I have a different theory. The soil, topography and climate that the vast majority of courses on this side of the pond find themselves with are, by definition, inferior to that of the great links courses we all talk about. So let's say you have a private club in a tony suburb with a relatively flat topography, built on clay and the climate of, say, Chicago. If you are in a Keeping-up-with-the-Joneses battle for a static pool of reasonably well-to-do members, what are you going to do to best market your track to the average member or guest (potential member)? Run the greens at 12, put blinding sand in all the bunkers and green the hell out of that bitch, that's what...Oh, and make it difficult from the tips and do whatever you have to do to get some tournaments and rankings...Hell there's even a guy who, when rebuffed from ANGC membership, built his own track in it's image...