One complicating factor when considering what Peter calls "qualitative utility" is that studies show that people tend to believe that the more expensive the product, the higher the quality. And they actually get more physical pleasure and/or benefit out of the more expensive product, even when the products are otherwise identical. It even works this way with medicine:
http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-expensive-placebos-work-better-20150127-story.htmlWhat does this mean in terms of golf courses? Well it is tough to apply it directly because golf courses are all somewhat unique, but in theory it means that, all else being equal, golfers will consider a course with a $400 green fee to be better and more enjoyable than a course with a $50 green fee, even if they were comparable or even identical.
So while Jud's list is very interesting and informative, it quite possibly underestimates the true "qualitative utility" of the affordable courses because the deck is stacked against them in the initial rating process.
As a real world example, I recall a long discussion I had a with a rater on the way to play Rustic one afternoon. He was in town to play a very high end private in Orange County the next day, and he was lamenting the fact that it really wasn't fair for a low cost public course like Rustic to have to compete head-to-head in the ratings with high budget, "class" projects like the one he would be seeing the next day. In his mind the "class" course just had too many advantages such as unlimited budget, and a course like Rustic couldn't possibly compete. The trouble was, he had not yet even seen the high end "class" course, yet in his mind the quality comparison was a forgone conclusion.
Likewise, how about the comparisons between Pinehurst and Rustic, including Alex Miller's brave new thread on the subject? Does anyone really think that anyone can consciously or unconsciously ignore the prestige of Pinehurst #2 when considering the quality of the course? Hell, I've never even played Pinehurst #2, and I am convinced it must be a whole lot better than Rustic. I am sure Alex will do a great job of it, though, but it is tough to understand why we like what we like.