Jonathan:
I loved getting back to Barnbougle last month, and really could not have been happier with the condition of the course. But I don't think I would be inclined to give it a 10, certainly not at this point. I haven't played it enough to be comfortable with that. Plus, there were three or four things I have suggested we do to the course when I get a chance -- nothing major, but little fixes that would help.
I am very hesitant to give out 10's. If you want to know why, all you have to do is look at the 9's ... Pebble Beach, Augusta National, Prairie Dunes, Kingston Heath, etc. You have to be pretty damned sure to rate a course HIGHER than that group, and doubly sure if it's one of your own. To think I've built a handful of courses which could be considered for a 9, is probably better than building one which is a consensus 10.
As to Ian and Jim's question, I would have to think about it for a while. My tastes have certainly evolved, but I would probably not change a rating in The Confidential Guide because of that ... an upgrade or a downgrade would have to involve either changes to the course, or a second look under better circumstances.
I'm sure there are some courses that I underrated, especially in Britain, just because I saw 170 courses in that first trip overseas and the standard of the ones I visited was so darned high. I didn't want to give everything a 6 or 7 or 8, but some of the 4's and 5's are probably better courses than that, if I went back and had a look without visiting the 7's and 8's down the road. Gullane #2 is one example of that ... it didn't seem like much after two months in St. Andrews and love-at-first-sight visits to North Berwick and Muirfield in the same week, but when I went back and played it while working on The Renaissance Club, I found it was actually quite good and certainly way better than I remembered.