Pat
You said,"I think that strategy can be viewed in the absolute,
that it can be isolated from its surroundings."
Ken was not referring to a course's surroundings, he specifically mentioned the look of hazards effecting the pyscology (thought process) of the golfer. Hazards are internal not external.
I think this quote explains a lot about your architectural views: "Psychology is my behavior, and in the context of playing the hole, my strategy, my tactics, my play will be unaltered by form, as opposed to substance, which is at the core of my decision making process.'
How do you seperate form from substance? Don't the scrub filled bunkers of PVGV and the wild bunkers of Royal Melbourne and County Down effect your pyscology (strategy), don't they play an intensified strategic role because of their look, a link between aesthetics and strategy? Not all bunkers are created equally, there is a process of evaluation while golfing which involves looking at hazards and based on past experience make a conscious evaluation based on what you see. Wild-looking naturalistic bunkers like the ones at Friar's Head, Cypress Point and Sand Hills demand your attention for good reason.