Fair questions, Mike.
For me, whether I am at Shadow or Wynn or Hudson or TN, there is a feeling of "Well, this hole doesn't make any terribly unreasonable demands, it's pretty, but it doesn't really make me think very much or take notice". And they all kind of remind me of each other.
The back nine of Easthampton reminds me a bit of Hidden Creek and that doesn't bother me (so perhaps I am a hypocrite), but there are features in each place that really make me take notice and at the end of the day, the echo of the style doesn't drown out those features.
As for 16, can you really say that if you hadn't been hemmed in a bit by other aspects of your routing that you would have designed a hole with that carry, those hazards, the hard turn and the very unforgiving green? It felt like a plug, but given the 22 routings and TF's penchant for moving dirt, I don't see how he couldn't have found something else.
Alex,
That's an interesting perspective. You see, I didn't find Trump National to be much like any Tom Fazio course I'd previously played, including those in NJ which include Galloway National, Pine Hill, and Ridge At Back Brook, much less Hartefeld National in PA.
It certainly isn't like World Wood Pine Barrens, either, or some other courses I've played of his along the east coast.
For instance, there is almost nothing there simply for show, or framing. Virtually every bunker serves a solid purpose and the amount of restraint in terms of landmoving and bunkering I thought was admirable...remarkable really, particularly in contrast to his usual style. While not quite minimalist, it exhibited much of the same philosophy.
In addition, I found that many holes offered strategy from the tee, or in placing the second shot. Drives that successfully challenged bunkers or bunker complexes on holes 1, 3, 5, 6, 8, 11, 15, and 18 were suitable rewarded with superior positioning for the approach.
The approach shots were exacting and in some cases, exhilerating. I could sit out with a bucket of balls trying to play different shots into #1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 9, 13, 14!!!, 16!!!. Those holes are not only challenging, but they were also FUN!
Also, the green surrounds were generally fantastic and the greens themselves have wonderful internal contours from bold sweeping slopes, to perplexing folds and ridges, to subtle angular borrows, to fall-offs.
They exhibit a degree of sophistication that is rare generally, and particularly special compared to other of his work I've seen.
It's interesting you mention #16, but a pre-construction aerial almost shows the hole lying naturally as it exists today, with natural breaks in the trees forming the dogleg left. The carry itself is not particularly daunting in terms of distance (except for perhaps the tournament tees that even the pro hasn't played), and it must drop 70 feet downhill.
The second shot, to that boomerang shelf of a green, is not easy, and it reminds me of 15 at Kingsley Club because it breaks all the rules. I can see where a low-handicap player would think the hole somehow unfair, but you know what...
Like 15 at Kingsley Club, that's the reason its unique. Also, if one can imagine Tom Fazio building some holes (the 14th green also comes to mind) that are being deemed as unfair that should tell you just exactly how good this course is.
Mix all that in with a really beautiful property in rolling horse-country and I think that Trump National is anything but standard Tom Fazio fare. I believe that it's a superb effort, notable as much for what he didn't do as for what he did.