John -
please don't misunderstand: while my posts raised questions about/differences with your concepts & definitions, I didn't intend that to be the focus. (Indeed: that I might have a different conception of 'pretension'/'sophistication' than you matters not one iota here; and I certainly don't think the attempt to see these as 'factors' is misguided.)
Instead, I wanted to note the reasons why I think that *your* framework and analysis is a perfectly sound and viable and valuable perspective, i.e. just as legitimate an expression of your values/hierarchy of values when it comes to gca as Tom's Doak Scale and Gringo's personal/favourite Top 20-GB&I are of theirs.
In other words: I wanted to celebrate your particular subjective understanding of/experience with the golf courses that you play; and suggest that (in keeping with the wabi-sabi approach), once you have put that on paper, there is still much room left for us/the audience to bring our *own* experiences/insights/imagination to the table.
Judging from the many & varied responses, you've succeeded very well.
Peter
Edit: Maybe in such matters we can't ever be perfect, or even "right" -- but we can at least be honest, and without self-seeking artifice, as you have been.