Intellectual curiosity comes in all varieties. To me, it is an absolute must for an architect to see new things and continually learn. Without doing so, one’s work is doomed to stall; n’est-ce pas? As much as any student of architecture, Tom Doak possesses a burning desire to expand his knowledge base. This month’s Feature Interview with Tom demonstrates those desires with the two quotes below from the Interview helping to substantiate that premise:
The one factor that means a lot more to me than to most reviewers is originality. I’m not so impressed by a course that offers just straightforward, solid golf … you don’t have to travel far from home to find that. But if a course has one terrific hole that isn’t quite like anything I’ve seen before, I probably overrate that course, relative to some other reviewers. I’m looking for something special.AND
It is all about seeing something different or well done — whether it’s a single golf hole, a unique feature, the routing, a new architect’s work, whatever. I’m just hoping it is not all straightforward.Tom’s (still boyish) enthusiasm for seeing new things has clearly not diminished and his soon to ship, updated
The Confidential Guide Volume 1 on GB&I is a very handy by-product of that never-ending quest. Though Tom has now designed courses and written about golf course architecture in 4 different decades, his work on both fronts remains fresh, compelling and influential. You are never quite sure what he is going to say or do. Coincidence? I think not. As we exchanged emails about the book composition he was always on the go – once in Nepal, some in New Zealand or Europe and several times in the UK. His final journey for this new edition of The Confidential Guide was down the middle of England on a trip whereby the most noted course seen was Beau Desert (not a favorite of his FYI). Very few people make trips like that. It’s more likely a forced slog about ticking courses off someone else’s list.
The breadth of Tom’s trips surely help provide him an ever evolving perspective on the joys of the game which he then expresses in both design and writing.
Uniquely, his viewpoint represents a single yardstick upon which courses can be judged. Magazine rankings are by definition a group consensus of disparate views whereas Tom represents a unified perspective honed from four decades of critical observation. Thus, his grades and opinions serve as a useful benchmark. In the end, parsing words and judgment and debating the merits of courses is simultaneously educational, fun and ridiculous. The important thing is:
IT HAPPENS. Prior to TCG and the internet, discourse was non-existent and mostly so too was good architecture for a sustained period of time. Without doubt, the impact that
The Confidential Guide has had on the critiquing courses is vast. You see it every day in this Discussion Group. His grades are often a lightning rod for discourse and disagreement and sometimes disappointment. Poor Noel Freeman has suffered the indignity of his beloved Cinque Ports saddled with ‘a Doak 6’ for years. Noel will be delighted to discover that Deal gets a nice bounce.
Of course, Tom could not have guessed how much teeth gnashing his grades would engender. That puts pressure on him to be thorough. To expand his reach and offer additional input, he unnecessarily but very kindly asked Masa Nishijima from Japan, Australian Darius Oliver and me to chime in with grades and thoughts. Hopefully, after all our communication and opining, every course got a fair shake. That’s important because
The Confidential Guide(s) has impacted hundreds upon hundreds of trips since its original release in 1988. No doubt places like Kington and Fraserburgh will benefit from this updated version’s fanfare on a go forward basis. That’s wonderful because it is only by exposing people to fun, non-championship courses that other fun, non-championship courses will ever get built!
Fleshing out Tom’s words, Angela Moser’s first-rate diagrams are a welcome addition to the new ‘Guide” as are all the GCA contributed photos. A couple of GCAers are even specifically mentioned! Personally speaking, it is a treat to be involved with such a famous brand and reminds me of working with Mark Rowlinson on
The World Atlas of Golf. What a honor to play a small role in updating the two books most germane to the genesis of GolfClubAtlas.com.
For those who would like to purchase Volume 1, GB&I or sign up for the 5 volume set, I will post a link shortly in its own thread. Volume 2 on where to play in the Americas during winter will be out fall/winter 2015. And yes, that means that Tom will be out scouring such regions between now and then in hopes of seeing something new/different. Modern transportation and Tom’s past success makes his trips possible and agree or disagree, we all benefit when this keen student shares his observations in such a 'conversation inducing' manner.
Best,