Mike Young,
I guess its a matter of numbers. I know some do go for the USGA greens, as you suggest, and possibly for the reasons you suggest. Many more don't, mostly for cost and fear of doing exactly what you say - tearing it up for no good reason.
BTW, I have done no till greens as well as all forms of sand greens, USGA and other. No Till did get popular here about the same time the ultra dwarfs came in. However, that means we have only a 7-10 year window and no long term data to see how they perform, while USGA greens are pretty well proven. Time will tell if No Till greens last 13-20 years as USGA do. I do know of 30year old USGA greens dug up and still in good shape, at least below the thatch layer.
So, like you say, it varies. But, just as I don't think every course torn up in the 50"s-80's was done so willy nilly by committees hell bent on ruining good architecture, I don't believe the % of greens torn up for any agronomic reason are done so without some careful study.
Now, I do agree that the person doing the study might influence that decision. If you and I and a USGA rep consulted at the same club, we might get recommendations for no till, California, and USGA greens. We all get paid for our experience and recommendations, and when in doubt, go with what we have had the most sucess with. At least you and I are totally independent. For that matter, while a USGA guy might be emotionally invested in a USGA green, he doesn't make a dime on them.
For that matter, while USGA greens cost a lot more than No Till, I am not sure a contractor couldn't be more profitable with the cheaper greens, since all the cost goes to his labor, and the cost difference is really just a pass through on material costs by the Contractor to Owner. And, the more complicated the project, with hauling in materials, testing, etc. the more things can go wrong for the Contractor.