Vis a vis Medinah vs. Olympia Fields, I will say that I've always been a little mystified by the apparent revulsion of some to Medinah #3 and I've always been surprised by the underwhelming reaction to Olympia Fields North. I always wrote it off to the fact that I was a longtime member of OFCC and the resulting homer bias, but I've always had a warm spot in my heart for #3 because of its brawny parkland character and its storied tournament history. In fact, I took Brad Klein out to Olympia back in 2002 for his maiden voyage and when we got to the 14th hole, he said, "does anybody seriously think Medinah #3 is a better course?" "Yeah, I do," was my instinctive reply.
Now I will readily admit that I knew next to nothing about gca at the time and that my opinion has changed because of what I've learned, but I will still admit to loving Medinah #3. I also enjoy playing #1 and #2, but always marveled at how they were treated, from a maintenance standpoint, like red-headed step children. It will be fun to play Doak's #1 and I will fearlessly predict that the majority of guests will now prefer playing that course, because it will usually be played from tees that measure around 6500 yards and will not be nearly as difficult as #3. This was our experience at Olympia, that guests wound up preferring playing the South course, because it was more manageable. The South course can now be played at a beastly length, especially on the front nine, so you can rack up some big numbers, but you have to decide to head to the back tees. I suspect #1 will have some opportunities for mischief as well, but here's hoping that it is an easier and more pleasurable experience from the members tees.
Aside from the individual gca merits/demerits of any of the courses at these two clubs, I can tell you that the experience as a guest at either club is something that one will not soon forget. Both places offer a sort of Great Gatsby experience that is hard to find elsewhere.