You're a bunch of pessimists. None of your guesses were quite correct.
The reaction was laughter. Lots of laughter. Almost an embarrassing amount of laughter.
As the pro built his case and the laughter built, he asked "I mean, what if you need a birdie on that hole to win your match?" The guy in the purple pants responded back, "Then you should've played better on seven!" The laughter grew to guffaws.
The club presidents started telling stories about when the pin used to be placed in the back RIGHT of the green, on top of a tiny knob with about 6 sq ft of reasonably level slope. They then suggested to the superintendent that we bring that pin position back and incite some REAL complaining.
The mid-handicap woman started talking about how even she can hit the shot that gets close to the back left pin. She can't always execute it, she said, but she can see it and pull it off sometimes. All she has to do is hit her low trajectory wood shot to the middle and let it run up the back right slope, catch the bank, and funnel toward the hole. She couldn't fathom how someone that drives it 300 yards can't hit the same run-up shot.
Another man just kept talking about how much he hates that "You can't hit it close!" argument. He's fine with the hole being cut in the middle of a slope where it's impossible for anyone to stop even an uphill putt within 20 feet. We're all playing the same course, after all.
It's 15 people, so it doesn't mean anything in the grand scheme of things. But it was refreshing, and I actually ended up feeling a little bit sympathetic for the pro, who just left the room visibly frustrated as the other 14 stayed behind and laughed at his expense.