Pat - do you really believe that passionate interest in golf course architecture is at the heart of this whole mess? I don't. What I see instead is something much more basic, and base, i.e. the main participants here HATE each other, and have hated each other for years now. If those involved have 'binders' on, those blinders (and that blindness) is hate. I've barely checked in over the last year for two reasons - a) I've come to a fairly stable conclusion about what I think happened back in the early 1910s, and b) I could no longer stomach the hypocrisy of people who hate each other pretending to actually bear with each other by calling it "a shared search for truth". I'll tell you one thing (and I know this sounds arrogant): I truly believe that if David M had asked ME to edit his essay before he posted it here originally -- and I mean editing just in terms of the writing and organization of the material, not the content -- theses threads and this discussion would've been over (and successfully concluded) a long time ago. I think David EXPECTED to be hammered, and so shaped his material so as to prepare for the fight by itching for a fight - that was his mistake. I think Tom P and others came ready to HAMMER the essay, whatever it said and whatever way it was said -- and that is to their shame.
Well, all water under the bridge now. And while I believe that you believe in taking the high road and expecting better of all involved, it seems to me that you're failing to see how destructive the hate is. But...maybe I'm wrong.
Peter
PS - if you respond to this post, Pat, and I don't respond back, please don't see it as a lack of respect for you of for something you write. I don't feel like arguing or getting more involved in this - I just wanted to say my peace (or it is piece) and move on out. As I noted, I'm well aware that I could be wrong, so someone telling me that I am doesn't disturb me much. By the way, my view on what I think happened in the early 1910s, for what it's worth, is found somewhere in the middle of the pack. I like to believe that more than a few on this board would share the same view.