For some reason, the offending phrase appears in my thread as if Mark was the author.... But as Justin has decided to fall on the grenade for this one. I can only say that I was simply responding to what was on the screen in front of me, but since Justin has owned up to it, I will take that as the truth and withdraw my comments about Mark being a liar... I do not, however, retract my comment about Republican Presidential candidates and their proclivity for uttering untruths each and every time they open their mouths.
If I could make a suggestion, this kind of misunderstanding is more likely to happen when everyone encapsulates 5 different quotes from other thread respondents in their replies. These threads are starting to take on the character of court depositions with pictures. For that I guess we have to thank the inimitable Mr. Mucci and his multi-colored missives.
In terms of answering Brian:
NSWGC is measurably better than it was 20 years ago... at that point in time, I was playing the course mostly with my grandfather and the tee tree. scrub etc was so high it blocked the views on some holes. The fire of 1998 opened up the vistas across the course... Add the greenside bunker revetting, the general improvement in condition of the playing surfaces... which considering the location are superb... Combine it with fabulous routing taking you out to the coast and back twice, plus the natural, almost wild nature of the location (at what other World Top 40 course can you encounter something that might kill you before you make it back to the clubhouse?). It makes for an exhilarating golfing experience.
I have always been sympathetic to the need to make small tweaks to the course so it can be playable in a wider variety of weather conditions (which explains much of the re-contouring of the greens over the last 10 years (e.g. 3,7,17) but some other changes have removed the strategic options built into the course by Mackenzie and Apperly. i.e. 18-There is really only one way to play this hole now. If you're not going for the green in two, your decision is simple... take on the new bunkers in the lay up area or stay back further to leave a full wedge/9 iron approach.
The stuff everyone else is throwing in about the changing mowing lines (minimal and irrelevant), internal rough and nature areas are all minor and subject to change... The reason NSWGC has a World Top 40 ranking and a closed membership waiting list is because the club has a clear vision of the golfing experience they want to provide to members and guests, and a well-established process for taking in feedback on how well they are executing on that vision.