I think you can make an argument that the west does hang with the east for awhile, perhaps through about the top twenty courses, maybe even a little more than that. At some point though, the depth of the east takes over. Much of this discussion is focusing on the northeast, but there are plenty of quality courses in the other eastern areas that still match up with the best of the west. While I love the Land of Enchantment, my previous home state of Indiana is far better for golf. I give Wolf Run/Victoria National a slight edge on Black Mesa/Paa-Ko and then Crooked Stick/Sycamore Hills are far better than anything else in NM and it goes on from there. I'd take Michigan over Arizona both at the top (Crystal Downs, Kingsley) and with depth although that's closer. There are plenty of great courses in the Carolinas and Georgia, not to mention Honors, Pete Dye GC, Kinloch, Baltimore CC, Valhalla, and plenty of other high quality courses that aren't in the main areas of eastern golf. Factor in Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin, etc and you eventually in my mind you have a pretty even slate with the modern courses (as the 54/46 modern divide would indicate) and a pretty strong eastern slant with the classics.