Golf Club Atlas has posted an excellent and extensive interview with Jack Nicklaus on the topic of golf course design and much more. It’s quite a good read.
“I would like to have not seen any changes on the Old Course. The only change I wanted to see was a change to the golf ball. The only reasons they (R&A) felt changes were needed to the Old Course is because there were changes to the golf ball. If you hadn’t changed the golf ball, you wouldn’t have had to change Augusta National, or you wouldn’t have had to change St. Andrews, or any golf course — iconic or not— if we could get the golf ball to go the proper distance again. Until they change the golf ball, championship golf courses have to fit the ball of today.”
Florida Hickory Golfers 