Mark,
I want to believe it is. In order for this to happen I personally need to make a few more visits. I've only played once. My first ever foreign golf trip and I arranged our round there mainly for one of my best friends fathers from Chicago area. It was his dream, I at the time didn't know much about it at all, had never watched an Open round there, didn't know I would later develop a keen interest in GCA and didn't know what to expect. We couldn't get on through the ballet so I woke up at 5 am on a cold night and waited while my friend's father who had just retired slept like a baby in a suite at the Old Course Hotel. I put both our names into the draw and was told to come back at 10:30. Then I went back to the lovely B&B in town I was staying in, went back to bed but couldn't sleep, had breakfast and showed up on time. He went out right away and I ended up waiting another 1.5 hours. I was cold and stiff and overwhelmed by the huge crowd at the start and really struggled the entire day with the 3 members I played with who were all extremely nice but I have to admit the wind was up, afterward I couldn't remember anything except hitting a fade on 17 instead of a draw and seeing my ball inside the hotel on the floor. No joke! Good thing they were insured for that and my ball was not the only hole up on top in the glass. The members laughed and I dropped "illegally" and we played on.
Sharing the story that night with the owner of the hostel who was an (ex) British actress and her daughter, she showed her sympathy for me after a couple glasses of wine and called her friend who was a member at the R&A. He arranged for us to have lunch in the R&A and for a tour which brought tears to my friend's fathers eyes. I didn't realize what the place could mean to people until I experienced it first hand.
I guess I almost get it. That's why I need to return. I want to believe...