Which has done the greatest harm to architecture?

[John Kavanaugh]

The pen or the camera?

[Joe Hancock]

Everyone has watched The Masters, but no one reads golf poetry written by architects.....but if someone writes about golf poetry by architects, they double the offense, making it a draw between the two.

Joe

[Tommy Williamsen]

John, I go with the camera.  It seems many who employ architects want 18 signature holes.

[Bart Bradley]

Most golfers (and GCA) are men...

Men are visual creatures....

Therefore, visual media would have more effect on golfers, golf course architects, and golf course architecture.

I golf, therefore, I am.

Bart

[J_ Crisham]

As for the golden age courses, my vote would be neither the pen nor camera but rather the newly installed greens committee. They generally want to make changes and plant hundreds of trees not envisioning the effect in 25yrs. Mercifully the chainsaws have reappearred and the original course designs are reemerging.

[Bill Shamleffer]

I would say the camera.

Good writing about architecture, such as by Darwin or Wind, should prick the interest of the reader so that he gets a feeling for the layout but realizes that seeing the course with his own eyes is necessary for the full effect.

Whereas the camera may fool the viewer into thinking he now knows that course enough to offer his own critique.  And critique by camera is more dangerous than critique after one has actually walked the course on his own feet.

I think this is best contrasted between Wind's essay about Dornoch and The Masters.  Wind's essay planted the desire in the readers to also travel to Dornoch.  However, TV and magazines make all of us viewers think we "know" Augusta and that we have valid opinions about the architecture of the course.

[Chris Cupit]

Camera.  Most people kant reed or right aneeweigh.

[Tony Ristola]

The lack of the pen.
The lack of open, honest, forthright discussion.
An industry that drained the ink from the pens of those most qualified to say something about it.

[Mark_Fine]

The pursuit of fairness!

[Rich Goodale]

Cart path builders, be they asphalt or concrete.

[Melvyn Morrow]

I agree with Rich.

Cart paths, my reason because seem to be spreading over our courses      like a cancer.

But in answer to your question, its must be the pen. The lack of true and accurate descriptions of course design & its historical implications can become the greatest of evils, if based upon poor research. This perhaps has done more harm to golf architecture, based hopefully only out of ignorance. Only on solid building block or solid foundations can we all move forward, anything else just rots the core and weakens our sport.

Admitting I got it wrong or made a mistake has no fear for me. I will happily accept it once confronted with the true facts. To be wrong from time to time is no admission of failure, its just life, but what is important in an age when we can’t trust our own politicians (if ever we did) is that our history is true.

The Pen is mightier than the Driver, writer and reader beware.     

[Dan Herrmann]

John - the pen and its horrible concept of the "Signature Hole".

[Doug Ralston]

What?

The camera has been a huge HELP to architecture, indeed to golf in general. How can one even WANT to slap a ball around on a lined concrete square {I used to play some tennis], when they see what awaits them 'out there'?

Few indeed care about what is written about golf courses, one way or the other, and those are people who are already involved and usually have firm opinions.

Take pix. Show 'em. And they will golf.

Doug

[Mark Bourgeois]

You can't really judge a pen or a camera any more than you can judge other tools like hammers and screwdrivers.  A. MacKenzie apparently used both pen and camera as tools to communicate his ideas and ensure those ideas were followed.

Mark

[BCrosby]

I vote with Farnie.

Cartpaths. They are the single biggest feature on most courses. They are also often the single biggest design problem on most courses. Yet there is a remarkable absence of good ideas as to how to deal with them.

Bob

[Chris Cupit]

Fellow Cart Path Haters,

I agree that they are ugly and I hope that one day I'll have the means to have a club with limited or few paths.  However, the financial and practical reality of golf in the states is that you must have cart paths.  Would you guys rather look at dirt and mud??

Even Peachtree GC and ANGC have some paths and service roads for vehicles.  My home course does 10,000-13,000 rounds ayear and yet we must have paths for the cart wear and tear.

Hide 'em and use them as little as possible but for 99% of the courses in the states they are a must 

[Mike_Cirba]

Equipment, including television cameras.

[Adam Clayman]

The pen. Starting in grade school. Failure to teach people to think for themselves has yielded more bad architecture. Our culture, with the loss of civility, has hurt golf the most. Golf was a gentlemen's game. With the loss of gentlemen, golf has lost most of it's charm and character building aspects.

[BCrosby]

Chris -

I'm not suggesting that they be eliminated. I agree with you that they are here to stay.

My point is rather that in the 50 years since they have been introduced there have been very few good ideas about how to either (a) minimize their impact or (b)  incorporate them into the architecture of the course.

By that last point I mean to suggest that cartpaths might be actually used the way roads and walls are sometimes used as hazards on UK courses. On the theory that if you can't get rid of 'em, use 'em.

Bob

[Melvyn Morrow]

If we have to use carts then they must be on grass
behind the rough well out of the sight of play, but no
concrete or asphalt paths.

[John Kavanaugh]

Chris -

I'm not suggesting that they be eliminated. I agree with you that they are here to stay.

My point is rather that in the 50 years since they have been introduced there have been very few good ideas about how to either (a) minimize their impact or (b)  incorporate them into the architecture of the course.

By that last point I mean to suggest that cartpaths might be actually used the way roads and walls are sometimes used as hazards on UK courses. On the theory that if you can't get rid of 'em, use 'em.

Bob

In reference to the Road Hole - Which came first the hole or the road?

[Eric Morrison]

I'm not sure about architecture, but green television camera filters have done no good for course maintenance practices.

[Lou_Duran]

Neither.  On balance, the EPA, U.S. Corps of Engineers, and numerous other governmental bodies have done the greatest harm to gca, not to say anything about making the game so very expensive.

[John Kavanaugh]

One thing that I have come to realize is that if I had only read about Sand Hills instead of seeing so many pictures I would be much more interested in playing there.  

[Mike Benham]

The pen ... for the ability to write checks. 

Many of the older courses came in under budget, not for what the architect/construction company did, but for what they did not do in the construction process.