Sven -
I've often thought and asked about the element of Time in the design process (working with/supporting the element of Talent). Many of the same architects/courses listed here have come up in previous discussions. What struck me about these lists is that our modern-day greats seem to have learned from the past greats -- i.e. since our top modern architects have the final products to study, e.g. Oakmont, Pinehurst, Pebble, Pine Valley, Pasatiempo etc, very few of them as a rule spend much time tinkering with their courses after they've opened. Now, I know there are exceptions, and I know there are other reasons for this (e.g. economics and the need to 'open big'), but in general most of our leading designers today spend the bulk of the Time at the front end of the project, before shovels hit the ground, rather than at the back end (after the course is opened for play.) I think that's partly because they simply know more and are more conscious of (at a deeper and more nuanced level than their ODG counterparts) what they want and need to accomplish in their designs, right off the bat. That's a product of being able to stand on the shoulders of past greats as it were.
Peter