Somerset is a true who knows because it says Raynor eith Stanley Thompson in 50s online. But head pro tild me: -1960s Robert Bruce Harris -1970s: George Cobb/Robert Trent Jones -1980s: Rees Jones (Very Minimal Work) -2000s: Stan Gentry And now JH Duncan. Too many cooks hah.

I don't know why this hadn't clicked for me before now, but the Tilly quote helped crystallize another benefit of diagonal hazards. We often talk about long hitters and short hitters, or skilled players and less-skilled players. The truth of course is that our ability is on a spectrum, and the diagonal hazard allows us to take on more and more risk as we improve, or forces us to swallow our ego and take on less as we age or lose our swing.

Not sure I would count what they said about Watson at WBYC a whisper lol I think where this gets interesting is in two ways: 1) Somerset is trying to restore back to Raynor design but it seems in the case of a few holes they are brand new it seems but Raynor templates. What to do then? 2) Interlachen had a massive renovation back to the Ross ideal, but it seems every green and bunker was replaced apparently in some cases to lengthen, other cases to modernize in other ways. So you get into a ship of theseus question quickly of is it still a Ross?

Thanks Garrett. How I'm trying to approach it now too. My beloved Waveland Muni in Des Moines has half a dozen people attached over last 125 years but primarily 2 guys are responsible as it sits. Initial "victorian" designer Dickinson and a passing by Bendalow get credit for what is no longer there. Coates and Packard FTW 😄.

That was a fun read! Can we get a deep dive into how and why the USA uniforms are so atrocious year after year? Is this some kind of inside joke by the PGA of America to see how long they can keep it going for?

Hey MIke, this is a great question! I think this article is a decent representation of my own approach to attribution. I'm comfortable with a bit of ambiguity in architectural credit because I think there's inevitably ambiguity in the design process (which is why I call it a "dark art" in the section header). Attribution is imperfect and always subject to change as new information surfaces. For our course profiles, we focus on identifying the original designer of the existing layout as accurately as possible. Sometimes that original designer is not the one who established the initial course on the piece of land. For instance, George Low designed the initial course at Baltusrol, but in the late 10s/early 20s, Tillinghast essentially erased that course and replaced it with the Lower and Upper courses. In that case, I don't find it important to name George Low as the "original architect" of either course at Baltusrol. Tillinghast effectively became the original architect when he designed two brand-new courses on the same property. From there, we focus on identifying major renovations or redesigns that substantially altered the architecture of the course. Minor tweaks or infrastructural upgrades are not as important to list in the top line, but we often hit on those in the body of the profile. Basically, we just try to do our best to identify the architects most responsible for the current character of the course. If someone rebuilt a few greens in the 1950s and those greens have since been restored to their original forms, it's just not as important to identify that architect as a contributor.

The buildouts on the final few holes where the matches are decided is truly immense. I really do hope they have room for the average ticket holder to see the conclusion of matches when it comes to the end...

Love KVV but I think there's a little recency bias here with ZJ-- not sure how you can possibly keep Watson's tenure at Gleneagles out of the basement.

What are your thoughts on how to attribute design? Our recent FEGC MN trip had some with muddled answers. For instance WBYC states in a whisper that they're Watson, not Ross. Watson was 1st at Interlachen but it had a total redesign by Ross according to map in clubhouse. Somerset was a Raynor and then apparently overhauled by Thompson, then several others before having some Duncan restoration. Should all be listed? 1st and most recent? The router? Combination? Does it matter? 😅 I feel like everytime I post something anymore someone has to point out credits.

Great article, as always from the Big J Journalist. One fact stood out - it's wild that an American team has not won in Europe since I was 10 years old!