Frankly, I find Mr. Muirhead one of the most interesting figures in golf course architecture. I haven’t taken the time to study him, his work, or his philosophy in depth yet…but he certainly appears to be very unique.
Also, I struggle with the quote that Ward posted as I don’t know the context behind it. He says,
"The average golfer is more affected by the psychology of a golf course than its strategy
They play golf not to analyze but to feel good."
Feel good in what regard? Feel good about themselves at the end of the round? Feel good with the quality of the shots they hit? Feel good in the sense they don’t go in a hazard or go O.B? This statement is too vague to really dig into it.
However, I can see where Tim thought of Strantz. Here is a quote that I like from Mike Strantz…
“It is important to make the golf hole look more difficult than it really is...if your mind convinces you that it really is a difficult shot, you’re beat before you even take the club back.”
Clearly, this plays on the psychological part of the game and, therefore, it is easily recalled when reading the Muirhead quote. But Strantz doesn’t use this type of psychology to make the golfer “feel good”, rather he uses it to scare the $hit out of a golfer!!
Also, Bobby Jones comes to mind every time I hear of psychology being used on a golf course and in golf design. Perhaps mainly due to this quote…
“Competitive golf is played mainly on a five-and-a-half-inch course, the space between your ears.”
Given all that I can piece together, I doubt Mr. Muirhead meant a golfer wants to see flowers to feel good on a golf course. I think he might have been talking about the types of shots a golfer wants to hit. Avoid dangerous shots, like forced carries or challenging bunkers, etc. But like I said, I haven’t studied Desmond Muirhead and I don’t know the context of the quote.