Setting aside Augusta being the ultimate Ship of Theseus (
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ship_of_Theseus) in golf design, I'm curious what those who have familiar knowledge with both the course's history and the details of the ground would say are the greens complexes most true to MacKenzie and Jones's original creation. We know everything has been reconstructed (often multiple times) and that nearly or all greens are smaller than original (and lacking the flourishes of narrow tongues, horseshoes, etc.), but what out there remains most physically true in terms of shapes/slopes/contours?
As this is certainly complex and nuanced to answer, I'd break this down into four categories:
1.
True to original. Most or all contours still the same, even if overall footprint of green may not be as large. Slight softening of a percent or two of slope still fits here. 14 perhaps an example here? 3?
2.
Parts of green true to original. Some contours still the same, but others completely changed or softened to such an extent that the ideas behind such contours have been lost as well.
3.
Concept of green true to original, but physical elements not. These greens "play" similarly to what the designers intended, but they don't necessarily take on the same physical form in terms of contours, size, etc. Hole 8, which had to be completely rebuilt from pictures and anecdotes, could qualify here, but I'm curious more about greens that have intentionally deviated more in their "forms" but perhaps still achieve the same strategic "functions" as intended by MacKenzie and Jones.
4.
Not original at all. Holes 7, 10, and 16 are examples of this, RTJ re-doing the latter and Perry Maxwell the former two.
Some of these are obvious to me, particularly the extreme-end categories. The middle ones offer more debate and search for less-heralded and less-documented changes.
I'm not really looking for a debate over what is "good" or "bad" on this thread (and would discourage such--maybe that's a followup thread instead) but rather a collective deep dive into what sort of actual "MacKenzie" remains on the greens and what we can be looking out for when we watch the golf later this week (and, for those ever fortunate enough to walk the grounds, which contours and greens to most study). Thank you in advance to all those who can meaningfully contribute.