Architect Kidd Claims Media Seduced Him Into Excessive Design

The media has been blamed for many things, but I'm fairly certain architect David Kidd took things to another level in suggesting his much-derided, since-renovated Castle Course at St. Andrews was the fault of others. 

I was seduced by the 'harder is better' Tiger proofing ethos sold by the media, incremental alterations are improving playability https://t.co/NZSjDaQBRg

— David McLay-Kidd (@DMKGolfDesign) November 29, 2016

Kidd was challenged by "the media", starting with former Golfweek publisher Alex Miceli:

I will own it I'm just telling you where the influence came from, many mag rankings use difficulty as a major factor and I tried to please https://t.co/fb8yHlaYK4

— David McLay-Kidd (@DMKGolfDesign) November 29, 2016

This would suggest he designed to play to a ranking. While many architects have surely been influenced in some way by ranking criteria, blaming it for an unsuccessful design seems out of line.

And this reply to Golf World's John Huggan:

And did @BandonDunesGolf before and @GambleSands after & @Sand_Valley now https://t.co/u4bZ3ueKNo

— David McLay-Kidd (@DMKGolfDesign) November 29, 2016

It is an unfortunate state of affairs when resistance to scoring is a ranking criteria. And the golf ball quickly outdated some pretty stellar courses. But blaming such outside forces appears short-sighted and, at best, should at least spark discussion toward remedying both blights on the game.