I don't really know how to respond to all of the ideas and memories that have been included on this thread, but as is typical, I will forge ahead anyway. Why let ignorance get in the way of a few hundred words.
First of all, Peter, I just don't think that the notion of "sticking together" in any way implies a shared value system or consensus about golf course architecture. I read the quote as being more of a general "We're all in this together, this group of oddballs who spend at least a decent portion of their lives thinking about golf course architecture." Of course, I could be wrong. I have a great deal of respect for you, so that is probably the case!
I do wonder about this question - what is the difference between wanting to play a course to put a notch in your belt, and wanting to play a course to better appreciate the architecture of a course? Are they mutually exclusive?
I was driving by a private club near my old house once and made a joking reply to one of my kids when he asked why I didn't play golf there -"because we're the kind of riff raff that they're trying to keep out."
REALLY pissed my wife off.
And ultimately, it wasn't totally true, either. I ended up receiving several invitations to play. And while the reality is that I don't have the money to join such a place, there were a lot of friendly faces to be found there. More than I expected, anyway.
And John, I have to admit that I have received, and even accepted, invitations to play a couple other private clubs as a result of my membership on this site. I never considered the invitations to be heroic, and I never felt less of myself for accepting a couple of them. I particularly think of the time that Jim Engh saw that I lived nearby and invited me down to his club for a beer and a look at his course. We didn't play, he just drove me around in a cart and pointed out items of interest, and asked me questions. I'm seriously nobody, but the invite was extended, accepted, and really appreciated. No heroism involved. And I will always be thankful to Doug Wright, who shot me an invite to play at his club. The walls around the course had always existed there just to keep me out, but I ended up finding that the walls were more prominent in my mind than in reality, and a follow-up GCA dinner there with guest Erik Iverson was a true GCA learning experience. To be fair, John, perhaps a little hero-worship there.
Seeing that picture of the guys at Sand Hills makes me think a few things, because I've gotten to "know" a couple of them through interaction on this site, and out in the real world. Tom Huckaby, so friendly and funny. He once referred to me in a post as "a sage for our times." Ha! My wife still gives me shit about that. George Bahto, generous with his time and knowledge. Pat Mucci, legendary battler. I once showed him how to change font colors and sizes in the forum. Guilty. Ran, who continues to allow me to post here. And most of all, Tom Paul, who I've never met in person, but who has shown me great kindness in sharing good conversation both in print and on the phone. How does a guy from his world end up talking golf course architecture with ME? Well, it's this site, obviously. I honestly don't know if there ever existed a consensus between those guys and me regarding golf course architecture, or any other subject. That never seemed like the point.