Ulrich
While I don't think its possible rate 1000 courses accurately in a book (I am not even sure its desirable because nothing much can be said about each course in a book that size) I absolutely agree with the concept of "chain of trust". It works well once a golfer has played enough very good courses and gets a feel of what he is looking for and how to spot quality. Eventually, because our tastes differ, we all start to build up a personal hierarchy of what is worth seeing again and what isn't. In part, this is why I sort of liked Mayday's idea of distinctiveness in architecture. If not taken too far (because there are bound to be countless exceptions), the idea is a cool blend of personal likes and hard nose evaluation. I think Doak essentially does the same sort of thing in a bonus sort of way with "originality".
The bottom line is when I find a reviewer which blends well with my take on things (say give or take 10-15%), then I learn to trust him. So far as I know, but with a few glaring differences, Doak is the only guy I have come across who has published a critical evaluation of courses that I trust. Of course it helps Doak's cause in that most reviewers don't write with a critical eye - they write to please as if protecting some sacred turf. I would love to see more books like Doak's come out but much more focused on a region so as a more in depth analysis could be included. For example, I long believed that the World Atlas of Golf could have written a separate volume from an evaluation PoV rather than a celebratory PoV. The fan loyalty and quality contribution from authors is in place. The graphics, format and pot histories are in place. A bit of tweaking and Bob's yer uncle.
BTW - I have looked at your (not sure what you call it) blog about courses. Its a good take and separates you from the crowd. My only problem is that I think you must be rating courses too highly if 10 is the tops. You have a load of 7s and higher so far and that is basically the minimum sort of area to be considered world class imo. But who knows, perhaps you will pull a Spinal Tap and go to 11!
Ciao