Pat:
Hmmm, good questions.
Of course I suppose I would have to know what your vision was before answering you but if you wanted to do a GCGC idea as you said you did earlier you probably wouldn't have a problem with any of them. Of course, I guess you're ready for the fact that the course probably would not turn out exactly the same with each of them--but that's another subject, although I believe you said that was not true once before. Sorry but I think it would be true!
As for whether you think you have a suitable piece of property to do this, I do know that at least one of them might not take your word for that and would form his own opinions on that before getting involved. As for a routing, yes, there are probably all kinds of possibilities but it is the bones of a course and an architect definitely has his own feelings about that, obviously contingent on the kind of course you might be looking for. Personally, I don't think that routing is a science as much as an art, and it ain't that easy to do right either if the property has any complexity.
As to doing just what you want I suppose Rees and Fazio would do that, Forse and Prichard I don't know, Tom Doak I really don't know but have a bit of a feeling about, Hanse I do have a pretty clear feeling about and C&C that would very much depend on whether they felt you were on the same page with them and they with you--otherwise you should not and probably would not be working together. I'm not totally sure if you understand that concept in detail at this point. I know it took me a good while to.
As to the input of those that you mentioned: Wynn I think had tremendous input, Keiser I think might have had quite a lot and I think Doak felt he was very much on the same page with Keiser and that he was great to work for in Tom's creative context. Coore & Crenshaw and Ken Bakst, you'd have to ask but my feeling is that they both felt the other was about as good as could ever happen for each other in a project. But there is a modus operandi there which is very subtle and necessary, in my opinion. You sort of have to know when to hold em and when to fold em, if you know what I mean, and it appears they both understood that balance to a tee!
Personally, and this is not to do with any of those courses or owners but if I had had the opportunity to work with C&C at something like Ardrossan, at first I felt a lot like you and I wondered what exactly my input would or could be. I thought a lot about that too over those few years and I came to the conclusion that at the outset we would agree that I would tell them anything on my mind but ultimately all things would be their call and I'm certain I could live with that because I really do have a lot of faith in them. The great thing about working with them, I think, is they don't tell you everything you want to hear at all and they take an inordinate amount of time figuring out that you're on the same page with them and them with you! If you want them to do something they don't want to do or don't think they can do they will tell you before anything gets signed and that can involve many things!
That's my honest opinion, Pat, and I do believe if you think you could get them to do anything you want, I really believe you'd be wrong! Also, although obviously I don't really know, I have a strong feeling that if Wynn offered them Shadow Creek with the vision he had for the place I don't believe they would have done that project--not that way anyway!