Howard - can't offer anything of value, but thanks much for posting this, and for the question to architects. Now THAT is the heart of any creative process worthy of the name; that most of us have forgotten Fitzgerald's "benchmark" is one of the reasons so much work/art is lifeless and bland. (You are being kind, by the way -- the other question you could've asked architects is whether/how often they "sell their heart").
Peter
Peter, Howard, Dan,
The business lacks heart... sad to say, and part of the reason why is it's not an easy road to take. I think if you truly sell heart, you can't do more than two projects concurrently... and it means you are splitting your time between them, not mailing them in, or making infrequent site-visits. Of course... one is the ideal.
Herbert Warren Wind cajoled architects to put more heart in their work, and lamented their half-hearted efforts; he is one man I would have loved to have met and asked some questions.
Gil Hanse in an interview on GCA says (paraphrasing... and sounding like Herbert Warren Wind) that the last generation is basically a lost one because architects looked more at their pocket books than their legacy.
Heart is a tough sell, and it's tough because it is very limiting... especially with the permitting process today... but there are ways to keep busy.
Personally; I couldn't draw plans and hope somebody else got them right. Hell... if I ever drew plans for a project and couldn't build it, I'd hope the person responsible for building the place abandoned them to a large degree because if they didn't, they certainly wouldn't be building the best course, for plans are static, rigid documents demanding conformity. They are ideas up to a point in time. And... if they did... they'd be the architect. If not, I don't think I'd want my name on it because it wouldn't be the best golf course. The client would have received an inferior and most likely heartless paint-by-numbers kit for a product. Ugh.
Architects are not perfect, for we are human... we make mistakes at the drawing board, we miss opportunities during planning, and left on their own for days or weeks at a time... no builder will build the course as envisioned by the architect. It's why the finest courses have the architect leading construction... putting his heart and soul into it. I think this is one big reason why Gil Hanse will build the Olympic Course for Rio 2016. Score a big one, an Olympic size one for... heart.
To shoot for the stars requires putting your heart into it, and that can't be done by phone, fax, sms, email or express mail. It requires people on the ground... daily is best... walking the land, talking to one another about their ideas... monitoring, editing, refining (Deming/Shewhart Cycle)... it is an investment of the most valuable asset any architect can bring to his work... his time, and with it... his heart, for I can't imagine an architect who would commit himself so and not bring his heart and soul to the project.
It's is so simple, so straight forward... but it ain't easy. That's why few courses have heart.