David - I don't completely think that, but it is a better starting point than any other. The subjective/objective issue is both complex and emotive. Ask me if I think judging golf courses, or music, or paintings, or buildings, or any human activity of such a kind is subjective, and I will say yes. But if you then ask me, am I happy with the idea that it is only a subjective opinion that Beethoven's music is better than One Direction's, I will say no. This is a contradiction!
This is philosophically very complex stuff. In literature and music, theoreticians have developed the concept of the 'canon' - a group of works that are agreed, by the vast majority of qualified observers, to rank as great. You will find it hard to find a music expert who does not agree that Bach was a great composer -- whether or not he personally 'likes' Bach's music -- or a literature specialist who would argue that Tolstoy was a hack.
Now, the canon is NOT objective. It is merely the agglomeration of the subjective views of a large number of qualified observers over a long period of time. Writers or musicians can be and are reassessed -- remember that Bach was forgotten for many, many years. So it is fluid. As such, I believe that, while falling short of an objective assessment, the judgement of the ages on literature and music is more than just a subjective list. In my opinion, if you say 'Beethoven's music is rubbish', you are simply wrong, using the criteria by which we assess music today. It is _possible_ that you might be right, and that you have a new take on Beethoven that will, in the future, become the received wisdom. But it is heavy odds against.
Theoretically the same form of assessment is possible with golf design. The problem is that the field is smaller and has less history than music or literature, but even so, a canon does exist. If someone tells you that Pine Valley is a rubbish golf course, you are justified in assuming that they are wrong -- using the criteria by which we today judge golf courses. But it takes time and large numbers of different opinions to assemble a credible canon. This is why the Donald Trump 'best course in the world' schtick is so ludicrous. And it is why Harry Colt's comment: "The real test of a course: is it going to live?" might be the most profound sentence ever written on the subject.