Tony,
Thanks for posting the RTJ/Wilson article. I don't know if Wilson was a better GCA than RTJ, but I don't recall a Wilson course I haven't enjoyed. I can't say that about RTJ, though one of my favorites is his. Wilson reminds me a lot of Texas architect Ralph Plummer in their approach to design and build, objectives, and manner. The following from the article- variety, balance, flexibility, capacity- are design principles probably more critical 50 years later as the golf economy continues to right-size.
"A golf course should require equal use of every aspect of the game, rather than make a disproportionate demand on one or two phases, such as driving or putting," says Wilson. Merion does this.
To varying extents both Jones and Wilson have tried to suit their courses to a balanced golf game. They have gone in for long tees (some of them up to and over 100 yards) and large greens (8,000 to 12,000 square feet) that supply an endless variety of tee and pin positions. Their courses, as a result, create the same interesting challenge for pro and duffer alike. "With shapely, well-designed greens and long tees," says Jones, who first implemented his theories with the Peachtree course in 1948, "we can establish 2,500 different combinations on a golf course. The course never has to play the same way twice."