Actually, I would prefer Tom go back to saying I build golf courses, not signatures. I am not in favor of his answer here.
Garland,
I dont understand the generalization of Mr. Doak based on his one answer.
If you were to think about every Tom Doak course, I bet you would be very hard pressed to find even one course that is defined by a 'signature' hole. Obviously, there are some features on his sites that might stand out a lot (he gave two examples) and might make the course that much better by having holes use which those features. But, it is a given fact, that sometimes there are certain features on a site that are better suited for golf holes than others.
I dont see the big deal about what he said. Quite frankly, I understand it and dont see why there had to be an entire thread discussing it. The fact of the matter is that the vast majority of the golfing public uses signature holes or features to define golf courses. It just seems to me that Tom was trying to address the question in terms of the golfing public.
No big deal.