Which of Dr. MacKenzie's Thirteen Points Would You Throw Out Today?

[Brian Finn]

I could definitely eliminate 1, 7, 13, and 6. Then, I'd allow 5 to do the work of 2 & 9 - don't need to be so specific.

I attempted to rank them in order of importance, from my perspective.

5 different character each hole
10 no lost balls
12 playable for beginners
8 heroic carries / alternate route
3 green to tee proximity / elasticity
4 green and fairway undulations
11 plus handicap stimulated
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
9 infinite variety
2 variety of holes - specifics
6 minimal blind approaches
13 all seasons / consistent conditions
7 beautiful surrounds / natural
1 two loops of nine

At the end of the day, what the heck do I know?  If I were actually building a new course, I would find a great architect and let them do their thing.  I am a big believer in leaving such specialized work to people who actually know what they are doing.

[Michael Morandi]

I would question 5 and toss out 8, although I don’t know what he meant by heroic. As for every hole having its own character, I’m not sure that is possible in a course that flows, but, again, I don’t know what he meant by character.  Every hole should pose a different test. Is that character?

[Thomas Dai]

“13.  The course should be equally good during winter and summer, the texture of the greens and fairways should be perfect, and the approaches should have the same consistency as the greens.”

I mean, this is a nice rule for folks who live in the UK, Coastal CA, and the Melbourne Sandbelt. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that that is where he did most of his work. God forbid you build a fun course in Michigan.

Certainly not the case for a significant number of his inland/parkland U.K. courses. Have my doubts in relation to his NZ and Argentinian work too. Not sure about his Uruguayan courses. Drainage, drainage, drainage.

Atb

[Ira Fishman]

Royal Melbourne West.

Yep, that's the one.

Do my bonus points lead to a round at Crystal Downs or Chicago GC? Just checking.

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