Kyle -
While I have no stats to back this up, I'd bet that the beginning golfer today becomes an 18 handicap in a lot less time (and in a lot fewer rounds) than the beginning golfer did in 1970. And so, the human ego being what it is, today's average golfer will start blaming the architecture for his bad rounds a lot quicker than his 70s counterpart did. And, given that average golfers today seem to need/choose to spend more time on family and other non-golfing activities than did their predecessors, most of those average golfers can't afford to give a golf course they didn't like much of a second chance. All of which puts much more pressure on golf architecture and golf architects to deliver the goods, and to deliver those goods immediately, and to deliver them to the widest possible audience. I think that's what technology has done, for better or worse.
Peter