Interesting. We appear to be of two minds around here. We've had countless threads arguing that there are no rules in gca, and/or suggesting that greatness is subjective, and/or concluding that rankings are merely collective opinions; and yet we've also had countless threads about what the best course in X is, and/or asking how to make Y even better, and/or decrying the renovation of course Z -- as if we in fact believe that there are indeed gca rules, and that greatness is objective, and that courses are quantifiable in terms of excellence. So, to answer your question, Mike -- if anything is killing golf, maybe it's our doublemindedness. And maybe we're looking for golf/golf courses to give us something that they simply can't give, except in very rare instances/circumstances.
Peter