Jeff-
I made mention on another thread of the very thing you pointed out- clubs back East recognize the importance of what they have. Destroy a Tillinghast and you'll likely be burned at the stake. Destroy some of Macan's work- "Who's Macan?"
Educating a membership on the relevance of their golf course is no easy task. Believe me, I speak from experience... It seems to me that very few new players to the game have any sort of connection with historical aspects of a club. (I'm speaking of my experience in the PNW. My experience in California was much different.)
So, someone mentions rebuilding a green, moving things around, rerouting some holes, building ten sets of tees, digging lakes, creeks and water features, putting up a windmill, etc..., and next thing you know things start happening. I'm sure you see this kind of stuff all the time. I'm not going to mention any clubs, but I have seen some very, very unfortunate things being done to Macan's work.
My feeling is, if a club needs to be educated on why they need to embrace their history, then fine. Management has to be the one to spearhead it. Guys like you shouldn't be expected to knock on the front door. The door should already be open via the Golf Course Superintendent and/or General Manager. If a club does not have strong educated leaders willing to make an effort, then Macan restorative-based projects will continue to be too few and far between. I just can't see a club exploring the option of a restoration without management leading the way.
As far as candidates go, Sean nailed two of them. I know Inglewood had Asmundson doing some bunker work there, I'm not sure if it was restorative-based or not. Fircrest is probably Macan's best work in the U.S. I haven't played there in quite a while, but I know that it is similar to Colwood in that it has Douglas firs bigger than most can imagine.
Here's the one my money is on to possibly be the first- Overlake. They have made some questionable decisions on some past golf course projects but not anything that has really ruined most of Macan's features. There were a few greens rebuilt in the 60's by Sarazen/Muirhead, but there are few who could pick them out. Interestingly, Sarazen was quoted as loving Macan's courses, perhaps when he had an opportunity to work on one of them he realized that not much needed to be done. And, one green rebuilt about ten years ago by John Harbottle. Rebuild the tees, bunkers and undertake a massive tree removal/replanting program is all that needs to be done. Most fairway/approach lines have already been recaptured, shrunken green edges have been restored and with excellent control of the water with a new irrigation system, the membership is completely supportive of the firm and fast regimen. That doesn't sound too biased, does it?
Carl- I think the only reason Cory likes Victoria so much is because he tore it up there...
