Being a negotiator, you know that there is "research" to support whatever your position is. Common sense might tell you that there are way too many variables to answer the question definitively, but perhaps looking at what the professionals in the golf investments business are doing provides some useful insights.
Anecdotally, the universe of golfers who place half as much importance on golf architecture as the frequent DG participants here is pretty small. That doesn't mean that these golfers don't value a well-conditioned golf course, challenge, attractive bunkers and water features, variety. They just don't typically lose sleep over how far the ball travels, whether the routing is compact in 4.5 miles as opposed to 6.5 miles on good concrete cart paths, or if the greens and tees are not squared off to mimic construction of an early era.
Club Corp is really good at delivering what the retail golfer seems to want. Its top officers have stated that they're in the entertainment business in which golf is an important part, but only one of several. Consequently, when they acquire a club, they typically do put some money into the golf course, but much more into the clubhouse and other related amenities. You will always find people who don't like this approach, but their clubs seem to have large, active memberships.
My home club is a good example in that it is located in an area of superior demographics with a good mix of affluent retirees and young families headed by well-educated parents with an affinity for competitive sports. The course was built as a golf club with the infrastructure to support it (the developer was a member of Preston Trail, and though not a golfer, he liked the idea of a similar club further north to create residential development, but at an affordable price point). If an operator like CC buys the club, I think it would put most of its money in expanding or rebuilding the clubhouse, putting in a pool, and maybe even acquiring land nearby for tennis.
Our course was rated in the top 20 in Texas in its first five years of existence. It has good bones, but it suffers from considerable deferred maintenance. My bet is that the owner would likely spend $3 or $4 to $1 on things other than the golf course, putting band-aids on the bunkers, irrigation, and green renovations it sorely needs to regain some of its lost glory.