Golf course design and onomatopoeia (larger)

Onomatopoeia (noun) - a literary device in which words are used as an imitation of the sounds to which they refer. E.g. "zoom" and "bang."

sarcasm (noun) - another of my favorite literary devices.

Too many rules and red pens lead to the suppression or erasure of the individual, passionate and observing voice. We have been hard-wired, indeed short-circuited to only like things we have seen before by a golf police state which created and enforce a free thinking-free zone. Elitist golf Nazis and uptight tradition nerds cluck away like broody old hens about “garble garble, blark blark, “integrity of the game,” bark bark, meow meow, gobble gobble, “tradition,” yikkety yakkety, Donald Ross Robert Trent Jones, drivel dribble drool drone, “classic parkland test,” gibber jabber, fumble shamble, “every amenity, no expense spared,” blither blather, choke chuck, “maybe the best course I have ever seen.” Translation: We’re preconditioned, lazy and afraid of change.

Great architects want to experiment. The great neo-classics - Pete Dye, Ken Dye, Strantz, Engh, Silva, Nugent, Maples, Spann to name a few- take the old for a canvas and boldly brushing it with new strokes. As such, they are both reflective upon the old and spontaneous, challenging us in two ways. First, we grow accept novel or revived design features. Second, by learning about golf design, we can play better. Moreover, they have a unique, highly personal voices…important and well respected ones.