Tom, Oh,I'm sure they were the poster boys. but that's what happens when you look at things out of context. And note that those also have additional courses to help with revenue and offer a cheaper alternative - Just like Cog Hill in Chicago. To bad they didn't pay attention to what ahppened in San Fran. Sad thing, it's happening again in New Orleans and New York right now.
For a long time, the cost of a ski lift ticket and a round of golf at a resort/HEDF, were about the same. but in the 90's they diverged, skiing moved at the pace of inflation and golf rates grew faster. So, when resort/HEDF once again revert back to the mean, they should be charging $65-$75.
The problem I saw (from the inside looking out) was the old guard (mom & pop) charged a premium to the muni level - bottom-up pricing. When management companies came in with their Country Club for a Day philosophy, they approached pricing from the top-down. ie. if it cost, say, $5000/yr to belong to a club, that's $200/rnd for 25 rnds/yr. Therefore, they justified charging in that neighborhood. This was good and fine as it was an alternative for those who couldn't play enough to justify a memebership but still wanted the experience 8-12 times/yr. the only problem, they over supplied a relatively small market.
When I look around, the courses I see doing well are the ones who are , as Robert Bruce Harris used to say, catering to the masses, not the classes. That segment of the demographic pyrimid is much broader than the top 10%.