From time to time, a dose of humor does more good than any prescribed SRI or bottle of Scotch -- at least that's what my eleven month-old son, Henry, likes to remind me when I'm a bit morose and we're sharing a few pints together. He might say something like, Why don't you try to recall those times when the folly of life was really brought home and made you laugh. Good humorous writing can do wonders in this regard. One of my favorite literary scenes, for instance, takes place in Samuel Beckett's Murphy. Instead of Murphy's final wishes that his ashes be flushed down the toilet of the Abbey Theater during a performance, what remains of Murphy, stored in a paper bag in Cooper's pocket, ends up on the pub floor:
Some hours later, Cooper took the packet of ash from his pocket where earlier in the evening he had put it for greater security, and threw it angrily at a man who had given him great offence. It bounced and burst off the wall and onto the floor, where at once it became the object of much dribbling, passing, trapping, shooting, punching, heading and even some recognition from the gentleman’s code. By closing time the body, mind and soul of Murphy were freely distributed over the floor of the saloon, and before another dayspring greyened the earth, had been swept away with the sand, the beer, the butts, the glass, the matches, the spits, the vomit.
But I digress.
Geoff Shackleford explores the notion of humor in golf course design in chapter five ("Comic Relief") of his excellent book, Grounds for Golf. As an example of what he calls one of the architect's most important design tools, Geoff points to George Thomas' bunker in the middle of the #6 green at Riviera, the Mae West mounds at #12 Bel Air, and a few examples from Nicklaus, Pete Dye, and so on.
When I first read this chapter years ago, I found these instances amusing. I don't know if I find them that funny any longer. Moreover, I truly doubt that any golf course architect living or dead has exhibited an intentional, overt sense of humor in his designs.
Can anyone prove me wrong? Which architect has a sense of humor, and how has he demonstrated it? Prove it.
What instances of humor have you noted in a particular design(s)?
Does the architect have a "good" sense of humor?