Tim also mentioned me in his initial post here and after thinking about the original question here i think the answer for me may be more nuanced than new vs favorite, as posed.
I'm blessed/cursed with a desire to see and play new golf courses, particularly if they have some historical significance. Truthfully, even after playing for almost 52 years (and 1,244 courses), I'm still jazzed stepping on the first tee of any course I've never played, great or small. Left to my own devices in a perfect world, I'd probably be retired with enough economic security to travel extensively and continue to add to that number. Alas, I'm still working full-time and likely will for another two years if all goes to plan.
I'm also facing the realities that I've played most of the courses within easy reach and/or access so adding to that number requires longer day trips as as I approach age 65 I'm starting to learn that there are physical limitations to how much I can put my body through in a day without some repercussions. Probably my last hurrah in that regard was a trip to Bandon last fall where I played/walked 151 holes on 9 courses in 4 days.
This year, due to some family and work issues (as well as some crazy weather) I've played less golf period than in years prior. Halfway through June I've played only 29 rounds of golf (in 25 days), and of those only 8 were "new" courses, 2 on a one-day winter trip with Joe Bausch to southern Delaware and another 4 squeezed in during a long weekend with some childhood friends celebrating their 40th anniversary of trips to Myrtle Beach. Almost by definition, most of those courses are more "modern", the oldest being from 1967.
Taking those out of the equation, that leaves two new courses I've played closer to me, one from 1910 and another opening in 1957. That leaves 18 "repeat" courses played, where I definitely have a bias for older, classic courses like Seaview Bay, Ed Oliver, Jeffersonville, Merion West, Reading, McCall, Galen Hall, and Berkleigh (all favorites while waiting for Cobb's Creek to re-open). Of those repeat courses, the average date of opening is 1941, or roughly 82 years old.
I suspect going forward I'll continue in that vein. I'm heading to Pebble Beach in October of this year and flying into San Francisco I'm thinking of squeezing in historic public courses such as Presidio, Harding Park, Sharp Park, and Pacific Grove in and around the PB Resort courses on both ends of the trip. Someone mentioned to me privately that I probably have connections to play some exclusive private clubs but honestly that just seems to complicate the itinerary, much as I appreciate the generous hospitality I'm so often afforded by others from this group and others. I guess inevitably we all just feel more comfortable returning to our roots, whether in the form of a new experience or a nostalgic revisit.