Apologies for the auto-formatting:
Jeff,
This is what I wrote relative to the offending rater asking for accommodation:
If he is not from the area and this is the only shot to see your course, PERHAPS he thought that the window he gave you MIGHT contain a single time when he could be allowed on the course without costing a member or a paying guest an opportunity to play. And also, maybe this guy is an over-eager Newbie; unlikely that he represents the universe of raters, don't you think?
I have made no edits or deletions to my replies. I didn't suggest anything. I was noting that perhaps he thought that he could be worked in.
The way that I arrange my trips follows the guidelines given to me pretty much to the letter. Typically, I will identify an area I haven't visited in the last five years and list the courses which I would like to play. I'll come up with a diverse mix including some publics and privates which need some ballots to be considered as well as some that come highly recommended and are accessible (no ANGC, CPC, PV, NGLA, Seminole, etc.).
Unless there is a note that contact should be made by email, I'll call the listed person once, usually three or four weeks before the trip. If I get no response, I'll send an email. There are very few courses I want to play enough that would cause me to try a third time.
I can usually manage to see most of the courses I target and I can't think of an instance where I've been treated poorly. If the contact person notes that they are very busy during my time window, most often a week, I don't push for special treatment. Often they are willing to see how the tee sheet develops and ask me to remain flexible until a few days before.
Of course, there are some areas of the country that are more accommodating than others, MN, OH and WI for example. I haven't been back to NY to play golf for some eight years, primarily because of the concentration and heavy seasonal play issues you raise.
I personally enjoy playing with longstanding members who tend to be proud of their club and enjoy sharing its history. Invariably, they are very interested in the rating process, and though they often have strong opinions, I've never been uncomfortable in these situations. Over the many years, I've been invited to play in two member guests at top 50 clubs (I politely declined) and been given personal contact information many times with invitations to come back "anytime".
The reason I bring all this up is because I am fairly sure that my experience is representative of the way members of the panels go about arranging their visits. I have not been around raters or panelists who think that they have playing "rights". In some 20 years of involvement on three panels, I can count only once where I thought that my colleague was acting poorly or entitled (that is not to say that I have not encountered a fair number of men and women who were very early in their learning curve, but no one I know was born an opinion expert).
Now, if you want some gossip about golf pros and superintendents, I hear a lot of that. It is just not in good taste to share in a public forum. Curiously, golf architects seem to get a pass usually.