First off I apologize to all of you architecture addicts who want this site devoted solely to that purpose but I must tell redanman the sight of the French flag on your posts pisses me off and the quote that we are doing something wrong pisses me off too. Let me just finish please before I get back to arch. You peacekeepers had your way from 1991 to 2003. In that time your sanctions contributed to the deaths of 100,000's if not millions of Iraqs by denying them basic needs, despite the sham of food for oil that was intended to make all you feel good about your immoral sanctions. Most of the people you inadvertantly killed were children. This great country must now go in and do it our way, and a lot more Iraqs will survive the next ten years once we are done. This is one Texan that is proud of Bush, and when you say you back the troops you have to back the commander or you are a liar. So all of you peace keepers should just stand aside for a moment, you had your chance and you failed miserably, you contributed to the suffering and death of too many people. Fortunately for you and your French peace keepers, I think this president will let the Old Europe in on the gains from the oil fields that France is about to lose. And Redanman, don't forget, the French are less concerned about the death of innocents, and more concerned about the documents that are in Baghdad proving they sold much of the chemical and biological technlogy to the Iragis, and they are more concerned about the diisruption to their oil contracts with Iraq. In a few days the extent of France's involvement with Saddam will become an embarrasing issue for the French and hopefully will lead to the downfall of their government. YOu know, 12 years ago there were parents like me today that had little kids running and playing around their feet, 12 years ago when we listened to the UN and agreed not to pursue Saddam in Baghdad. 12 years later some of those little kids are in the desert right now with chemical gear and gas masks on because of that decision. If we listened to France and the rest of the Old Europe today as they proclaim their self righteous opposition to war it is likely that 12 years from now I would have to proudly send my kids over to clean up but this would be one parent that would not forget who caused it, not the tyrant of Baghdad, but people like you and weak and immoral countrys like France.
Okay, now to golf. I apologize to those that came here for golf. Tommy, you asked for architects to go on record about the technology issue, or maybe about Fazios comments. I have said that I like hitting the new Titlelist driver and I like providing for the big drive in my designs, you know, the option to boom one over some natural or manmade hazard as an option to attacking a hole. Having said that, I am disappointed by what he reportedly said because the future of the game does not lie in longer and longer drives brought on by new technology. I derived great enjoyment in my persimmon Tony Penna driver and whatever ball technology was available. I do not think you can take the position that technology is good because people like it, and say that you want to keep the old courses relevant. In the end, you must be consistant in all of your positions with what is good for the game. I reject that bringing more and more players into the game is good for the game if you have to do it with better and better technology. More people playing golf every year is good for equipment manufacturers but not necessarily good for the game. The PGA Tour is not good for the game. Building bigger and bigger courses is not good for the game. Most of my projects physically could not contain a 7400 yard course. Residential constraints eventually cause the courses to fall in the 6400 to 6700 yard range. Recently some in the environemental community got together to promote golf and when I told them that in designing a course I must give priority to the strategic design of a hole over all else including any preceived environmental threat. They agreed, because they could see from my presentation that other aspects of my approach try to mitigate environmental impacts. And it is not just me, there are many architects that try to work with the land, really, not just as a fad promotion. However,consuming more and more land will more severely impact land with the type of massive dirt moving employed some architects. Further we will face immense opposition because more and more land devoted to these big courses will probably require the complete remolding of the terrain to make these big courses fit, and this will reap huge negative environemntal impacts both in construction and in the long term. I reject Fazio's purported statement. I would embrace any limits on equipment technology. I pledge to make all attempts to make the course fit the land no matter what the final length and par become. And I probably will be looking for another line of work soon if Fazio and his compatriots win out in this battle for the integrity of the game. The are architects concerned with the land, and the game, and we look to leaders to provide inspiration. I must say I am creatively inspired by people like Doak and Coore, and I am dumbfounded by others like Fazio who make these statements, and Jones who advocates getting rid of wooden tees. Small minds yield small solutions.
I think what is happening is that golf has swung to an extreme where technology is seen as the solution to all of man's problems, and the provider of all of man's enjoyment. In other words this view has caused the golf world to be out of balance. Balance is provided by the recognition that there is a spiritual aspect, or something to that effect, spiritual may be too strong, but there is something more to the game than just the science and technology aspect. This counterbalance to technology involves the deep regard and respect for the traditions of the game, the history, and historical places of the game, those aspects that give the deepest meanings to the goodness of the game. That is forgotten right now, and it needs to be brought more to the forefront to bring more balance to this whole issue. You can not have science and technology driving the game. It is ruineous.