When did modern golf architecture begin?

[wsmorrison]

Tom MacWood,

It is on 2 holes, not 5.  Don't be so close-minded and stubborn clinging to your poor analysis and conclusions.  You've never been to the course and so you have no idea as to how or where water comes into play.  So trust people that have been there and stop seeing yourself as an expert everywhere when you are clearly not.

You stated that, Most links and heathland courses of that era (and before) were an almost equal measure of aerial and ground option holes

Try to support that statement, though you worded it incorrectly.  I don't think you can come up with a significant percentage of links and heathland courses with an equal split of aerial and aerial/ground option holes let alone most.

[Chip Gaskins]

Just like Dye the father of Minimalism.

Really?

[Jeff_Brauer]

Chip,

Dye was a minimalist once, but had to keep outdoing himself.

As for the original question, I have always - just based on feel - thought Muirfield was the first modern golf course, dating to 1892, I think.  It has no blind holes, and a similar scale and bunker placement that was less "random" than earlier.  All the great Scottish courses before that had blind holes, smaller greens (old course excepted.....) and more quirk, while Muirfield appears "designed."

As always, just my opinion.