational sense on the DG which was always my hope. I didn't want a public thank you, I wanted to see their opinions and experiences. I believe that all levels of golfers can contribute to the betterment of course architecture if they understand not only the game in general, but their game as well.
There is no question there are still great threads and pictorials. I am happy to see those continue. I haven't even began to crack the nut of the "rater" fiasco of years back. If you think my opinions are harsh on the access whoring you should dig up my feeling about the entitled "rater". I have no problem with raters or the rating bodies per se, I have a problem with people begging others to make them raters so that they feel entitled to play free golf wherever they like. Don't get me started on that one!
I don't think all the guys I have mentioned don't contribute only because of "access whoring". Actually, I was asking others to help me answer as to why the site has "jumped the shark"? Maybe I am wrong. Maybe it hasn't jumped. My opinion is that it has in many ways. I knew I would ruffle some feathers with the initial post. I figured I would be calling out people I don't even know about this topic. I hope it got their eye. I am not trying to be the police of gca.com, I simply hope it survives. And, by surviving I mean actually continuing to be relevant. Fortunately, there are people like Jeff Brauer, Tom Doak, some great supers, Pat Mucci, Tom Paul, and many others I fail to mention that keep this DG going. Like I said before, I have never claimed to be an authority on the subject. I want to learn. I love contributing when I can, but I learn nothing from people seeking to check off another Top 100 course from their list.
Jeff F.