Bryan,
The fellow was there within the last month.
You have to remember, while you played a number of courses, and made a comparative analysis, I think this person came from the North, a snowbird/snowflake, with higher expectations.
Certainly, the impression that I got from him is that he won't be going back there any time soon, if any time at all.
With Winter being a time of influx of golfers from the north, hearing remarks like the ones relayed to me, would take Sugarloaf Mountain off my destination list.
I would think that golfers from the north would rather stay at the hotel and play the courses at Grand Cypress.