I am a benevolent dictator at my course. If you need to operate as a profitable business and pay those tens of thousands in property taxes, you will make compromises. I suppose, if I had a philosophical mission statement, it might be something like the greatest pleasure for greatest number of golfers. That would include women, kids, chlorophyll addicts, the elderly, competitors, slackers, and everything in between. I’ve learned (some would say the hard way) to accept a seasonal maintenance meld. For example we play year around, depending on weather, which means that for about six months a year we play fairly fast and firm and for six months fairly soft and green. Personally, my favorite time to play is when we are firm and fast. However, when the weather heats up and the grass turns green, we get the most compliments about “how good the course looks.” Heard this just yesterday from a couple of elderly retirees who play every day from the forward tees, even though faster and firmer conditions would especially benefit their games.
For the vast majority, conditioning is architecture. It has been proved to me countless times the venue is less important than where your friends play. Cost is also important, but probably less so than the social factors.