Patrick: I've seen the book - didn't buy it while there, maybe I should have - but a friend of mine has it and it does document the process very well. Oh yes, it's hard NOT to come away impressed reading that, and to me it's impossible not to be impressed seeing it in person.
Neither the book, nor seeing it in person, will answer George's question even still, however... which really is, how much of all this is due to vision and skill and how much is due to possessing unlimited funds? I too have no ulterior motive postulating about this - again, I am so impressed it doesn't matter much to me the whys and what fors - I just find that the more I think about this, the more it is a valid question, one that I don't think can be answered by those outside the golf course building profession.
TH