This line from Sean A struck me: "When Doak stated that the English 5 is probably the standard of good golf for the world I always imagine Colt as the author of so many of these." If Sean's imaginings have any basis in reality, Colt would be good enough for me. Tom Doak's English 5 may be a 5 out of 10 in one sense, but in another they are ALL a golf course needs to be to provide the greatest pleasure for the greatest number. To get to 5 architects of the thread-title, I'd add Flynn and Fowler and Mackenzie and Maxwell, in that order. But if I actually had to choose instead of just pretending to choose, I'd only pick the alive guys' courses....
Peter