If you haven't been to Yale, you need to go! Talk about unsuitable land, dynamite was a big item in the budget.
Chicago Golf Club is on a big flattish piece of land that originally had a big racetrack in the middle of it. MacDonald opened it in 1897?, the first 18 holes in America. In 1922 Raynor rebuilt the course using the central land. The original routing went clockwise around the perimeter (protecting MacD's slice from the OB always left!), but Raynor built some super holes in the interior.
The amazing thing at Chicago is the earthworks required to build a few of the holes, particularly the Redan #7 and the Eden #13! There must be a 15' high right side to each of these holes, as there is a slope from the SW corner of the property toward the NW, and both these holes are built up against this slope. Looking at those holes from the downhill side, from the north, is amazing!
It always bemuses me that MacDonald and Raynor are gods of GCA but may have moved as much dirt as Fazio.