The Fowler attribution for Crystal Springs has always puzzled me. Certain sources have 1920 (C&W), others have 1924 (the club's website). The Annual Guides first note the course in 1921, noting that it was organized in 1920.
There's a 1921 ad for "Fowler & Simpson" that notes some of Fowler's work in California from that year. Crystal Springs in not noted in the list of work completed.
Then there's the write up of the course in the April, 1923 edition of San Francisco Water (the Spring Valley Water Association periodical) written by the club's president. While the article does not cite any dates, it does make it sound like the course was not brand new nor still under construction. In the brief description of the course, Oscar Boldemann writes:
"Last year a well-known Scotch golfer who was making a tour of the world visited the Crystal Springs course and made the assertion that it was the best golf land he had seen in America."
Fowler was English (and perhaps better known for his cricket skills and design work than his golfing ability), but there's a chance this was a mistaken reference. If not, what famous Scottish golfers were touring California c. 1922-1923?