Ed,
It seems like no one else recognizes the spiritual eruption that it took to compile and post this thread, so I'll be the first to tell you that it is, without question, the best thread I've read since I joined GCA. I don't know why the rest of the guys on the site haven't taken the time to read it and comment, but hey, it's their loss and Charlotte's gain.
When I was a freshie at Wake Forest, Coach Haddock let me try out for the team. I played my one and only round at Old Town, realizing then and there that I didn't have what it took to make the team. One thing I did not realize, however, was that I was treading over greatness and I've been aching (despite Kye Goalby's best efforts to meet up) to get back there. That's what sucks about teaching...can't just up and head south for Homecoming during prime teaching months.
I believe that Mr. Maxwell had an incredible gift. I would love to know what his formative years and influences gifted him, in terms of lay of the land. We know what Mackenzie did, regarding his war service. How was Maxwell influenced as a youth and teenager? As you say, the ability to weave the creek into nearly every hole of a space of property, without making it seem forced, is transcendent.
Looks like America's heartland, for the new builds of SH, DC, BN, et al., and the great classics of PM is the new dream trip.