- My interpretation from his comments is that his attitude towards restoration is more: replicating the challenge of 'then', for today's players. 'What would Colt / Mackenzie do now?, instead of faithful restorations
I am curious, what other types of "restorations" can you think of? When the original architects like Ross and Dye worked on their own designs, did they not update them to at least retain the challenge that had diminished due to changes in abilities, equipment, and the passage of time? I never heard of a "faithful" restoration; a "sympathetic" restoration yes. To me, that usually means updating the course in the style of the original architect at a specific point in time to retain the shot options, strategies, and challenge that were prevalent then, but now substantially reduced.
My brief interactions with Martin over the years have given me the impression that he is a very thoughtful man who has great respect for the work done by his predecessors. At the same time, he understands that golf has been evolving since Day 1- the stuff we've been arguing on here for 20 years with too much recrimination for my taste is nothing new. He also knows that his clients, some who we paint in these pages as uniformed, simple-minded, and ego-driven, are actually quite capable of evaluating the arguments and reaching thoughtful solutions on behalf of their clubs.
Hopefully I can figure out how to get to the podcast without having to do much with apple.com. The last thing I want is more come-ons.
Lou,
It's well worth a listen - if you go onto the Cookie Jar golf website, it's on the homepage that you can listen to
Re: types of restoration - I'd agree, that there are very few faithful restorations (would the new Lido count??). That said, most might be sympathetic as you say, and argue 'Colt wanted to challenge the players with this bunker, but it's no longer doing that, so let's put it 30 yards on', and there's a bit of logic to that. It's a bit of a stretch though when Martin says that Colt would approve creating those two new holes from the Valley course if he knew the Open was coming there. He may be right, but if Colt didn't say that or allude to it, then it's just speculation.
And this is just my personal opinion, but I still believe older great courses should be preserved as much as possible, regardless of how they stand up to today's challenge. Why iron out the wrinkles of time, when often it's those creases that in time become iconic?
I've not had the pleasure of meeting Martin, but he is obviously incredibly passionate about GCA, and seems very thoughtful, sincere and kind as you say. I hope one day we cross paths...I just hope he doesn't read this site
