I've thought about this quite a bit. I am artiscally inclined and I do think golf architecture is a form of art. I know personally my tastes in music leans toward the unusual - Marley, Dead, R&B, Jobim, Jazz, Byrne and the usual suspects (Beatles, Stones, Doors, PFloyd, etc). And although I hardly know anything about Classical, it fascinates me and enjoy it. In fact when I was writing the A&C piece I listened to Classical exclusively, I thought it might get me in the right frame of mind - plus I hoped it might help make me sound smarter. I think you might find those who are great fans of the old and new courses that exhibit quirkiness, naturalness and variety - will also have a variety of interests, and perhaps a few unusaul or quirky tastes, with an emphasis on the aesthetic side, although that aesthetic might not match the conventional aesthetic.
I believe one of the reasons that the courses of the past worked as well as they did, was not necessarily because the individual designers were artistically inclined (although many of them were), but that their entire society and culture was artistically inclined. I'm not sure that is the case today.