Brad -
Thanks for the summary. I still think that if the forum had gone on for a couple more hours, the stark contrast in your views and those of Fazio would have made for a fascinating rumble. Too bad things ended before that could happen.
The more I hear from Fazio's own mouth (or pen, as the case may be) the more troubled I am.
Here we have the dominant architect of our era who believes that the architects who preceded him have little or nothing to tell him; who believes that the architectural history of a golf course, even classic courses like Riviera, ANGC, etc., has little bearing on the kinds of changes he wants to make to those courses; who doesn't believe that restorations have any particular value unless that is what the guy paying him says to do.
Remarkable and troubling.
Remarkable that someone with such a dismissive view of the history of his own profession could rise to the top of that profession.
Troubling because he is unwilling to use his unique power in the industry to promote architectural goals that are any higher than what the club chairman at his next job wants him to build.
Bob