Ivan -
Most of us 'aggravators' have played TOC many more times than 'twice'. But thanks for bringing up our standing to criticize the Dawson decision. You've opened the door to talk about a couple of other things.
Most of us (a) have seen a fairly large number of other great courses, (b) read a fair amount about golf architecture, (c) think a lot about gca (after all, we participate in this forum), (d) know something about Playfair, Robertson, OTM, John Low, MacKenzie and the role of TOC in the history of gca.
So if we are comparing expertise, we are happy to match up with your "wedge of influential backers".
That doesn't mean we must be right and your "wedge of influential backers" must be wrong. It does suggest which group might have better and deeper credentials to talk about the issues and should not be glibly dismissed out of hand.
But one thing IS clear to me. If your post is the kind of thinking you use in your journalism, your newspaper deserves better.
Bob