Does UNfamiliarity breed contempt .....

[Michael Ryan]

Jason,

Agreed, however wind and contour can be appreciated by walking a course and not playing.  I'll restate what I have posted, there is no substitute for playing a course when discussing the merits of the architecture, but ones opinion shouldn't be discredited if they have walked a property and not played, as Racetrack George stated.  I would guess everyone's opinion of Augusta is completely changed when they move from watching it every year on TV to finally seeing the property, as I did for the first time in 2005.  And the first thing that struck me was one of your points, contour.

I have not had the time to read the ridiculous amount of postings on Merion but if some folks are making statements about the routing, playability, etc. because they watched the '05 Am on ESPN, I don't put any weight into it.  

[Dan Boerger]

I can (and often do) opine endlessly about GCA (among other subjects). But, I honestly would never think of critically discussing the nuances of a course (particularly here!) until I had at least played it. -Dan

[Patrick_Mucci]

Patrick, if you don't feel that we're qualified to discuss Augusta, then why do you persist in starting threads about it, when you know that very few of us have played there?

Chris,

Would you cite one thread, let alone where I "persist in starting thread[size=4x]s[/size]" where the purpose was the solicitation of discussion relating to ANGC ?

There's a world of difference between discussing a golf course and making definitive statements relative to how it plays, absent any personal familiarity with the golf course.

There's a world of difference between discussing a golf course and drawing absolute conclusions about it, absent any personal familiarity with the golf course.

[henrye]

It's been said that no one is qualified to pass on the merits of any one hole, let alone 18 holes, unless they have played them under a variety of conditions.

Is the lack of first hand experience leading to many of the misunderstandings with respect to the architecture, the qualities and the playability of a hole ?

Pat.  It's a good question, but still I don't think there is a right or wrong answer.  There are other factors to consider.

Confucius say:  The man who has played a thousand different courses only once is as qualified as the man who has only played the same course a thousand times.