Merion is probably the perfect case in point of the issue.
A course “holding its own” when its architectural merits are severely compromised to make it harder is not “holding its own” at all.
Merion having its fairways narrowed to the point that golfers had to walk in single file down them demonstrates how far out of the barn the horse has been allowed to get. It astounds me that people cite it as an example of short courses still having teeth.
Likewise ANGC with the absurd amount of tree-planting, narrowing of corridors and pushing tees back to the point they’re crossing roads and boundary lines.
These courses are great because of the very architectural merits that are compromised in an effort to hold major championships on them. The way Merion played in 2013 is not the Merion that is great. They way ANGC plays in the current day is not the genius course that originally won acclaim for the tournament it hosts.
Totally fine if people have taken the position “fuck architecture, I want to see someone drive it 500 yards”, but it’s disingenuous in the extreme to suggest technology advancements in the past 15 years haven’t monumentally affected the way a lot of great golf courses play.
Great pod with Brandel, BTW. Soly has this year hit the pinnacle IMO of professional broadcaster enough that it’s slick and sounds good, but informal and casual enough that it still sounds the way a podcast should.