Tom,
Gotta ask...what is the genesis for starting this thread? Is it the continued lack of recognition of Rock Creek, initial feedback from the Ren Cup or something else entirely? Other than RCCC, it seems that your courses are all highly regarded in the publications. I think Dismal River Red will debut top 5 modern next year in Golfweek [unless Brad's rater notebook deems it should go somewhere else first ] and will be well received by Golf Digest panelists whenever it gets the visits to qualify.
Jim:
All of the above, and none of the above. I get a lot of questions from clients about where their courses should rank, or why, and I've lost the ability to respond ... that's the first reason. Streamsong, in particular, is not rated nearly as highly as I expected, and certainly not as highly as the client had hoped. I was really happy with how it played, both for the best players at the Renaissance Cup, and in a casual round with my wife. But, it's about my tenth-best course in this informal poll, and I really couldn't tell you which courses it should be ahead of ... except that it should be ahead of 99.9% of the courses in Florida, several of which make the top 100 lists.
It's also fascinating to see how so many people profess to know what's what of my courses, when hardly anyone here has even played seven of the top ten! From that standpoint, it has been a very informative poll.
I would be [pleasantly] surprised if Dismal River debuts in the top 5 modern courses, considering that it's neck and neck with Sebonack and Rock Creek in this poll -- and all three are slightly ahead of Old Macdonald. But, as I say, it's hard for me to separate myself from the rankings at this point.
I do have a sense that the rankings of my own courses are too focused on the competition between themselves, rather than a broader look at where they fit into the best courses in the world. Cape Kidnappers does far better in the rankings than in this poll -- is that because it's in New Zealand, or because it is so different than most of my other work?