Honest question: Say I have 300 acres and want to build a golf course on it. Do I hire Rob Collins or Tom Doak? Doesn't this pretty much come down to a marketing decision?
Honest answer: It's a marketing decision, to the degree that YOU think it should be.
Certainly there are lots of developers who think in terms of marketing first. Years ago, I put in a bid to design a third course for the big resort in my hometown, and since I knew they were driven by marketing considerations, we made a joint proposal with Davis Love and company. But the owners chose their designer by polling the meeting planners who booked big groups in there on the names who had expressed interest, and Gary Player won! [And they robbed us of the chance to see what a Tom Doak / Paul Cowley collaboration would've looked like.]
I would guess that most people hanging out on Golf Club Atlas are going to think beyond the marketing angle and try to decide whom they'd like to work with. Some would compare me and Rob Collins, and go with the personality they get along with better. Some would take the less expensive guy -- or the underdog, to prove how smart they are for being ahead of the curve. Others would go with the more expensive guy because they think their track record must prove something. Or they'd be too scared to take a chance on somebody even if they really like him better, because they've got a lot of money at stake, in a business they don't know all that well. Only the rare few would just go with who they thought was the better designer, with no other consideration.
I would love to believe that everyone who hires me really thinks I'm the
best designer, but I know everyone has their own reasons. In fact, one reason I don't mind controversy is that when people do look past it to hire me, I feel like they must really be interested in the work I'm doing, and that gives me a bit more freedom in my designs.
So, no, it isn't always just about marketing, and it isn't always about the money.