Pat,
Any criticism of Jones' mounding has been directed at mounds he built. Mr. Doak did not build those mounds.
No, a heavy equipment operator did, but he left them intact, which is tantamount to building them
If you can find record of someone criticizing mounds Jones used that were pre-existing landforms, then you may be on to something.
I don't believe that one person criticized those mounds.
Instead, some claimed they were natural to the site. which is patently absurd, they're not natural to the site, a heavy equipment operator created them from the natural site when he altered the natural site in the course of the mining operation.
If someone would have argued that the cost to modify or eliminate them was prohibitive, I'd readily accept that, but no one did.
As I said, I happen to like the sharp contrast they provide, but that's not the issue.
Pat,
The difference is the course was PLACED on a landscape that was previously modified, making the best use of some unusual landforms.
Which,coupled with the sandy soil, was the whole point of choosing the site, and what made it so unusual.
For clarity's sake, let's call them moundtains
Leaving the "moundtains" intact and placing the course in/amongst the landforms IS NOT tantamount to building them.
When you see them, you'll see why (hopefully) they could not/would not have been built.(and why calling them mounds is inaccurate)
No equipment involved in building a golf course could've moved THAT MUCH DIRT in a reasonable, affordable timeframe to build this course.
Shadow Creek was constructed out of a barren desert at extreme expense, Streamsong was placed and built amongst a scarred,unusual,previously man altered landscape, and there are natural elevation changes in this part of Florida as well.
If Rees, TF,JN Tom Doak, Bill Coore, or any other architect had "built" those "moundtains", yes they would be criticized as it would IMHO, be an irresponsible/inefficient
use of the client's money
edit: unless they could find a way to sell excess material to fund the project (a la Archie)
but then they'd be miners......