JNC_Lyon:
I've not played many courses on your list & I'm not much for ranking or comparing courses to each other anyway. I have great regard for East Lake & have written about my affection for this course in other threads. I've only played it twice, but I've walked the property a lot as both a spectator and volunteer during a number of Tour Championships - including the most recent. I will try to separate my comments about the course from the history, ambiance and experience of playing East Lake - all of which are outstanding.
I'm not sure why East Lake seems to get so little respect. In a way, it must be like Pinehurst #2 - I've heard or read many people's comments that they weren't impressed after playing it.
The property is very appealing - rolling hills, pines and hardwoods, ponds and small lakes - but it's not gorgeous/dramatic on the order of Pebble Beach. It's a classic layout - tees are close to the preceding greens. It's a very pleasant course to walk - notable for the Atlanta area.
Everything at East Lake is right in front of you. There isn't really anything in the way of blind shots & nothing that would be considered quirky. It's all about subtlety - being in the wrong spot on your drive or approach isn't going to kill you, it's just going to make it much more difficult to shoot the score you want to shoot. It's not a shotgun, it's a thousand nicks from a razor blade.
I'm not sure what you consider great or stunning, but let's look at #18. If you haven't seen this hole in person, I would caution against judgement based upon what you've seen on TV. I've always heard the camera lense flattens perspective - I truly learned this the first time I saw Augusta National in person. I had watched the Masters on TV for years - I was stunned to see the contours in person.
I have marshalled on #18 for the past 2 years, and I can personally attest that a very large number of people walk across that causeway, trudge up the hill to the tee, turn around to look at the green and say "Wow" (or some more profane version of that - the most common being "Holy Shit"). There is probably not more than 5 or 10 feet of elevation difference between the tee and the green - but from 235 yards the ground falls away to the lake below, then rises sharply to the green. The illusion is that the green is dramatically elevated above the tee.
The green looks like a big catcher's mitt, tilted towards you with deep bunkers guarding the left and right front. There is a big semi-circular ridge through the green, roughly 1/3 below and 2/3 above. If the pin is on the lower tier, it's a nervy shot to get close because of the flanking bunkers. However, a shot that goes long onto the upper tier may be worse than being in the bunkers - the putt down to the lower tier is really scary.
If the hole is up on top, it's no piece of cake either. A shot that is short flirts with the bunkers, or is left with a putt up and over the ridge. In order to reach the top tier, the danger is being left, right, or long - in which case the shoulders of the green will shed the ball well off the green. The remaining chip onto a green that slopes well down to the front is not a comfortable prospect.
On Saturday, Bart Bryant made 18 look easy - put your tee ball in the right bunker and hole the sand shot for a birdie. I was there all day, and I can tell you most of those very delicate sand shots went 20 feet past the hole and resulted in a lot of bogeys - his happened to hit the hole and go in.
Did I mention this was from 235 yards? These guys were hitting anything from 5 wood to 4 iron - depending upon how far up the tees were, where the hole was, and the wind. Again, it's not a hole where you're probably going to make 5 or 6 - but you are REALLY happy with 3 and it's VERY easy to make 4.
East Lake is the girl next door - the girl you grew up with, that you are comfortable with, that is easy to talk to, that is funny, smart, and good-looking in a very natural way. The girl you mostly ignored because you were obsessed with the head cheerleader. Once you got a little older and more mature, you finally began to appreciate what was right in front of you all along. I'll take Sandra Bullock over Pamela Anderson any day.
Andy