One bit of good news is that well designed courses that are relatively inexpensive to maintain will increase in value as new construction remains in the tank. This will be true of private courses, privately owned public courses and munis, all in different degrees. It will especially be true of older courses in relatively densely populated areas, where the land cost was minuscule in comparison to replacement. These courses will become economically more viable over the next 5-15 years, not less.
After 1929 a lot of courses closed, and most that stayed open had to cut costs ruthlessly. This resulted in a maintenance standard that we would find unacceptable today, but even today we will find that maintenance practices will change in reaction to cost. Also many courses will get repriced. The current ownership and members will be washed out, and new buyers at lower and more viable prices will appear. This will not be a uniform or fast process, and some courses will be unsuitable to this evolution. Others will probably be able to survive in the current form, assuming that another economic earthquake does not hit (not necessarily a correct assumption.)
The archies are like everyone else--hurt by something that is largely not their fault or within their control. Though not without fault, they have been responding to demand, by and large, rather than creating the demand for the megacost project.
The best courses will mostly survive, as they did after the 1920's, though it will be a close sometimes as it was then. (Think Cypress Point.) But the game will probably prosper, especially if it gets relatively cheaper.
The architects deserve our sympathy and support. They will have to slash overhead, rethink processes, become experts at reducing the cost of production. It has been done in manufacturing and can be done be done in building golf courses. Architects might also do well to become even more expert in maintenance issues, and to create maintenance consultancy that will add value.
There are not many people who can build a great golf course with an unrestrained budget. There will be even less who will be able to do so on a lean budget. Those who learn how will likely build some real gems and create a wonderful legacy.