"No offense Mike, but I am for more interested in what guys such as Mac and Mac, who were there, thought about this issue than any opinions you could draw from a quick list of 1890's courses, some of which were courses before Old Tom or any other touring professional came into messing with these things."
Dave M.
What inspires you to write such silly things? Hopefully not the burdens of fatherhood? I know from experience if you spend a lot of time going "Ga Ga! Goo Goo!" it affects your ability to think clearly. Not to mention the effect of various the toxic fumes you are exposed to daily......
Mc was around St. Andrews as a student in th e1870's (when it was in the middle of OTM's 40 year "renovation"), but didn't really study any of the other great courses until many years later. (BTW, he thought very highly of Old Tom, but you can dismiss this, if you wish, if it doesn't suit your speculations....
). Mac didn't even play golf until the 20th century. The only thing he could really have known about GCA in the 1890's was what he read in the papers, probably many years after they were published. Don't fall for the MacWood fallacy of believing everything you read that was written by DWEMs.
All the best
Rich