Fazio 17
Pete Dye 12
Nicklaus 8
C&C 7
Basically 5 guys make up 50% of the courses in the Top 100?
How can a guy like Art Hills who has built over 200 courses not get one course in the top 100 modern?
Craig, I agree with you on several things. Hills has several works that stand out more than a lot of Weiskopf's and H & F's for example but are not high profile locations. (Some of his work is beyond the "so-so" on the negative side, too)
But first off, I don't think that enough architects have enough works on there including a few on the bottom third of that list that have just a few.
For Fazio to have 17 works just boggles my mind. I have played a pile of his work and only 3-4 really stand out as better than a whole host of "LESSER" lesser-known, lesser-budgeted, lesser nationally exposed, lesser P.R-machined ARCHITECTS.
Then on the other hand - Coore and Crenshaw on the other hand are darlings of the rater (
everyone's!) set these days and everyone of course loves the one in their own back yard, (look at HIdden Creek) - sort of a "Me too" mentality. We're great because we have a C & C nearby.
Hell, I think there are all kinds of raters that have
all C & C course at Top 40 or better no matter what list (except poor old ignored Easthampton which I think has a truly great last 8 of 9 holes to go with a repetitive, claustrophobiclly grandfathered routing for the first 9. Sort of like Hanse's French Creek - some of the best modern work you'll see and some not-too-wonderful stuff again land-dictated).
Honestly I was really surprized at the response to Old Sandwich. Great piece of land, I think they could have done quite a bit more with it, they didn't need to build the same sort of random green so many times and the bunkering while socially and politically gca.com approved and correct wasn't really in play very much. Tom Paul tells me that Bill Coore has told him that he's (Coore) gone beyond strategy to "random" and cdertainly at OS, there is just a bit too much randomness and they did not take very many chances; ergo they didn't excel. Great experience with the club set-up and the ethereal property, so roast me if you like, but it's an honest take, I'm willing to stand on it; I got plenty of time to really look and have reviewed countless photos, etc.
There is also a sort of "California Coastal Efffect" to the Rocky mountain and high plains states because these are the wide open spaces. "High Plains Drifter" effect, maybe.
I guess this is a lot like looking at "Current Trends" and "Market Effects" on the economy affecting which stocks are the current darlings of the traders.
In the end, I'm not knocking the rankings, they are reasonable but I am "Having a Take and trying NOT to suck".
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* for you Romies out there