Mark...
I have not read the book. Sounds like I should.
David...
Of course, I don't have a statistical study of these people's handicaps but the vast majority are/were below 15 and were pretty competent at hitting shots. In fact, I'd say many were single digits.
The ramifications of Observation #1 are immense, especially when combined with competent basic golfing skills.
Ramification #1---If players are competent at the basics of the game, specifically ball striking, and they don't think before they strike the ball...strategy is lost on them. Center line bunkers become "unfair" as their well struck tee shot wasn't rewarded. If greens are meant to be approached from specific angles and these players don't notice that, then greens can become "unfair" as their well struck shots were not rewarded. And no, I didn't play with Luke Donald this week at TPC Boston.
Ramification #2---Beauty trumps all. No matter whether you are a scratch handicapper or a 30, you can appreciate beauty. To be able to appreciate strategy, you have to be a good golfer AND a thinking golfer. Mackenzie mentions something like this in "The Spirit of St. Andrews" when he talks about how revered Cypress Point was almost immediately, which he was not used to experiencing with his designs.
In fact, on point #1...Jeff Forston's post regarding NGLA and how it "changed" him is a truly wonderful example of someone "getting" the concept of thinking golf. And he highlighted how the "usual" course doesn't embrace these nuances. Here is a portion of that (those) post(s)...
Simply put, NGLA, more than any other course (with the exception of TOC and a couple others), inspires me to play great golf. The reward for playing intelligent and well executed shots is unmatched on all levels in my experience. A lot of the time when playing golf on most courses I find myself going to a rote, well rehearsed shot making process that can sometimes leave well executed shots feeling routine or unremarkable. At NGLA I start each hole with a gameplan that seeks a result, but when the desired shot is not placed in the intended spot I'm filled with the excitement of what I will have in front of me even though I may have missed my mark. But, even more impressive to me is that the process is so organic and free of mechanical urges. I am forced to hit the shots that are FUN to hit and watch; shots of touch and feel. It takes an artistic mind to truly enjoy the course IMO, because the canvas laid in front of you is so unique and special. The shapes and trajectories of the shots you play there stick out in your mind more than the vast majority of golf courses you'll play in your life. You'll remember which brush/club you used and distance is relative to the shot you feel inside your bones, not what your bushnell tells you.This is precisely what I'm getting at. And it is this type of thinking that a lot of us on this site a looking for and going nuts for when we find it. HOWEVER, I really wonder if these vast majority of today's golfers will ever "get" this. And, therefore, I wonder if this is why some of the "great" newer courses aren't financial successes. And furthermore I wonder if embracing the desires of the masses is one of the only ways to make golf a successful business enterprise, regardless if the "educated elite" pan these types of courses. In fact, I wonder if a few successful architects know this and simply try to built pleasing but superficial golf courses because they know that sells.
Thoughts/comments?