Tom MacWood,
You state that RTJ's involvement at ANGC in the 40's had a major influence on the alteration of golf courses. How so ?
Nobody ever saw the limited amount of work he did, on three holes I believe. In the 40's nobody ever saw ANGC and the Masters was just another pro tournament somewhere in Georgia, not the MAJOR it has become today.
The USGA in the 40's and 50's was hardly the force in golf that it has become today.
It's convenient for you to distort and mistate my position.
I stated that the advent of TV, the growing popularity of golf, Championship golf and Arnold Palmer contributed to movement by clubs to alter their golf courses.
You even agreed with that position stating that it had an effect in the 60's and 70's, and now you're disagreeing.
Make up your mind.
And, there's no doubt in my mind that the creation of water features was a tangential result of TV. Viewers saw the 15th and 16th at ANGC and other courses with water features and they wanted ponds for their clubs.
Yes Tom, even GCGC added a pond where bunkers once existed on # 16, as did my club in NJ, and RTJ wasn't involved.
You were the one who accused RTJ of being a promoter, discounting the veracity of his spoken and published words,
and then you turn around and accept them as Gospel.
Which is it Tom, are his words the Gospel or were they merely promotional, without substance, you can't have it both ways.