My approach to green committee work was to concede the things that do not matter and fight those that do. Cup painting does not matter. If it makes someone happy I will give them a win.
Whether in this internet kiosk or the golf culture that becomes flesh, I wish this plain sense extended to so many of the other things in the tangent, so-called "clutter" reaches...benches, ball-washers, tee-signs, tee markers, flags and flag indicators... why can't local inertia and tradition be decisive?... Any cost/maintenance issues are fatuous...and don't mean a whit to the broader question of maintenance-design and sustainability, any modest efficiencies and savings of which are often blown on paying consultants to tell them how to be more efficient...or some other administrative program.
In a dusty forgotten attic loft of the super's shed, I recently saw the remarkable large tee signs that once appeared on the hidden gem where I still cameo -- now more than 20 years removed (in the first wave of clutterphobia) What a surprise they exist and what a shame they are no longer a feature of that course. Besides the identifying purpose and the unifying hegemony of the club logo tableaux, these particular ones were works of 60-70s pop art...large cedar badges hanging off a 6ft cedar post, with the hole info and hole diagram in five color paint/wood carved relief.
No they aren't a necessity and yes, they have to be taken in/put out...and yes, they might need $1000 worth of refurbishment every five years or so...but for god sakes, they look like nothing else and would in some infinitesimal way, register with players as unique...and elevate the experience.
At this point, the counter-reaction to minimalism is overdue; no better place to start. Paint the Cups... rainbow colors, with advertising slogans and random MP3 audio heckling, blurting out..."Noonan!"..."Well? We're waiting." "NNNNnnnnnnnah.... nnnnnnnnah.. .nnnn"