David,
I tend to agree with you, and also know that the handicap system is set up so that very few golfers ever play to their handicap over 18 holes.
In music, the big record sellers are always the top rated bands. I find myself wondering why golf course rankings are so askew from other fields, in that how much play a course gets from the paying public (obviously, private side is a bit different) doesn't figure in the rankings. It wouldn't be a perfect system, but if 40K in a market choose one course, and only 20K pick another, how could the lesser played course be rated higher by the "elites?"
As I mentioned recently, I have that in two states - MN and KS, where I have the 1 and 2 ranked courses (public) and in both cases, the no. 2 ranked course slowly overtook the no. 1 ranked course in play, although generally being considered "easier." Golfers seem to gravitate to "reasonably difficult" and "high value" courses (i.e., enjoyment per $$$)
Doesn't this over time gravitation rank more than a once every five years visit from a rater with funds to travel?
Just asking.