You know, we can't be too critical of people who don't know all the ins and outs of golf course architecture and its history...everyone has their unique interests and strange areas of in-depth knowledge. You know weird things like, who was the 8th President of the United States, who is 4th all time in career RBI's in baseball history, who finished runner up in the World Cup 8 years ago, who won the gold medal for the decathalon in 1954?
But nevertheless, it is totally amazing to have a community of other like minded people who do have an interest in these things. A few weekends ago, I popped up to Tennessee to meet some guys from the site at a restaurant and a non-golfer friend of mine came along for dinner. When we got to the restaurant, the GCA'ers were already there and were drawing holes, green complexes, and angles of play on a napkin and having an "interesting" conversation about it. My friend looked at me with a funny look as if to say, "I guess there are other people in this world who share your weird quirks and obsession about golf". It was a classic moment.
The types of comments on this thread make my convictions stronger that golf is a niche sport and even those who play it frequently don't really know what makes a great/fun golf course. They are highly influenced by advertising and marketing most notably through watching the PGA Tour on tv. If it is a Tour course, it has to be good is a prevailing thought among many golfers. Perhaps we can chip away and educate a few people here and there regarding our interests because we have been educated on the time-tested ideals of what makes a great golf course.
Anyway, 2 cents.
Later!