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C.B. Macdonald said (in his autobiography) he thought his NGLA.....

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Tom MacWood:
TEP
That is not exactly what he said. He said he did not think the term 'golf architecture' can be found in the records prior to 1901 when he developed the idea of copying or emulating certain aspects of famous holes. He goes on to compare golf architecture to art and architecture, and says his idea of emulating well known examples (which is common other creative disciplines and the formalized studies of other creative disciplines) was the birth of golf architecture. He equates the study of famous holes and features of holes with the birth of golf architecture as discipline on par with the other well established creative disciplines.

I would take exception with his timeline (among other things) because I know Willie Park borrowed heavily from Musselburgh when he designed Huntercombe.

BCrosby:
Another example is Low's use of the PN concept at the 4th at Woking circa 1901.

Bob

TEPaul:
Tom MacWood:

Thanks. You're right, it certainly would be appropriate to quote exactly what he said on this subject in his autobiography:

"I was intensely interested, and it was from this discussion I was urged to carry out the idea of building a classical golf course in America, one which would eventually compare favorably with the championship links abroad and serve as an incentive to the elevation of the game in America. I believe this was the first effort at establishing golfing architecture----at least there is no record I can find preceding it."

TEPaul:
"I would take exception with his timeline (among other things) because I know Willie Park borrowed heavily from Musselburgh when he designed Huntercombe."

Tom MacWood:

Very interesting. I didn't know Park Jr borrowed heavily from Musselburgh when he designed Huntercombe. Can you point us to something that suggests that either before or while Park was doing Huntercombe? Thanks.

Also, do you suppose CBM was unaware that Park Jr had emulated pre-existing GB holes at Huntercombe approximately 7-8 years before NGLA? If so how do you suppose he could have been unaware of that? Perhaps he didn't know that much about what was going on architecturally in GB in 1900 as he had just moved from Chicago to NYC. Do you know how many times CBM went abroad between 1892 and 1902?  

This might have something to do with why CBM said many years later he felt that NGLA was the first example of golfing architecture of which he was aware.
 

Jim_Kennedy:
You can continue in trying to lay down some childish trap or you can understand that Macdonald was talking about his effort to create architecture in the USA when he made that remark, i.e., there was no 'there' here.

 

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