Jim, Since I was on my blackberry I couldn't be more concise. My point was that since the GA designers were able to create compelling walking courses, inside of the housing considerations, compared to the modern versions, the moderns are gonna lose in any comparison.
It's turned out many courses aren't in the golf biz, they're in the cart rental biz. A sad reality if you are evaluating the merits of the gca. Because, routings are the key factor in a course being considered quality.
Yes, some archies have done very respectable housing jobs on tight properties, but most of the typical, are just collections of holes which often fail to feel like a golf course. The disruptions are too frequent and the aesthetic along with liability fears, do little to put the golfer at peace, and, at one with nature. While the homeowners are the only ones who get to feel that way as they gaze out over their verdant vista bought and paid for with 3% down and are likely now 35% under water.
I've been on this site for a long time. I was, from the beginning, a ranter against the era, where gc construction was for all the wrong reasons. Housing being a major one, but it boiled down to just someone elses greed. Why? Because once the houses were sold and the developer was on a beach earning 20%, the courses weren't compelling enough to continue to attract enough play to survive as stand alones.
If you have the financial means to build a course, it should be for only one reason, the love of it. Not the cash.
The developer deciding to use the best ground for the housing, was where the architect, should've put his foot down. (I know, I know peoples gots to eat)
But,
I'm of the mindset that if one person can do it, than others can too. So, comparing all housing development courses is a reasonable exercise, regardless of their era. I'm also a believer in learning from the mistakes of others, so in that way, you are right. all those crappy housing development courses have served their purpose. They tell people not to buy into this type of failed model. Naturally, there are exceptions, and some are very lucrative, but, each project should stand alone and the quality of it can be discussed by us geeks. (Another reason an Industry mindset shouldn't exist. But I'll spare you of that rant)