First of all let me say this again. If no one but members ever saw or played a course a course would never be changed. I see everyone who is not a member of a course to be the public, that being the USGA, golf writers, PGA pros and executives, fans of golf, chemical company executives, guests of members who feel the need to critique courses in a way they would not your home, unethical/ambitious superintendents, developers, architects..etc, etc. It is in everyone but the members self interest to see a course changed for either monetary or egotistical reasons. If not one person in this group ever saw a given course there would be no reason for change. Members are generally happy people until some outsider mucks it up by telling them why they should not be happy.
ANGC is not the single glowing example of change that is made to benefit outside play. Merion is obvious, Pine Valley didn't clean up its bunkers for the members, Oakmont killed the trees not to eliminate shade but to appease outside forces, The Riviera...Oak Hill, the recent change at The Honors...It goes on and on. It is never the members, I mean really, does you wife throw out your favorite chair and replace it with some unsittable piece of Euro-plastic to impress herself or you...nope, its the muck raking public that visits your home every Godforsaken holiday. It's the public stupid.
John, I like your take on this but re: The Honors, it is important to remember that the course was created for the purpose of hosting (and hopefully honoring) amateur golf.
I agree that if it weren't for outside play, the constant changes at The Honors wouldn't have occured consistently over the last 25 years.
But, these changes are not so much a response to "guest play" or outside opinion as they are an attempt to keep the course relevent in an age when the fundamental challenges of the game are threatened by an unwillingness to reign in the enormous distance gains by the top 1/2 of 1% who The Honors looks to have play every few years under tournament conditions.
It's a broken record but the distance gains by the young kids today has fundamentally changed the nature of the game.
Under the present rules and given the fact that no one is going to put more slope in greens and then run them at 8.5, the only thing to do is 1. back the tees up (thankfully with Pete Dye's help, The Honors has lenghthened the long holes and has left the short holes still short--maintaining nice variety) and 2. flatten the greens so David Stone can get them brick hard and fast--that's the game now--length and ultra fast and firm greens:(
The course was never meant for "members only".
Come down some time and play The Honors 11.0 . I'll give you a chance to win some money back in foursomes