Sorry if it is sketchy... What remains to be a strength of Colt is how he can use the land to his advantage rather than moving earth. He also possessed the ability to reward a player's drive with a simpler second shot e.g 18th Burnham and Berrow or 11th Sunningdale New
Murray
I spose I am one to believe that Colt actually moved a lot of dirt around his green sites. Perhaps not much in today's terms (probably becasue he didn't tend to move loads of dirt on fairways), but for 1915 it was a lot. That isn't to say Colt didn't achieve a good balance of earth moving because I think he did. However, because of his penchant for creating green sites and teh sheer number of courses he was involved means there is a certain degree of much of a muchness with Colt. I am most impressed (not the same as saying they are his best or my favourites) with Colt's work on courses that aren't his originals - Burnham, Formby, Hoylake, Porthcawl, Southerndown, Lytham, Co Down etc. He seems to have had a great eye for retaining must keep elements and holes even if they weren't in line with his look or philosophy while still stamping his mantra on these designs. The one course I think may be an exception to this is Ganton. Its difficult to tell what Colt did there even if one knwos because so many great archies worked on the course. In any case, these courses strike me as a very good blend of modern and older architecture. I am also impressed by Colt rarely getting it wrong in a design. The guy just didn't make many mistakes and I think his willingness to judiciously push dirt around is the main reason why. To some degree it means there will be a lot of "I have seen this before" for modern golfers who get around a decent amount, but Colt didn't have the lows of other designers not willing to push as much dirt around - such as Fowler. Third, despite my much of as muchness comment Colt did take risks in design such as at Tandridge with its original crazy number of bunkers and with bunkering in general. Finally, much like Braid, I think Colt was great at designing to a budget and purpose. He could design championship golf or much more modest member courses with great charm and interest. With very few exceptions (I can think of only one) Colt got the job done and beautifully.
The above mentioned courses (as well as Muirfield and Portrush) aren't meant as a sllight to Colt's inland work in the least for I think it arguable that St Georges Hill is Colt's grandest creation - if we could see it today as was originally built. Of course, many could also cite Swinley, Sunny New or a few others. I have become very attracted to lesser Colts such as Southfield and Harborne and think they are just as good as Colt's big guns (without the obvious majesty) in their own deliberate way. I guess what I am trying to say is it is awfully difficult to pigeon hole Colt or pick his best work because he had such an incredibly high standard.
Ciao