Thanks, Ian and David. At my club, such decisions are made by the Green Committee and (I assume) o.k.'d by the Board. Members are never consulted unless an assessment is needed to do the work, and then a vote is required. I accept that, of course. My main question is: What comes next? Should the Committee give the members a detailed explanation of what was done and why it was done? For example: "We've added a second fairway bunker on the left side of number 6. You have seen that. Here's why we did it . . . [explain rationale in terms of strategy in playing the hole, or whatever, even just aesthetics, etc., etc.]. Alternatively, the Committee could just let the members try to understand the reasons for the change themselves, if they care about such things, which of course more do not than do.
Fleshing out a little on Ian's points/questions, in my case:
1. Is it a golf club or a country club? A golf club.
2. Do you have a high level of pedigree with the original architect? D. Ross.
3. When was the last time you "tinkered" with the course? After very major renovations ending in 2008: First tinkering was in 2018 and second tinkering now, ongoing in early 2024.
4. When asked, do your members know who designed their course? Yes, except for those who are blind and deaf.
6. How much work are you planning to do? Both in 2018 and currently changes are being made to the fairways, mostly narrowing and shaping via mowing patterns. No assessment and no vote in either case. There were no material explanations of the 2018 changes. They were made at the recommendation of the USGA for a major USGA tournament and thereafter retained by the club.
My opinion is that given the nature of our club and course it would be useful for the Committee to provide a detailed explanation of what they have done, why they have done it, and how that affects the nature of the course as a Ross course, how it should affect strategies going forward, and any other relevant thinking. If you purport to be a golf club, shouldn't you want to encourage the members to think about the golf? The Committee may well provide a detailed explanation. The work is in process so I don't know what the Committee will do when it is finished. Given our experience with the 2018 changes, I'd say they won't do much, but the Committee is made of members who change from time to time, and the membership of the Committee now is different from what it was in 2018, so who knows?