I agree with you, Mark, yet, neither of those two courses would make my UK Top 20, even though I greatly enjoyed them both. Of course, many would look at my UK Top 20 & wonder if I was on drugs.
Aren't all musicians on drugs?
I would surmise Rye, Swinley, St George's Hill, Woking, Prestwick, North Berwick, Brancaster are in there ahead of the usual suspects such as Wentworth, Birkdale, Turnberry, Troon, Waterville?
What is good conditioning ? Some love perfectly green courses, even if they play soft. I do not consider that good conditioning.
It's when the course allows you to play the shots the architecture intended. Although I do think fairways should have a little green in them.
It's a mystery as to why anything beyond that is considered superior.
What is difficulty ? That can change from golfer to golfer.
True, but I think equitable difficulty can be much the same for all. Although I have never played it, Metropolitan has always struck me as a course that would be very difficult for a jam tin flyer like me, yet a relative pushover for big hitters like Mr Mollica - the exact opposite of my course, of course.
We'll see soon hopefully whether all that cooing over the cot hasn't altered his postural signature and therefore his swing.