Got my 8/11/07 copy of GOLFWEEK last night and was interested to see Kleins discussion of Fircrest GC in Tacoma, my home town.
For those of you who haven't seen the piece it is an eloquent and powerful comment on how our golf courses change over time and how through benign neglect we often lose the power and 'sense of place' on our golf courses.
Inspired by an old photo of Fircrest that I believe he saw on GCA, Brad went to Fircrest this spring and retook the same photo.
How many times have we heard a fellow member or playing partner ask us crazy GCA types why we are so intent on removing something "that has always been there." When we know that courses change over time and even though in our short memories, it may have always been there for us, it wasn't always meant to be that way. And the change that has occured could be devastating to the quality of a course.
A couple of things come to mind, first change is inevitable and second in the age of digital phtography a consistent photo record of that change would be a great idea in order to enable future players and design professionals to make informed decisions long after we're gone.