David:
Please don't have me shed tears for the "demands" panelists are under. I was one and know that there's a tremendous upside -- you do get access -- far more than the average Joe and Jane. Real time info is essential in today's world -- there are few, if any, hidden gems that are out of site. Publications used to be able to include courses with a greater amount of lag time in the past because so little info was available about them when they opened or even in the pre-opening planning process. That doesn't happen anymore.
I am fully aware of the short season and time frames you mentioned. David, how many panelists does Digest have now? It's over 800 throughout the USA. My God man, that's a Roman army. I've been to the mountain time zone plenty of times -- I'm coming from a nearby state like NJ
and when places like Tetherow and Rock Creek are on the plate and they have clearly opened in '08 -- they need to be rated with that year in mind.
Bumping back courses only confuses the courses from the year previous with the ones that actually open in the year ahead.
I'll say this again, in the event you missed it, but there are "key" courses which will have plenty of buzz surrounding them as they are ready to come to open -- it should not be such a difficulty for any key magazine -- particularly those that PROCLAIM they are the BEST in the business -- to have the coverage its loyal subscribers demand. If there's a logistical issue the issue is with the magazine itself -- I as a reader should not have to be treated like a secondary consideration -- especially when I'm reading about such info on such courses from other sources. If the magazines that proclaim their pinnacle position can't back that claim up with timely reporting then frankly they cease, in my mind at least, to be relevant.
In regards to my final comment on the issues of finances. David, there are people in the USA who whould figuratively kill to be a panelist -- even if they had to pay the green fees at private clubs -- many of which the Digest raters are comped in their entirety. I walked the path you are walking now and candidly the so-called heartache people may be feeling is something I can relate to - but it's part and parcel of being a panelist that you can travel as needed to any part of the USA to be an efffective contributor. If you took to heart what I meant personally, that was not my intent.
Andy:
C'mon please -- to substitute the flawed process GW follows and say Digest is that much better is not an answer. These are two publications which loudly proclaim their chest beating as the ones that give the avid golfer news and info they demand.
I don't see GW being helpful when a place like Ravenna in CO is delayed and pushed back BECAUSE of MAGAZINE related mechanics. The same situation happened a number of years back Andy when The Kingsley Club came on the scene and Digest decided to hold back on its newness for nearly two years!
Rock Creek and Tetherow are two GLARING examples of courses that should be assessed for '08. As I said to David above -- we live in a real time universe -- in years past you could get away with such delays because so few people were in an equal or greater position than the magazines are today. That's not the case now.
I don't buy magazines to tell me what I already know.
I buy them because they ADD TO what I know.
Holding back on such ratings hurts the readers of these pubs when they can get other info sources to illustrate what's now available.
Andy, you mentioned the conditioining aspect of FMR. That's not the issue. The course OPENED in plenty of time for '08 -- the conditioning aspect is not a central element in its assessment for Best New consideration. No doubt keen raters like yourself and David would understand that and apply the appropriate rating numbers.
In regards to the lesser known courses -- it doesn't take sleuth ability of the Sherlock Holmes kind to do one's own due diligence on where the lesser known, but highly touted, courses are coming forward. I developed, as have other past raters and current ones, a slew of key contacts to keep them up to date on what is happening. The buzz line of info is there for those who want to keep their ears open to such circumstances.
One last point -- the so-called "different rules" only admits the actual reality of the situation. If Tom Doak comes out with a course it's big time news. If Matt Ward were to design a course it's a far lesser situation. That's reality. Please don't think that lesser name courses should be avoided. I've been touting them and the architects who design them for many years. But, no magazine should miss the low hanging fruit of the pre-buzz courses that are set to open or have already opened.
Andy, if someone occupies a ley editorial position at a big time magazine getting alerts out to the key raters is a very easy thing to do. Like I said before we live in the jet age -- not the stage coach one.