I have a theory on this:
One of the great appeals of golf for many is the ability to play a game on the same "field" as your heroes. If you are a baseball fan you will still never get to play slow pitch softball with your buds at Yankee Stadium. Same for 40ish flag football players dreaming of playing on Lambeau Field.
But golf allows us to play on the same turf that the greats play on and many want to duplicate that experience as closely as possible (i.e. play all the way back).
Decades ago the difference in the elite game and the average was based less on power and more on precision. Look at old films and from 145 Hogan was hitting a 7-iron. At 190 Nicklaus was hitting a 3 iron and good drives were 250-275. Certainly the elites had more power and at times could really rip it, but the fundamentals of the game were far less dependent on raw use of power.
Anyway, there is a instinctive desire to play a game as close to the one our heroes play as possible. That is to a point. We are all told that this should mean playing the length course that would leave us the same shots into the greens--e.g. if Nicklaus played a 420 yard hole in Driver 5 iron, then I should play the hole at 390 since that would take me a Driver and 5 iron.
But this misses the point that golfers love a challenge of accomplishing a shot they have dreamed about or seen others make. Who among us, even if we were playing the correct set of tees, wouldn't play a shot from the tips on #4 at Baltusrol, #16 at Cypress Point, #17 tee shot at TOC, an attempt on #13 at ANGC from where Patten hit it in the water or Faldo ripped his 2 -iron on the green, or a thousand other examples I could name??? Heck who among us after seeing our buddy make a great chip, putt or shot doesn't throw down a ball to try and duplicate (or better) him??
The real shame is that playing the course the pros play is now even more absurd than ever as the game has changed so much. There is a need for two distinct playing fields more than ever and I think ultimately as the elite game is less and less "relatable" to the 8-12 handicap golfer the more it will hurt the game's growth and popularity.
Last point. I have been lucky to have some good rounds in my life. I'm a good club player with no desire or ability to ever have been a pro. When I think back on rounds I remember I have two that stick out--a 69 at Augusta from the tips in college and a 67 in the final round of the St, Andrews Links--both were from the "tips" and to this day for a fleeting moment I can "relate" my round to what the pros were playing at the time (even though the Augusta round was not in competition).
Ironically, I had a 64 this year at the Crabapple Course in Alpharetta, GA where Tiger won one of his WGC titles. BUT, I played this course at 6700 yards not anywhere near the 7250 tips. While I had a fun day and it was the best I played in years, this round doesn't come close to the rounds played on the "real, entire" course!? That round doesn't even compare and is in a weird way not even like a "real" round to me!!??
I know this type of thinking is part of the problem but I suggest for the 99& of golfers who grew up playing anything semi-competitive, it's just a gut feeling. You want to be tested or face the same challenge the greats do--even when you fail most of the time. (I think TD wrote about this phenomenon in one of his books).