I watched the same broadcast tonight on TGC. I've seen neither Payne's Valley nor French Lick. Payne's Valley appears to be an utterly bland wide-open golf course ideally suited to the modern pro. I realize I'm seeing it through a television lens but it looked very dull. And the 19th hole looks lifted from a Safari Golf mini-course on Route 1 in any northeastern coastal town.
I'm prepared for the shade I'll receive for saying this, but I'm not prepared to give French Lick an overwhelming thumbs-up either. Seeing it only through photographs and television, it looks like a rehash of every cliche (except for the island green) Pete threw into most of his later work. Sharp drop-offs, pot bunkers, long narrow fairway bunkers demanding precise lines of play, no forgiveness, etc. Question: once Pete's style became the standard for PGA-commissioned TPCs, did his originality suffer compared to the earlier creative genius of Harbour Town, The Golf Club, Teeth of the Dog, etc.?
TD said (paraphrasing here) in an earlier post that architects who consistently accept jobs on poor sites may never get better jobs. Was Pete the exception? Old Marsh, Sawgrass and Ford Plantation appeared to have been worthless acreage until he drained the swamp (NOT a political statment!) and built terrific golf courses. And when given an expansive canvas such as the Ocean Course or The Golf Club (did he truly persuade the owner to purchase additional land to accommodate his design?) he created masterpieces that define his legacy.
Let the attacks come...