A hundred years ago and more, sites for golf courses were chosen specifically for their suitability and interest of terrain. With such land, course design amounted to routing the course making best use of the natural features, and then adding greens, tees, and bunkers.
Alister MacKenzie described the site at Reddish Vale as being "Agreeably undulating without being too hilly". This description could be applied just as easily to much of the English countryside, offering up many natural sites for golf courses.
In those days too, of course, availability of land was less of a problem. If money could be found to acquire the property from the local farmer or landowner, a golf course could be built. There was little if any need to attempt to build golf courses on dull, flat, featureless terrain, given the relatively abundant supply of undulating land better suited to the purpose.
The aftermath of the second world war however, brought much tighter planning restrictions, competition for land with house builders, and the ability to shift earth with heavy machinery. Courses built in recent times are likely to be more remote from centres of population, and on farmland which needs to be shaped to give real interest.
I am reliably informed by one of his long-time associates that Tom Fazio's ideal site for a golf course would be a 200 acre parking lot.
How times change...