Geez, I guess too many Americans are playing irrigated courses or live in areas with constant rainfall. Am I the only one to play courses that weren't irrigated when I was a kid? They were every bit as fast and firm as anything in the UK, believe me (except for the greens, those were usually hand watered to keep them alive) I remember keeping broken tees since I couldn't get the regular size tee far enough in the ground on most teeboxes to be able to avoid undercutting my driver!
There's a local cow pasture course (that someone actually put on that pasturegolf web site) that I like to visit once or twice a year when it is extremely dry and fast -- its only irrigated on the greens, and I think it is hand watered at that. It is a great workout for the short game and you really have to think about what you want to do if you are 50 or 60 yards away from a pushup green that's 35' in diameter and very soft, surrounded by concrete on all sides. If you try to fly it onto that green you better strike your wedge very well off the hardpan, if you land short you may well bounce over the green on one hop, if you thin it and fly the green you will have the same shot all over again from 180* in the opposite direction!
I don't get why some think it would be too "mentally exhausting" to play a course that actually made you think for 18 holes, rather than playing simple target golf on an overwatered TV green golf course. Isn't that what golf is all about? If you just want to hit balls without having to think, why not try a driving range?