Favorite Tom Simpson quotes

[Frank Pont]

I like these:

I am often asked, “On what principles do you lay out a golf course, assuming you are given a free hand?”. My answer is always the same - I have no principles about a golf course or anything else, as such things, in my opinion, exist solely for the guidance of fools. As to the second point – unless I am given a free hand – I do not lay out the golf course. This answer has at least the merit of simplicity, candour and truth.

The middle of the fairway – except for perhaps once in the round for the sake of variety – should never be the true line to the hole

I am strongly opposed to the frequent raking of sand bunkers

Perhaps above everything, the golf architect must have a keen sense of the ridiculous - commonly called humour - for, wherever he goes, is he not always taught how the course should be laid out, or altered, as the case may be. According to his temperament he will listen patiently or impatiently to everybody, in the hope that by some fortunate chance he may once in a way learn something useful. Ninety-nine times out of a hundred he will meet with disappointment, but he should endeavour to keep smiling, and never allow himself to be deflected from what he knows to be the right thing.

Fairways can be too good. It does not make for good golf for the turf to “support the ball"

Balance nothing if you can avoid it

Ninety percent of criticisms made by club members are due to invincible ignorance

[Tom_Doak]

My favorite was the one I used in The Anatomy of a Golf Course:

"The educated taste admires simplicity of design and sound workmanship for their own sake, rather than over-decoration and the crowding of artifical hazards."

[Tom Simpson was a minimalist, way before me.]

But I do not remember the first quote you provide, about laying out golf courses and having no principles.  Both of those are things I agree with 100%, but seldom say out loud, because most clients would think I was crazy or uncontrollable.

[Frank Pont]

Tom,

it comes from a rare Carters brochure that Simpson wrote in:  https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/10772736/CARTERS%20Simpson.pdf  enjoy!

[Tom_Doak]

Frank:

Thanks for the link.  Not a lot of new ground covered in the article, but it is always fun to read from Simpson and you did well to pick out the best bits.

[Paul Gray]

Ninety percent of criticisms made by club members are due to invincible ignorance

This has long been a favourite. It always brings a wry grin.

[Ulrich Mayring]

My favorite one:

Sir, my typist, being a lady, cannot take down what I should like to say to you. I, being a gentleman, must not say it. You, being neither, will comprehend what I mean.

Ulrich

[BCrosby]

Frank -

What is the date of the Simpson article?

Bob

[Frank Pont]

Bob,

no date given, but obviously after 1920 given that he refers to MacKenzies book.

I would expect late 1920's or early 1930's ......

[Paul Gray]

Ulrich,

I forgot about that one. Brilliant.

[John Mayhugh]

Thanks for that article, Frank.

I like this one:

I do not suggest for one moment that people are not entitled to express their opinions as to what they like or dislike, but when they go to the length of saying that some particular feature is good or bad, they are more often than not influenced by some peculiarity of their own play.

[Rich Goodale]

I am particularly fond of these two quotes from his report to Royal Aberdeen in 1919, after they had asked him for his views of the course, in which he opened with:

"We hesitate to use superlatives but we have no hesitation in doing so in regard to the wonderful features of this ground.  At the present moment however there are many grave defects which we will enumerate."

and concluded:

"Both in the interests of the Club and in our own interests we hope that the council will not take the view that they can carry out work themselves fropm the report and our conversation on that ground.  A satisfactory result would not be obtained.  Only one club has attempted to do that and the result was a dismal and costly failure distressing to all parties."

[Frank Pont]

"Both in the interests of the Club and in our own interests we hope that the council will not take the view that they can carry out work themselves fropm the report and our conversation on that ground.  A satisfactory result would not be obtained.  Only one club has attempted to do that and the result was a dismal and costly failure distressing to all parties."

There is one potential client I am going to use that line on 

[Alfonso Erhardt]

“The vital thing about a hole is that it must either be more difficult than it looks or look more difficult than it is. It must never be what it looks”

“The essence of the game of golf as handed down to us throughout the ages is that there should be present a very large element of luck, as distinguished from other games such as croquet, lawn tennis and billiards”

“The golfer is a vain man and expects short putts to go into the hole”

“They don’t want golf courses, they want duffers’ paradises”