Mark Fine:
Though I belong to a private golf club, I play far more muni golf. In the past few years, I've also played more in Ireland than at my local club here in Cleveland.
The muni experience has a very strong influence on my golf architecture views. Playing overseas provides insight on the state of the game here in America.
Muni golf does provide a "reality check". It keeps one in touch with how difficult the game of golf is for most people, especially people who take up the game in middle age. It brings into focus how silly the golf technology arms race is, how we don't need 7,000 yard courses and how we certainly don't need fairways with less width (as someone here recently suggested).
Muni golf also highlights the expense side of golf. Just last week I played with a man who said that with green fees in his area moving from $20 ish to $30 or more, he just wasn't sure he would be able to keep playing.
He is a prime example of why I frequently say "people want to play more not pay more".
Though my overseas golf largely consists of playing a venue notable for its architecture, Ballybunion really has taught me more about what we are missing here in the states. Folks there are much more conscious about sharing the golf course when they play. That is to say they move along. They respect other people on the golf course enough to actively avoid holding them up. In short, they are much more conscious about pace of play.
Part of this is due to the style of play: it is almost exclusively match play. So, there is no fuss and time wasting for the man who is already out of a hole. Move along and set your sights on winning the next hole is the spirit.
Then, too, I noticed a strong desire for a good, fun match. The Irish just seem to understand better than we do that the game should be fun and how to make it so.
Perhaps I'm getting a distorted view, but I've also noticed far more interaction between young people and the middle aged while playing in Ireland. The very active club matches promotes this I think. And with it, the values of sportmanship and being a gentleman on the golf course.
The American style CCFAD has, I'm sure, provided opportunities for architects to practice their craft. However, both muni golf and well established overseas golf clubs point, I think, to better models if we want to grow the game. In terms of the affordability factor, CCFADs have been a big negative. It is a concept I hope the Brits, Scots, Irish and Australians resist.