Just to clarify,
I get the whole thing with 9 holers and exposing new golfers to the game, in all their various forms.
As I see it, its more of a financial/state of the game thing. Given the glut of golf courses, and the inevitability that some of them will close, especially in a place like the bay area with such high land values....I'd much rather see these go, than some of the other more interesting courses.
That was the context I was intending with my original post.