An interview with a gentleman, Bill Coore

[Ronald Montesano]

I've had the occasion to meet and greet Tom Doak on two occasions. He has been gracious, patient and informative. This spring, Bill Coore called me to answer nine questions about golf course architecture. He was on site, mucking around a potential golf course, but placed our phone call on the same plateau. To say I was humbled is pretty accurate. We conversed for an hour, all of which I recorded and later transcribed.


As we worked our way through the editing process, we moved from a conversational tone to a formal one. Here is the result of the interview. I hope that you like it.


http://buffalogolfer.com/wordpress/2016-interview-series-architect-bill-coore/

[Jim Hoak]

Mike Keiser has said that Bill Coore is the smartest man in golf.  I don't know, but I'm pretty sure he is the nicest.
Amazing to me that two of the humblest people in the world--Ben and Bill--found each other.

[Ronald Montesano]

I'm fortunate to be privy to the entire interview, and what was edited/left out for a variety of reasons (none sketchy or illicit) confirms what you intuit. His manner of engaging me exemplified this niceness.

[Peter Pallotta]

Well done, Ron -- thanks.

It is clear -- Bill C is not a "purist", and neither is Tom D or Mike D or Gil H etc etc.

That he and they can so successfully walk that knife edge -- their strong beliefs/ethos on the one side and the wants/needs of clients and the marketplace on the other-- is fascinating to me.

Study Classic Greek -- that's the takeaway here...

[BCrosby]

Great job Ron. Best interview of Bill I've read.


Bob

[Terry Lavin]

I had the privilege to moderate a panel discussion at Bandon with Bill Coore, Matt Ginella and Mike Keiser a few years back. I can attest to his depth of knowledge and his passion for his art. Great man who made me wish I had studied Greek instead of Latin.  Well, for a minute or two...

[Sean_A]

Well done, Ron -- thanks.

It is clear -- Bill C is not a "purist", and neither is Tom D or Mike D or Gil H etc etc.

That he and they can so successfully walk that knife edge -- their strong beliefs/ethos on the one side and the wants/needs of clients and the marketplace on the other-- is fascinating to me.

Study Classic Greek -- that's the takeaway here...

R


Thanks for the interview!


Pietro


That knife edge is wider for most when they create a market place for their style of design. 


Ciao

[Peter Pallotta]

An astute observation,  Sean -- it's true,  but then again, the edge is even *narrower* at first, when they are just *starting* to create that marketplace.
Peter

[Sean_A]

Pietro

It is remarkable that both Doak and Coore got look-ins from well healed and knowledgable developers...not terribly far off from the start off their solo careers. 

Ciao

[Ronald Montesano]

Well done, Ron -- thanks.

It is clear -- Bill C is not a "purist", and neither is Tom D or Mike D or Gil H etc etc.

That he and they can so successfully walk that knife edge -- their strong beliefs/ethos on the one side and the wants/needs of clients and the marketplace on the other-- is fascinating to me.

Study Classic Greek -- that's the takeaway here...

As we know, extreme characterizations are the stuff of Hollywood. I think we would be surprised (I don't have the intel, I'm blindly throwing darts) at the number of offers that our GCA favs have been able to pass on to other archies.


I believe this interview, like all interviews, scratches a surface. To truly get inside one's thought process and credo and probe the depths, is nearly impossible. I would never pretend that something was revealed herein.

[William_G]

Bill Coore is no doubt the a very patient guy, as I've heard or read this exact chronology of his career/life many times in recent years

[Ronald Montesano]

Bill Coore is no doubt the a very patient guy, as I've heard or read this exact chronology of his career/life many times in recent years

I sent him 3-4 drafts of the interview and each time (until the last) I baptized his mentor a variety of names, including (but not limited to) Arnold and Daniel. He was very patient with me, so I concur.

[William_G]

thanks Ron

[Jeff Bergeron]

Well done!