I wonder about Brad's reference. Is it really liberal social values to recognize that many more women play now, and that their needs have been ignored far too long? I presume more country club republican women play golf than libs, no?
Just joking, but I don't think trying to design courses for more than just the low handicapper is a bad thing or political in any way. its not an all or nothing thing. Specifically, the single thing you can do to make it doable for average golfers is reduce length and mostly eliminate forced carries, which the ODG's espoused, too.
Does a forward tee reduce challenge for those playing the back tee? Do less forced carries reduce the challenge? Since not too many good players hit the grounder very often, not really. We take out what doesn't bother the good player but does bother the average players, so the challenge isn't greaty reduced.