Being involved in ranking and reviewing it's clear by this thread what an important and valid topic it is. I have years of experience in international publishing and advertising. Do rankings sell ads, damn right they do. Do they sell magazines, increase viewer stats, page impressions, unique visitors, viral marketing effect, the answer is simple YES, YES and YES. However, that's clearly not all, they also greatly increase tourism if we are talking about golf courses. I'm certain if we apply the Trump or Bandon effect to some middle of nowhere golf course that doesn't get any publicity and everyone on GCA starts talking about it, tells their friends and colleagues it's the #1 hidden gem we could generate considerable revenue for such a facility? Any arguments?
Granted rankings are less important for the top private clubs - Augusta, PV, CP I doubt give a hoot. However, start looking outside of your own little (or big in the case of the US) box and you will quickly see how vital these things are. Courses in Spain can not survive without tourism from Europe, US, UK and Ireland among others. PGA de Catalunya, the #1 rated course in Spain does not have a local membership, are rankings and ratings important to them? Life or death importance in fact.
There is no need for them to be perfect (plus it's impossible anyway), of course they are not, as they are subjective to many points however, I've never heard anyone planning a trip to The Netherlands for example that wanted to golf and didn't care where they end up. After all most things being equal you will pay pretty close to the same green fee, give or take $50 at any of the 200 courses. Without ranking and review information you would most likely be severely disappointed. Although I welcome anyone to try that, in fact, try it in any country in the world for the most part. US is no different.
If you are a fan of GCA you are already far more critical and involved in reviewing, ranking and rating than you might want to admit (in case you don't think these things are relevant or serve any purpose whatsoever). IMO if you have an opinion or develop one about a course then guess what, you are already busy with the process before you can stop yourself.
Rankings and ratings serve many purposes, while it may be fun to just find your way into town and then randomly and spontaneously pick out the first restaurant to come along, after you try it a few times and get disappointed it only makes sense to check Michelin (depending on what you are looking for of course). However, if you have no concern for the money you give out, no respect for your own time (or wasted time) and no intention of doing everything you can to ensure you get the maximum enjoyment of the precious free time then by all means don't bother with rankings, ratings, reviews or opinions.
Borrowing Ally's approach, as a consumer I want to make the best and most informed decisions, so I research rankings, reviews and opinions. For items like electronics, computers, cars etc I feel no need to run out and get the #1 ranked product all things being considered, just one that satisfies the purpose and value I associate with it's relevant need for me. Therefore it will usually have some price, quality balance. As a consumer of golf or restaurants I choose to pick the ones that will give me the best chance of experiencing something special, valuable and memorable, something fun and exciting, especially when traveling as I may never be back to this place. The great thing is I'm 42 and since I started doing this, I've never been let down, not once. Have I paid too much (in someone's opinion) for a dinner or a green fee? Probably. However, if I stop golfing and dining for enjoyment today, I will stop knowing that I certainly benefited from rankings, ratings and reviews and they saved me from wasting a lot of my time on inferior products, services and destinations. On the other side, just maybe they also cheated me out of some special experiences of "hidden gems" of some kind. But then again Maybe NOT!