Tom Doak,
Spoken like a true architect.
And, I understand where you're coming from.
But, think back to all of the disfigurations that have occured to classic golf courses over the years at the hands of "ARCHITECTS"
Maybe, had the Green Chairman taken a more active role, those disfigurations might have been avoided or muted.
When one is ill and seeks a remedy within the medical profession, one discovers that Surgeons feel that surgery is the solution. Other physicians feel that drugs are the solution.
Other physicians feel that alternative medicine may be the solution, and still other physicians feel that other remedies can cure your ills.
As the patient, you are left as, and have to be, your own patient advocate, doing your due diligence, and making informed, fact based decisions, with a little gut guidance thrown in.
Sometimes Green Chairman inherit issues.
Other times they create them.
In a sense, they must be the advocate for the golf club.
All too often Green Chairman view golf strictly in the context of their game.
A good Green Chairman must view golf through the eyes of the entire membership.
They must protect the golf course from radical ideas.
Their responsibility is architectural, agronomic, financial, political, etc., etc..
Long after the architect has left the property, they as members will be held accountable for the work that occured on the golf course on THEIR WATCH. And, their lives, as members will not be the same for years to come.
I've seen Master plans that are SO RADICAL that you wouldn't believe them. Is the Green Chairman to rubber stamp the architect's work, or, is he, with the superintendent, the last line of defense the club has before it spends millions and gets a product that they'll have to live with for 20 years ?
It's not as simple as you, or proponents of views opposite of yours, would think.
It's a complex issue, with a great amount of responsibility on all parties shoulders.
You and I may have philosophical differences on this issue, but, giving anyone carte blanche or complete, discretionary, creative license is something I couldn't endorse.
Remember, in the context of a restoration, renovation or modernization, you're a surgeon