"“If John Ruskin, always a jealous guardian of the beauties of nature, could have been taken to the site of a proposed golf course, especially an inland one, and again after the golf architect had brought his artistic skill to bear upon it, I venture to say he would been wonderfully impressed by the results.” ~~JH. Taylor"
That sounds to me as much like Taylor felt golf course architecture would've been an influence on Ruskin (had he seen a good and natural one) as the other way around.
“If you look here, there, and everywhere you will hardly rest your eye on an object created since the day of Morris, which is at all worth resting it upon, that does not owe something, and very often the most important thing about it, to his genius. I say this, with full realization that it is saying a great deal. I do not believe that it is saying too much . . . But, apart from this or that form and colour that Morris has given for eyes to dwell on round about us, it is a bigger gift than this, a gift not of details but a general point of view . . . the appreciation that there is actually beauty which can make a difference in our lives. It is an appreciation which we know quite well to have been hid from the eyes of very many of our forefathers.” ~~Horace Hutchinson"
'....you will hardly rest your eye on an object.." Is a golf course an "object"? Hutchinson is probably talking about decrorative objects which would make sense since that was what Morris and the A/C Movement was primarily known for. Where is there anything about golf architecture in that statement? Hutchinson did write about golf but I'm sure he was probably just as capable of remarking about other things that did not have to do with golf or golf architecture and being quoted for it.
“The point was emphasised by Ruskin many years ago that the demand for perfection was invariably a ‘sign of a misunderstanding of the ends of art’….he even went as far as to lay down the seeming paradox that ‘a work of man cannot be good unless it is imperfect.’ This application of this principle does not imply that all imperfect golf courses are necessarily admirable; but it does suggest that in the absence, fortunately, of any existing course that confounds criticism, some imperfect courses are amongst the most interesting and amusing to play over.” ~~Newton Wethered and Tom Simpson"
Finally, a quotation that mentions one of these men in the same paragraph as golf course architecture. That quotation by Simpson and Wethered makes an excellent point about "imperfection" in art. It also seems to be making a point more about the nature of criticism or controversy in golf course architecture (for imperfections). That one's an interesting quotation but hardly enough to establish the "Arts and Crafts" movement as a primary or even significant influence on the Golden Age of golf course architecture.
"No only were they mentioned, more importantly their ideas and philosphies were mirrored by the golf architects of that time. And there is good reason for that...those ideas and philosphies dominated aesthetic thought throughout society, they touched all forms of art, craft and design."
Tom:
Mirrored? I think you're going to have to come to grips with the fact that there were a lot of things going on during the Victorian era as there are during any era that may be similar but nevertheless not interconncected or at least not to the extent that one can accurately assign as a primary influence the one on the other.
The reversion to the "naturalness" of the linksland around the turn of the century following that era known as the "Dark Ages" of golf architecture was motivated by and influenced by a number of things to do with the incipient state of golf architecture at that time. This basic historical fact of the evolution of golf course architecture has been chronicled many times by many people, including most of the good golf architects of the Golden Age who spoke or wrote about the Scottish linksland, partiuclarly TOC as the primary influence on the development of natualism in golf architecture and the architecture of the Golden Age.
"And there is good reason for that...those ideas and philosphies dominated aesthetic thought throughout society, they touched all forms of art, craft and design."
That you constantly make that kind of statement about the influence of the A/C Movement in such a universal way on so many aspects of society only tells me that you've become completely confused by perhaps what was at some point mentioned as the ultimate goal of the A/C Movement and Morris and what the movement, philosophy, approach, or whatever you want to call it actually accomplished.
As with all "movements" there's a huge difference between the goal of that movement and the ultimate goals of its proponents for their "movement" and what that movement actually accomplishes, historically or otherwise. Obviously, in your total fixation with the influence and importance of the Arts and Crafts Movement historically and otherwise you've totally overlooked that fact.
The next thing we know when it comes to any reversion to an interest in naturalism in anything you'll be trying to assign the primary influence for it to the Arts and Crafts Movement.
I admire your curiosity, Tom, but neither art nor Life really works that way.
