It's time to pay tribute to our best architecture advocates

[TEPaul]

This remark of Jeff Goldman's from Olympia Fields is cut and pasted from Pat Mucci's recent tree removal thread:

"I think the tree removal program went pretty well at Olympia Fields.  We had bad trouble on a couple greens on the North Course, brought in Arborcom, and basically did what they suggested on those 2 holes and some others they looked at.  Arborcom gave a couple presentations to whoever wanted to come, and Brad Klein came in and gave a good talk, which at one point devolved into a hilarious shouting match, but that was mostly for entertainment."



It's time to pay tribute to some of our best classic course restoration advocates and Brad klein is definitely high on that list and probably sits at the top of it.

I guess I've seen Brad Klein speak at these kinds of things more than most, perhaps over a half dozen times and each time he brings his unique form of knowledge and passion laced with slight exasperation and generally combined with the occasional clip of in-your-face humor directed squarely at membership illogic and pomposity. Now and then he throws in some self-deprecating, humorous references to himself and his New York Jewish heritage or some of his past careers (which are about as far removed from golf course architecture as you can get).  

It's got to take confidence, balls and a lot of practice to say some of the things he does to large audiences and get away with it as well as he does.

Each time he's been able to completely disarm both individual and general adverserialness towards his point and message after he's delivered these "zingers". It would seem very hard to near impossible to stand up and confront him or his message without appearing to take yourself far too seriously.

We should all learn something from this---eg that passionate advocacy for some things that are initially highly controversial and unpopular can work remarkably well if and when humor is used and used properly. Humor is levening anyway and Mark Twain is probably right in his remark: "Nothing in the world can withstand the onslaught of HUMOR."

So, here, hear (?) to Brad Klein, perhaps the golf architecture "renaissance/restoration" era's best lecture circuit advocate!

[John Kavanaugh]

Credit needs to go to Mike Young for holding a mirror outside the window of the dead guy societies.

[John Kavanaugh]

I don't always agree with Geoff Shackelford but I have fostered a quiet admiration for his ability to put his foot squarely in his mouth.  This a a trait I wish more architectural advocates would follow.

For the thin skinned, please note the above is a compliment.

[Peter Pallotta]

Lorne Rubenstein has been a long-time and consistent advocate, and I think of the best kind: rarely criticizing that which he doesn't like but focusing instead of that which he does, subtly, quietly, without rancour, and with a healthy perspective on the relative importance of gca, and that in the context of the game itself.  Writing about golf mostly in the mainstream and popular press, and rarely focusing on gca as gca, he nonetheless manages - with a line here, a fine insight there, a little quiet prodding here and there - to educate, inform and promote architecture in wonderful and broad-based way. I think he may be the most truly effective advocate out there. A heartfelt and lovely book about Dornoch probably does more to turn golfers' attention to architecture that an thousand diatribes against this or that particular architect or style.  

Peter

[TEPaul]

Geoff Shackelford has been publicly labeled by Jon Winokur, the author of that really marvelous little book "The Portable Curmudgeon" as one of the few bona fide modern American curmudgeons! And this is high praise indeed---I guarantee you that!  

And I disrespectfully disagree with John Kavanaugh about Geoff Shackelford constantly putting his foot in his mouth. I've virtually never seen him do that in anything he says or writes. What he is almost always able to do is make a good many others try to put their foot in his mouth and that's the trick indeed and the most effective thing of all, particularly since, to date, no one has managed to do it including the USGA and the PGA Tour.  

[Adam Clayman]

The obvious one would be our most beloved figure. His selfless heralding of this resource (not cocktail party) should be cited. Now that he has the opportunity to place his money where his mouth has been, (so to speak) we should be grateful for the opportunites he has availed all of us.

Acommodating doctrines of fairness and new ideas combined with not taking oneself too seriously is what got GCA in the fine mess it was in 13 years ago.

C.B. among others, must've been quietly (or not) frustrated beyond belief with the preponderence of Freshman ideas, and in hindsight, mistakes.

Cheers to Ran

[Lloyd_Cole]

Having spent about week with him in Melbourne I can sincerely nominate Mike Clayton as a  relentless driving force to return the sandbelt courses to their original splendour. Obviosly RM and KH are great. More were, and could be again. His work at Peninsula, KH and Victoria and imminent struggle with Commonwealth and their  member/tree relations is all extrememly encouraging. MC is not afraid to make enemies along the way, he is compltely BS free and, to top it off, actually extremely modest about his own work. I say he can afford to be.
I also nominate him as champion Australian curser. Truly a king amongst kings.
I second Geoff Shack's nomination as Royal Pain in the Ass of pretty much all that I'd wish such a pain on. Long may he blog.

[John Chilver-Stainer]

Since this is back slapping time - I raise my glass to the late Jim Arthur, Agronomist who used to write with passion about the qualities of traditional fescues and the dangers of over-watering and over-fertilising.

This in the 1980’s and 90’s when British Golf Courses were faced with the aggressive onslaught of hyped-up marketing of industrial irrigation installations, detailed fertilising programs and the glorification of Penncross.

His passionate writings influenced a whole generation of british greenkeepers and asked them to think twice, and consider that modern is not necessarily better. Indirectly saving traditional courses from losing their best attributes and thus avoiding the need for restoration . Thanks Jim.