I must say, I'm impressed by your comments and by the fact you "picked up on" exactly what the design intent was at Shadow Creek. First of all, the answer to the first post is yes, there is no question that SC could have been designed to reflect a different (and some would say, a more appropriate) style of course in that setting. But I think you have to remember, at the time we were building SC, Wynn was also building the Mirage, and the idea there was to create a "mirage" in the desert. There are several desert-style courses created both before, and after, SC but I don't think there's anything that approaches the unique character of SC in Las Vegas. That was the whole concept, to do something that is completely unexpected in that setting. An Arizona-style course would certainly have cost less to build, but that was not the objective. I mentioned to Wynn once during construction, that it seemed that the cost of the course we were building was a bit crazy, and his response was that I was working on what would be the most profitable golf course I would ever work on. How? Simply by virtue of the fact that, for the first 2-3 years after it opened SC was played by "invitation only", and the only way to get that invitation was to stay at the Mirage and place enough money "at risk" in the casino to get Wynn's attention. That meant not gambling with thousands, or tens of thousands, but hundreds of thousands of dollars at the Mirage. It was my understanding that SC averaged less than 10 (not a typo), 10 rounds of play per day for the first 18 months after it was opened, and it was paid off (indirectly) within a year after it opened. That's in excess of $50,000,000 dollars!
Insofar as the horizon lines tying-in to the mountains in the distance, that's an extremely astute observation, and I'm very pleased to say that was our intent. All the shapers on the project were encouraged to take the mountain horizons into account, and try to "shadow" that effect. We often would sit up at the tees in the evening (maybe having a brew or two) and talk about where we needed to lower or raise the horizon lines in order to mirror the mountains in the distance. Of course, much of this was lost, or at least made difficult to percieve now because of the tremendous number of trees planted on the slopes later on. But I'm gratified to hear that someone, who obviously appreciates the nuances of golf design, picked up on that and that we were, at least to some degree, successful in achieving that objective.
Did I find it restrictive or limiting? No, I must say that, as a shaper, the objective is to satisfy the intent of the architect. After all, the architect gets paid big dollars for his vision, and rightly so. But, a shaper puts his stamp on any hole every day, and they know it...The analogy I use is that you can find 3 different artists, say the 3 greatest painters in the world today, describe in detail what you want them to paint...let's say a blonde girl, wearing a red dress, on a swing hanging from a tree limb. No matter how much detail you give them, if you send them into 3 separate rooms, when they come out you'll have 3 completely different paintings. That's the reward for a shaper, you've satisfied the designer's vision, but you've put your stamp on it, and you know it!
The secret to success for a shaper is to do just that, satisfy the architect's vision & intent, satisfy your own artistic hunger, and do it fast enough and efficiently enough to make a profit for the contractor your working for. Working on the same hole over and over again costs time & money, and time is a luxury you don't have in golf construction. Right behind you are 100+ people installing drainage, irrigation systems, detail, finish work and grassing. And if you miss the window for seeding, you're screwed...missing a grassing window pushes your opening back anywhere from 6 months to a year behind schedule, and few projects can absorb that loss of revenue.
Shapers do what they do because they love it, but they also do it for the money. The average equipment operator in the U.S earns about $35-65,000 a year. A good shaper will earn $90-135,000 a year. The way you get to that level is to make a profit for the contractor your working for...the way to make more is to induce the designers to request you on their next project. Make no mistake, the golf business, like any other, is driven by dollars! It's a tough life, moving all over the U.S., or the world for that matter, for 6-10 months at a time. It's tough on marriages, relationships, and the body, doing it year after year. They don't build golf course all in one place, if they did I'd still be shaping...it's by far the most enjoyable job I ever had!