Mike perhaps in the future our discussions would be less contentious if you would refrain from misrepresenting my arguments and premises as you do here. Thanks.
Ed,
I'm sorry you feel that way. I too wish that the tone was different because there has been some incredibly wonderful historic info that has come to light and I've also said many times that it was David's essay that caused a bunch of us to dig deeper, finding much more in the rich history of golf in Philadelphia as a result. In very real terms, it has also helped us to greatly understand the history of Cobb's Creek, where we continue to move forward in our efforts to return that course to something of it's former greatness.
I do credit David with all of that, and wish our disagreements weren't so emotionally-charged and pronounced.
David,
Some of our problem is the fact that we need to be more straight with each other. You tell me that I'm misrepresenting you, yet this is exactly what you wrote less than a week ago;
"Here is part of a timeline for you that makes quite a bit more sense than yours. . .
- Before NGLA, a bunch of novices trying to make a golf course come up with some plans.
- At NGLA, those old plans are all thrown out the window, and M&W teaches them what they should be doing. "Your essay stated;
“Wilson,” a rank novice, “had absorbed the principles underlying the great holes, then applied them to the terrain at his command.” As a result, he created what would become an absolute masterpiece.
Or so the story goes. But as is often the case with creation stories, this one is a blend of myth and reality. In reality, Wilson neither planned the routing nor conceived of the holes at Merion East. The course was planned months before Merion even appointed Wilson and his “Construction Committee.” Wilson and his Construction Committee were not appointed to design the course or conceive of the holes, but were to do what the name of their committee implies, construct the golf course. They laid the course out on the ground and built it according to plan. I don't wish to drag this discussion onto yet another thread, but please don't tell me I'm misrepresenting the position you've consistenly portrayed here for the past number of years.
In fact, your theories about Merion rest on the cornerstone belief that Hugh Wilson simply was incapable of creating the original routing, even with the help of the others members of his committee working at it probably every day for at least 3-4 months.
Given the narrow piece of land that formed an "L", and some of the similarities to Rustic Canyon in terms over lack of overall width on the property, surely you have to see some parallels.
For those of us who sit in some degree of awe at the course that Hugh Wilson created, with additional help from William Flynn and others like the Valentines over the decades, I'm not sure how you expect such language not to be taken very offensively.