Golden Age vs. Modern Era: Why Old Courses Still Win
Most of America's top 25 were built before 1940. Why?
Look at any top-100 list and you'll notice something striking: the upper reaches are dominated by courses built between 1900 and 1940. The "Golden Age" of American golf course architecture produced Pine Valley, Augusta, Cypress Point, Shinnecock, Merion, Oakmont, National Golf Links, Seminole — and modern designers spend their careers trying to match what those architects accomplished.
Why the old ones hold up
Three reasons. First, the land. Architects of the Golden Age — Donald Ross, A.W. Tillinghast, Seth Raynor, George Crump, Alister MacKenzie — got first pick of America's best golf properties. Second, the priorities. They built courses to be walked, played by hand, and decided by angles and greens, not yardage. Third, time. A course only develops "character" with a century of weather, players, and refinement.
The modern revival
Tom Doak, Bill Coore & Ben Crenshaw, Gil Hanse, and David McLay-Kidd have led a renaissance — Pacific Dunes, Sand Hills, Friar's Head, Streamsong Black, Sheep Ranch. Their work explicitly references the Golden Age: minimalism, ground-game options, native landscapes. Several modern courses now sit comfortably in the top 25.
The gap that remains
Yet the very top is still mostly old. Pine Valley, Cypress Point, Augusta, Shinnecock — these are not going anywhere. Time, as much as design, is part of what makes them great.