"If you as me, there are a lot of course managers, developers and designers that aren't really doing that sort of survey enough, or I doubt we'd have so many courses that folks hit and run." RJ Daley
I think that you may be surprised and quite likely nauseated by the responses such a survey might elicit. At my former home club, a "progressive" GM did that in terms of updates and changes to the club, and the #1 response by a large margin was, roll the drums please, remove all the parts of the continuous cartpaths that were still asphalt and replace them with concrete. #2 was a new cart fleet. Among the ladies, #1 was an expansion and new decor of their locker room to be more commesurate with the men's (eventhough they had empty lockers in the existing facility, new carpet and furnishings, and the women members were but a small fraction of the membership, particularly in terms of rounds played). #2 for the ladies was spurs to their tees so that the distances from the cartpaths to the tee surfaces were the same as for the men's tees.
The course sorely needed a new irrigation system (the course, particularly the entries to the greens, was always soft and mushy because in order to get enough water to certain parts, they had to overwater other sections), some improvements to the practice facility, and a new bridge across a major creek which had washed out in a flood years before. All these items would have improved the quality of the golf experience, yet none made it as a priority.
I am afraid that what most golfers really want and what the treehouse advocates are more often than not two very different things. We can complain that they are stupid, irrational, etc., but who would you have the owners and managers listen to? Guys in their pajamas sometimes posting very eloquently, or their customers who plump down the cash which allows them to make their payroll and keep the doors open. Not a real hard choice, I think.