I'm in the Adam, Kirk, George Pazin camp, i.e. there's lots of ways of appreciating something, and lots that don't involve articulating why (or even being able to articulate why).
Peter, I'm sorry, but you've joined the wrong camp
Yes, there are many ways to appreciate a golf course. Is it a relaxing place, is the food in the clubhouse scrumptious, are the views of the Pacific or of nuclear power plants, does it have a whimsical water tower, is the conditioning superb, are there lovely waterfalls besides the greens, have their been many tournaments there over the years, will the course provide a notch on the bedpost, maybe even are the holes interesting and fun to play and/or do they have architectural interest?
I have no problem at all with golfers finding pleasure in whatever makes them happy. But I do not believe we can say everyone is entitled to define greatness in any form that pleases them. For the purposes of gca.com, greatness of a course should have nothing to do with how cold the beers are or what the water pressure in the showers is like. It all might add up as we evaluate the sum of our experience at a course, but that is not the same as evaluating a course's greatness.
What strikes me as odd Peter is that you later go on to discuss the principles that help to define a course's greatness. I would agree with your point, but doesn't that somehow conflict with what you said earlier? Am I misreading your earlier comments somehow? I feel I must be.
As a thought experiment, let's say Pinehurst #2 is a great course. Some may disagree but let's leave that aside. People pay $400 to play the course, for a large variety of reasons. Say the course was built today as it currently sits. Is it still a great course? Would people line up to pay $400 to play it? Some would, because they would see and appreciate the principles you mentioned. Many wouldn't, because what the course currently offers beyond the architecture (history, notch on the bedpost, etc etc), what would add up to 'greatness' for them, would be missing.