I really did enjoy reading that book, but the whole idea of a golf course being kept up over all of that time without an actual maintenance crew was a little over the top for me.
We sold some holes and relocated new ones here at my club a few years ago, and while the abandoned holes were left idle before development, it just blew me away how quickly things began to revert to state, especially in the bunkers.
Sort off topic, but I also got to see what happens to a green when you stop irrigating and spraying for dollar spot. There was one abandoned green that we continued to mow every day, and that was all of the maintenance it recieved. It played incredibly cool and fun after it really dried out and went completely dormant, but then in another 2 weeks it was thin and bumpy, and just flat out nasty.