Jeff,
I don't disagree...but I think we do have to look at it as an overnight issue.
"Are there greens that are better now then they were then based on green speeds?" was the topic question and I think it's valid (fairway heights as well) because, as you say, nobody notices the differences year to year...effectively, there is no difference year to year.
Fair enough.For the purpose of this conversation,better only for playing--maintenance is another issue.
For fairways,I say undeniably better today at <1/2" than what was common 30(?) years ago--for all the reasons you could think of.That said,I can find you plenty of guys who think anything under 1" is "tight".They like to be able to get their 11 woods airborne.
For greens,today's faster is much better for me.BUT,the greens I usually play,and played growing up,would be much flatter than what you are used to in Philly (or so I gather).Plus,growing up,I played courses which were wall to wall common bermuda--a completely different animal than bent or poa.Speed was almost irrelevant compared to grain.Back then,a fast green coupled with contour and grain,would have forced a lot of guys into tennis.
So,my "better" is parochial since I rarely putt on heavily contoured greens.If I'd grown up putting Merion's or PV's greens,I might give you a different answer.Not that it really matters anymore since I started putting like a man with Tourette's Syndrome.