Great stuff, Neil
I love the picture of the Alps at Prestwick, and wonder if Pat Mucci would love the replica at NGLA as much as he does if the bank were maintained that way and the replica allowed less leeway than was designed in by Macdonald! I also am fascinated by the apparent fact that the 7th green at Troon used to be a blind second into a bowl. It is one of my favorite holes in golf, and my first instinct was to applaud the removal of the dune in front of the green, but on reflection, the fact that even if there were a dune still there, you could see all that is important about the hole (including pin position) from the highly elevated tee, which would add to the complication of the hole. I'm still mulling over the alternatives....
In general, Rymill's opinions strike me as honest and refreshing. I think all of us could take a lesson from this great South Australian in not bowing and scraping to the conventional wisdom, but rather expressing what you see and feel when you play a golf shot, hole or course, and not what somebody else said yesterday or even 20-100 years ago abo0ut these things, under a very different set of conditions.
Thanks again
Rich