Dan,
I think the main reason many people on here seem so invested in these lists is because it provides a way of escaping thoughts about death. They like lists because they don't want to die. Lists also are a way to bring order to chaos, and chaos is the enemy of those with obsessive-compulsive tendencies (which many on here have, to varying degrees). (Notice how many collect things -- scorecards, golf shirts, balls, even tees -- and keep a log of every round they've played; some even log the weather conditions present during their rounds!)
I get all of that but personally, I don't really understand these golf course lists as far as their function is supposed to be not a mere list but some sort of ordering, of ranking. I don't "get" that; the concept sort of baffles me. They seem to function as some sort of arbitrator of what's good for those who think they can't figure it out on their own, thus the marketing angles.
I do understand the concept of lists in general, though. The list is the origin of culture. It's part of the history of art and literature. What does culture want? To make infinity comprehensible. It also wants to create order -- not always, but often. And how, as a human being, does one face infinity? How does one attempt to grasp the incomprehensible? Through lists, through catalogs, through collections in museums and through encyclopedias and dictionaries. There is an allure to enumerating how many women Don Giovanni slept with: It was 2,063, at least according to Mozart's librettist, Lorenzo da Ponte. We also have completely practical lists -- the shopping list, the will, the menu -- that are also cultural achievements in their own right.
Lists bring order to chaos, help us grasp the infinite, and give us respite from thoughts about death.
Helpfully,