Did he say why? Watching from the gallery of the Tour Championship in 1993 and 1994, I thought the old 7th was fantastic.
Well, first, he didn't say that. His comments were limited to the 8th hole. But there is no Youtube of the meeting so you'll have to trust me on that. And second, the current 7th is a fantastic hole. A whopping 18 yards longer than the old version, and still less than 300 yards as a par 4. Looks the same from the tee. Some in the Cal Amateur elected to bust driver off the tee, and others hit hybrid or iron to lay up for a wedge approach. The hole played the same as before....Nick Price hit the green in 1994 and others over the years have played for position off the tee.
And two tiers instead of the gimmicky 3-tier old version, where if you landed on the correct tier you had a short birdie putt, instead of the current two tiers where a putt has more interest.
And the three tiers of "old" wasn't that old. Nixon in the White House. Not Woodrow Wilson.
I would wager cash money that there is no course on either coast or in between that is playing firmer or faster than the Lake currently tee to green. Rough is low and playable. Tree clearing continues with pines recently removed throughout.