I did not mind this aesthetic at all.
Marcos! Great to hear from you, and good observations!
On the point I pulled out, I suppose with this entire thread that's part of what I'm hitting at. Is Turnberry still a great course? Absolutely. But why are we settling for 'don't mind it' when it can be better? Why are clubs tightening fairways and ripping out unique, original features, when we know that this is precisely what makes those courses great?
Other examples I can think of off the top of my head:
- Changes at Dornoch (is it really going to make that course better?!)
- Carnoustie being saturated throughout the playing season (admit last summer it looked pretty good, but don't think they could have kept it watered in that heatwave)
- Lahinch - why build a second par 3 for the 11th?! Is the original not one of the best holes on the golf course?
- Machrie....
- Waste area in front of the 9th green at Gullane, that has now disappeared because the members hated it
- Pennard second hole
I know I'm being silly, but I see courses that the world envy, that are the jewels of the GCA community, and yet, there is a constant tweaking that is going on that isn't adding any value. I could almost excuse this in the 70s/80s, but we went through that. We've learned from that, and now I feel like there is much more awareness and understanding for what makes good GCA.
I'm all for improving the playing conditions and experience for the golfer on those courses, but not at the often misguided intention of making certain holes better.
Let's admit there's a lot that's not right, and allow those who have a genuine interest in ensuring the courses move forward in the best possible way to help (hello Clyde, Blake, Angela, Frank, Tom, etc).
Full caveat - as I mentioned in my first post, I do think there is stellar work happening as well, but most of it is either restorative, or working on tree / plant encroachment/regeneration. I haven't seen much inspiring work on already great courses that leads me to think that these courses are in desperate need of being updated.