While players have always had people champion/chronicle their exploits (Jones/Keeler, Hogan/Jenkins, Palmer/Drum, Morrissett/Morrissett
, etc.), only on the odd occasion did golf course architects garner much attention. There was Jones at Oakland Hills, followed by Dye and Harbour Town and Dye again when he went for a swim at TPC.
However, the concept of golf course architects as rock stars worthy of a book in their own right has grown over the past couple of decades. In terms of the written word, the last ten years has seen the greatest surge. Klein on Ross, Doak on MacKenzie, and Bahto on Macdonald are obvious, large volume examples. Shackelford has made sure that no one ever forgets two of the greatest minds in golf course architecture, namely Thomas and Behr. Tillinghast has many supporters and other books including those on Stanley Thompson, Tom Bendelow, and Pete Dye have further helped people view architects in a different, altogether more comprehensive light.
How fortunate we, the reader, are to live in such times as we are free to learn as much as we want. Yes, there have been a few glossy coffee table train wrecks, namely a couple of books written by architects themselves which you can read and literally learn nothing
but by in large, golf has always attracted gifted writers.
Now comes the latest - and largest! - installment whereby two individuals have lavished a tremendous amount of time and personal attention to one of the world's greatest architects. As already referenced by Mike Cirba and others within this Discussion Group, I am talking about Wayne Morrison and Tom Paul and their research on William Flynn. Unfortunately, the CD has become known as much for its length (2,260 pages
) as for its content, which is a shame.
I remember when Klein's book on Ross came out. At over 350 pages, it set a new standard and yet.... it wasn't long enough to find a place in it, for instance, for Plainfield. The book needed to be longer. Yes, there are commercial considerations and already with such a length book, people say that they will never read it cover to cover. That's not the point.
The point as it relates to Morrison's tome is not to be discouraged by its vastness. Rather, the CD is there whenever you want. When you are off to play Cascades, do yourself a favor and read that chapter. I played that course ~15 times before I ever met Wayne and now I realize how little I was seeing. Only through his writings and copious photographs do I see how much effort - and dynamite - went into its construction process. No wonder Tilly passed on the project!
Even if you don't have any intent on seeing a Flynn course, I recommend getting their CD. As well as any of the other books, Wayne and Tom describe how Flynn worked with nature and made it look like he was never there. That's golf architecture in its highest form and if you can appreciate that single point, then you'll really appreciate all that has gone into Wayne's work with Tom's help. In Wayne, here's a guy that has spent thousands of hours with scant hope for any meaningful pecuniary return. That's true passion and Flynn is lucky to have such thorough chroniclers.
Yes, it is ironic that we are posting it the week of the Masters as Flynn doesn't seem to illicit the same response as Alister Mackenzie among golf course architecture aficionados. Flynn never cut as large a figure as MacKenzie's outgoing personality nor was his footprint on the world stage nearly as diverse. Flynn never would have thought to build something as flamboyant as the green at Sitwell as it wouldn't 'live' but in this new age of sustainability, we can all better appreciate just how well Flynn tip-toed the line between making courses that were arresting to the eye, rife with challenge/strategy and all the while maintainable.
What more can you ever hope for from an architect? Flynn delivered that telling combination of virtues as well as any architect ever has and it is the exact sort of architecture that we need now more than ever.
Hence, the timing of the release of Wayne and Tom's CD couldn't be better. People who want to order the CD can contact Wayne directly, either by email wsmorrison@hotmail.com or by sending a check ($75) to him at:
Wayne Morrison
209 Avon Road
Narberth, PA 19072
Hope you enjoy this month's Feature Interview!