I always felt as though I was preparing the course during the day for my round of golf that afternoon. So in essence, I was working for myself (I'm a selfish person.) This included sticking some hole locations in some creative spots, spots that weren't always appreciated by the golfers, never illegal mind you, just creative. I preferred fast and firm, and so it was. I enjoyed firm greens where a shot could be moved toward the hole by using the contours, and actually took some thinking to get one close. I don't like penal rough, so mine was under-fertilized and under-watered (by current standards.) My staff was treated well. They enjoyed coming to work every day, and I lead them by example. Most golfers enjoyed their time on the course, some didn't but that's ok, you can't please everybody.
But, alas, the management company came in and asked that the fairways and rough be more lush. And asked that the greens be softened to make them more "fair." And it was all downhill after that...