Patrick,
What you are actually exploring here is a renovation,which is fine, but with out some documentation of what was there originally, it would be difficult to even identify what changes have been made.
I think a lot of the older less noteworthy courses are reacting to the "renovation" movement for the same reasons that the more well known clubs have, tree problems,turf quality,bunker erosion and migration, with a little bit of the "keep up with the Joneses" mentality.
The ultimate success of any of these projects is to have clearly defined, specific goals, at the outset, that the majority of members understand and support. Even the best Master Plans have a lot of "concepts" that must be turned in to reality and somewhere along the line personal agenda rears it's ugly head and the architect is caught in the middle again.