At the risk of beating a dead horse—which surely this thread is, yes?—it seems to me that it isn’t that golfers like “hard” courses, exactly, it’s that many prefer, or think they prefer, “fair” courses: that is, courses that tend to demand a single, high skill shot on every hole, rather than providing multiple paths to the green. The usual golfer, knowing that the hole demands a shot he does not possess—a very long drive to a particular corner, or a high lofted shot that stops on a dime—thus thinks the course requires a high skill set, and thus a course that requires high skill becomes defined as “good.” Logically speaking, this is begging the question—and not only that, but it effectively cedes control of the game to players who naturally choose architecture that best rewards them. Combatting the issue, then, requires education. Why should “better” players be allowed to control course architecture?