There is little doubt in my mind that playing shorter courses day in and day out has made me a weaker golfer. Don't enjoy old age, fight the hell out of it.
JK,
No question about it. While an undergraduate at Ohio State I would go home for a summer factory job and bought a cheap summer membership at a nearby daily-fee course. During the 6 months I played on the long, demanding Scarlet course, 90% of my scores fell within the 75-85 range. For the first couple weeks I played the much easier Hillcrest GC during the summer, my scores were around par. But as the summer progressed, I was back in he 75-85 range, with perhaps a lower average. My game acclimated to a level I was familiar with, and it took awhile to get it back upon returning to school (had a hard time getting back into the 70s).
I now play a 6800 yard course though my average drive is probably around 220+/-. 75% of my scores are in the same 75-85 range, but I suspect that if I moved to the whites (<6500), I'd be shooting similar scores in time , my handicap would go up, and my distance problem would just get worse.
Persist!