The soul of golf course architecture and Rob Thompson wins a 2005 Jazzy Award for blogging

Great stuff on the Internet today regarding architecture. Geoff Shackelford has an absolutely hilarious satire of the Golf Digest Panel winter meeting here.

Defending his panel (and his loyalty commands respect) Rob Thompson takes Geoff to the woodshed as more puerile than poignant.

I threw my $.02 in on Rob's site here, so click to see me stick up for old-school architecture and strike a blow against over-priced chump-traps and real estate marketers masquerading as designers. The important thing is:

Geooff is razor-sharp precise when he 1) mocks Orlando as the tackiest city on the eastern seaboard, 2) exposes the ridiculously overpriced and under designed courses at the resort and 3) exposes the banal insipidness of many of the courses by several of the designers invited. You could re-name the entire thing "how to brainwash the well-heeled panelists into liking our courses and helping our MARKETING.

We are in a battle for the soul of golf design. As one of our leading lights on fine architecture, I hope you'll join me in wondering why Fazio, Nicklaus and Palmer ARE there...but Engh, Doak and Silva are NOT. To quote Alistair Mackenzie "the very soul of the game shrieks!"

This has "feed the beast" written all over it. Don't feed the beast, slay the beast...one spear at a time.

While on the topic of Golf Observer, my new piece on Fossil Trace will be up later this week and look for new piece's there by me as well on HIAWATHA LANDING, TOBACCO ROAD, other course architects and more soon.

Finally, although I disagree with him on the Shackelford piece, Rob Thompson wins the 2005 Jazzy Award for Best Golf Blog in a close dog fight with the Media Guru and the Bogey Lounge.

The Best Golf Blog Jazzy is now the "Bunker Mulligan Award" memory of our fallen comrade, Mike Reed.