Hey, Geoff. It was worth it to get you back on board this wacky ship of fools
Tillinghast without a doubt benefits from the NY push. That isn't to say that SFGC and Somerset Hills aren't great courses and that Tillinghast has a portfolio of very solid and some great works. But compare his top 20 courses to Flynn and it is arguable that he falls short.
So what are you saying, that Bethpage Black is a better course than Shinnecock Hills? Preposterous. Our definitions of world class do not seem to jive. There is nothing world class about the greens at Bethpage Black. That is a tough fact to overcome. Along with the boring fairway contours (lack of in reality) and overdone bunkering (by several magnitudes) and there's a lot to find fault with at the championship venue of a large golf complex. In my mind, 4 is a solid but unspectacular hole. 5 is quite good. The only interest on 15 is the slope of the green and the elevation change. World class? Hardly. I like the 17th quite a bit, but it isn't a world class par 3 by any stretch of the imagination. And your imagination seems to be stretched pretty far.
As for collections of par 3s, Rolling Green, Kittansett, Philadelphia Country, Huntingdon Valley, Lehigh and Shinnecock are all better groups than WFE and Newport CC. Far better.
Short par 4s as good as or better than Fenway 15? I can name a lot starting with 10,11 and 12 at Merion East. Rolling Green's 12th and 15th are far superior as are the 11th at Huntingdon Valley; the 1st and 16th at Philadelphia Country; The 2nd and 4th at Lancaster; the 4th, 7th and 13th at Indian Creek; the 17th at TCC in Pepper Pike; the 4th and 6th at Pocantico Hills; and while there are plenty more, I'll stop with the 13th at Shinnecock Hills. Although the general concept was Crump, Flynn and Wilson built the only template hole that Flynn would make use of (and excellently)...the great 12th at Pine Valley.
I am not saying that Tillinghast wasn't a great architect; he was. But he wasn't as great as many make him out to be. Winged Foot West does not have interesting fairways and is repetitive in its demands. I think Winged Foot East is a far better course. I think Baltusrol Lower also lacks enjoyable difficulty and is even worse after the narrowing. Baltusrol Upper is a fine course but surely no better than Rolling Green. It gets trumpeted more than RGGC, but I discount that as the near NY factor.
If you knew the variety of bunkering by Flynn you may think more highly of his range in styles. Please bear in mind that the American archetype flashed bunkering can be attributed to Flynn and Wilson. Flynn's naturalism at such seaside courses as Shinnecock, Indian Creek, Boca Raton South (may be the best course now NLE--along with Boca Raton North and Mill Road Farm, 3 great Flynn courses that are NLE), Atlantic City CC, Norfolk CC and Kittansett were works of art. Flynn's improved bunkers at TCC and Merion East were integral parts of major improvements at both courses. There is no finer bunkered par 5 in America than the 3rd at Philadelphia Country Club. The bunkering at Bethpage Black looks silly and caricatured by comparison.
Tillinghast did not have a monopoly of variety when it comes to "bunkering, green contours, pushups, extensions of fairways, parkland and links." He wasn't as innovative with angles, perception deception, offsets and subtle interplays of green slopes. He wasn't as proficient at shot testing and creating individual courses that provided interest for a wider range of player classes. He wasn't as innovative with multiple tees for different classes of players. In America, it probably was best employed by Flynn.