Just now catching up to this thread.
Michael George nails it with regard to Ohio courses - the Pepper Pike Club is in a league of its own when it comes to exclusivity. Although limited, there are opportunities to access some of the other suspects either through an outing that is held annually (Double Eagle or The Golf Club) or a U.S.G.A. qualifier (Camargo). Nothing of the sort is available for accessing PPC that I am aware of.
I believed I had, what I thought would be, a pretty close contact or two who, although not members, might result in an opportunity to play PPC at some point (think employee/staff at the club). No chance. As Michael mentioned earlier, the club is exclusively for members and their guests. I have heard of no exceptions. Due to its exclusivity, there are a lot of stories about the supposed policies and happenings at PPC (whether they are true or not).
I did get a chance to play it once a few years ago through a stroke of good fortune. Played on a beautiful weekday afternoon in the fall with no one else in sight (there were probably only one or two groups out at the club that day). It likely won't happen again since I no longer live in Northeast Ohio, but it was worth the experience.