Sean - I hope I didn't throw anyone off by using passionate; I meant it only to add nuance to "strongly", and to indicate first hand and personal experience with a course. And yes, when I set aside the simple modest courses that I'm fond of simply and solely because they are golf courses, I find that repeated plays on several courses that I once thought very highly off has change my mind, “downward”. I don’t want to name names right now, but the courses I have in mind all have good architectural pedigree, an absence of the more show-boating/grosser elements of modern day, big money construction, and more than a semblance of the golden age style/ethos. And yet, as time goes by and as I play the courses again (for the 3rd or 4th times), I’m finding them to be ‘pretenders’ for lack of a better word, lighter on interest and strategy and playability and fun and even natural charms than I first thought, than their own brand of “signifiers” and bells and whistles had me believing.
Peter