Has it been part of the cost problem?
I can't recall another sport where the players are sought after for design of the playing venues like golf. There are several threads going right now about " Standard design fees a century ago" and "Tiger to redesign Augusta".
To me ski slopes would be the closest one could get to seeking a player designer. Yet I don't see Lindsey designing ski slopes for condo projects. I don't see Herschel Walker designing football stadiums and I don't see Beckham building soccer stadiums. Of course Eddie Bauer did design some Ford cars
It's just plain stupid. Singlehandely it may have been the one thing that increased golf cost more than any other.
It seems to begin with sports agents seeing gollf design as a field they can get their clinet into. They find a person who has been working in another signature office or they use the signature office staff to sub to until they have more than one project. The agent puts his guy in the market place and hotels, resorts and large residential golf developments come looking. The fee has absolutely nothing to do with design and in most cases the client is not concerned with the design as long as the "look" is there and he can justify his lot sales price. Good business people know these guys have no clue and are just figureheads but it has been one of the leading factors of increasing the cost of golf courses due to every project trying to outdo the last and knowing that the real estate and not the green fee or membership fee is what makes the profit.
I'm ranting after seeing where TW is in China or Japan or somewhere and it's ridiculous. This is not a slam at his staff, he can hire the best of the best if he wishes. It is about how much is wasted in BS as these projects are created.
I would wager if you hired any architect who has worked on such project for most of his career he could build you the same project for considerable less $$$$ AND at the same time if you hired many of the contractors that worked for such projects they could not even crank the dozer due to the layers of middlemen they had ( and they were always at Crittendon or some builder conference)
And lastly, would we even have the magazine ratings if player designers had not found a niche in selling RE lots? Hell no....
Fortunately, it seems nay have started to question....
Note:JN is the exception...but he has spent the time the others have not had....