Matt,
I know Belfry did not have the extreme weather we've had this week. However, the last couple Ryder Cups there have been dreary at best. I'm also guessing the Belfry did not have anything resembling firm and fast conditions.
Matt and Adrian,
Lift, clean, and place, quite simply, has no place in the game. The pros get uneasy when any sort of "luck" is brought into play, even though luck is an integral part of golf. Furthermore, when a ball lands in a wet fairway, there is no guarantee that the ball will pick up mud. Even if it does, there are ways to judge how the ball will come off. Players should not get a perfect lie every time they are in the fairway. If that's what people think, then we should be playing the game off astroturf.
I've gone out in January thaws in Rochester and played the ball down, no questions asked. Playing the ball down, even under the muddiest of conditions, ensures that things like "thinking" and "rub of the green" remain essential parts of the game. Lift, clean and place takes these aspects of the game and throws them in the garbage.