"I used to make a lot of Penal courses, but a Penal course is easier to play than a Strategic course. The Strategic school is one of my favorites."

Mike McAllister made my year by profiling aspiring architect Cody Carroll, a 10-year-old who has been drawing golf courses since he was 4 and has been eyeing 8 1/2 acres for his first design, all the while using Grounds for Golf as his "second bible."

Meanwhile, Cody's understanding of how courses are designed also have been raised. Off the top of his head, he cites the various schools of design mentioned in Shackelford's book -- Natural school, Penal school, Strategic school, Heroic school, Freeway school, Framing school, Next school, etc. -- and explains each one in a concise manner.

"I favor the Strategic and Heroic schools," Cody says. "I used to make a lot of Penal courses, but a Penal course is easier to play than a Strategic course. The Strategic school is one of my favorites."
He's also trying to learn more about golf's most celebrated architects. He mentions his top four designers -- Pete Dye, A.W. Tillinghast, Donald Ross and Alister MacKenzie. He has played Dye's TPC Sawgrass Stadium Course ("I like the course, but I wish there were less pot bunkers," he says) as well as Ross' Hyde Park course in Jacksonville. He's well versed in those two designers but sheepishly admits that when it comes to MacKenze and Tillinghast, "I get them mixed up sometimes."