Rich, I don't think anyone ever denied that CBM wanted to start and end near the Inn, although the record strongly suggests that this was NOT the first was determination he made. I (and others) have written that it was the fire that caused the switch of the nines many, many times. But, by all descriptions the routing process began with the Alps hole, then the Redan, then other features fitting in with CBM's ideas (the Cape, the Eden, etc.)
So I am confused by Mike's analysis. Mike seems to be saying that because CBM wanted the course to start and end the course near the Shinnecock inn, he therefore was locked into one (and only one) particular out and back routing. Is the argument really that once a clubhouse location is determined, then the entire routing is set in stone? If so, this is silly.
In fact, CBM described the process in Scotland's Gift and in a number of articles at the time. He and Whigham rode the land, found some key land formations for certain key holes (the Alps, the Redan, the Eden, the Cape, etc.), worked out a rough routing, optioned the land, refined the routing, purchased the land, built the course.