Tom and Keiser are trend setters and I hate to think what could happen when I can get a LIDAR map of almost every golf course in America.
This is where Tom will probably set me straight because I may be overstepping on my assumptions- but I guess I'm looking for golf courses created by naturally inspired design, not necessarily just the professionally creative that either copy or borrow complete ideas from the past. Stealing bits and pieces and then organizing them into your own...I want to see that. Building new holes you name after old famous holes...I'm not seeking that out.
You are not wrong to be concerned about that. I've already been asked whether I would consider building a course full of "modern templates" -- not designing my own templates, but replicating the best of what's been done in the past 100 years, as Macdonald did. It's very tempting to play God, especially when someone offers to pay you for the privilege.
There's a reason why the movie business is largely dominated by sequels now. They're a known quantity. They already have a fan base.
The interesting thing is that many of my favorite holes would be VERY difficult to replicate, because the local conditions are so integral to the design, whether it be the tidal marsh of the 8th hole at Brancaster, the plunging topo of the 10th at Augusta, the cliff on the 16th at Dornick Hills, or the beautiful trees and native vegetation that add to so many of the world's best courses. I suspect that such features will only become more valuable in the future, because they can't be imitated.