Mark, Thanks for that info.
I think what I'm really seeking is other men, like Markes, who had the idea of a golf club/course, knew exactly what they wanted, had the thing built, and then ran it according to their philosophy for some significant period of time.
The last thing I want to do is to make a fundamental error by drawing a parallel between Markes and someone who didn't do quite the same thing.
That's why I'm airing it here, so that you people will shoot down anything unsound before it gets into print.