Kyle:
I'm not sure -- although I've never played any of their courses (from either era), I tend to view Doak, C&C and a few others as the Tillinghasts, MacKenzies, and Ross' of the modern age. Those folks didn't need TV to be motivated to build great courses. They had people willing to financially back their courses, who in turn had the smarts to leave great designers (largely) alone. That's how we got Winged Foot and a host of other great courses. How is that notably different than the backing that Doak got to build Pacific Dunes or Ballyneal, or C&C at Sand Hills, or Tobacco Road?
And I agree with Josh -- it has been neat to see places like Chicago GC, Newport, and Prairie Dunes on TV. But is that to TV's credit? Perhaps -- the growth of golfing viewership, generally, in the past decade or so has led TV to noticeably increase coverage of events such as the Walker Cup, the Senior and Women's Opens, and even the Senior British (where I've watched Royal County Down and Aberdeen in recent years). But credit must also go to the folks at the R&A, USGA and other sponsoring organizations that have (wisely) been willing to put tournaments on vintage, architecturally interesting courses.
Is this year's Curtis Cup slated for TV?!?!?