Did the Golden Age 'Jump the Shark' with the Lido?

[Sean_A]

Its an interesting thread which is very reminiscent of the Merion threads in terms of bone headedness. 

I can't see how anyone could not claim that Lido was a major departure from what other archies were doing. It is plainly obvious that CBM was trying to completely create a landscape from nothing and at a huge cost - which still wasn't enough to protect the course from nature.  Does anybody know of a previous project remotely as outlandish as this?  CBM DID turn architecture on its head with this project, but it shouldn't be surprising as he was quite aggressive in his design techniques from the get go.

One interesting point is that folks try to pigeon hole the Golden Age into a box with dates that essentially eliminate architecture in Great Britain.  In other words, the Golden Age as a very American "movement". I find this sort of logic unbelievable considering what happened with heathland courses in England from 1900 onwards. 

Ciao

[Carl Nichols]

So, Mike, are you saying that GCA has jumped the shark?  (If it has -- and I don't think it has -- doesn't the Merion dispute deserve a lot of the blame?  It appears that, in the history of GCA, three of the top six threads by number of posts are about the same Merion issue -- including the currently active thread, which is far and away #1.)

[Mike_Cirba]

Carl,

Where did I say GCA jumped the shark?

From your post, you seem to be saying that...not me.

I was simply struck saddened that a lot of really good contributors don't post here any longer and I think way too many threads here are OT. 

That doesn't mean there still isn't some great stuff here.

[Carl Nichols]

Mike:

I was just trying to be funny -- you lamented some changes about GCA in a thread about jumping the shark, so I tied the two together. 

(My point about Merion was a serious one, however.)

[Mike_Cirba]

Carl,

Understood...humor is something we need more of around here!  Thanks...

[TEPaul]

I thought this thread should come back up to the first page as it might meld well with some of the current discussion going on in the "Re: Was Charles Blair Macdonald really the Father of American Golf Course Architecture?" thread.

[Bill_McBride]

Reading back through the first page of this thread that Rich linked today, I come to one conclusion:  I really miss the contributions of the two Toms, Paul and MacWood.   Civility was maintained even during topics with some heat.

Merion excluded of course!