Adam,
I am not sure why it bothers you when "no one makes the critical jump to advance the field as a whole". Now it may very well be that others are leading and RTJ is catching up but at the same time, the Wright Bros. didn't start right out with the 747. As you state, a perfectly balanced ecological golf course isn't feasible right now, but it may be in the future. I get the sneaking suspicion that when all is said and done, it will actually take a lot of technology to make them so, not less.
Bother is too strong of a word. I more wish there was an architect that steps forward and says "LEED, green, Audubon, its not good enough. We're going as close as possible to building self-sustaining golf courses, ones that create natural resources and heal themselves. We might not get all the way there, but we will lead the field in the breakthroughs that will"... Just start the conversation and other smart people will react with true innovations.
I see other industries, other planner, LARs, architects taking big leaps towards self-sustaining design, yet GCA, the ones who would probably benefit most as an industry from adopting the most advanced, forward way of design thinking say "we got birds..." Green is becoming very, very tired. I think its time someone broke the mold and went for it.