I believe that this idea has definitely been lost in modern architecture. Rereading the profile of Crystal Downs, especially regarding the 13th green, the authors say that the green would never be built today, as many would cry unfair. This rings true to me, as many architects don't want players to think too much about the shot, that greens should ALWAYS accept a full wedge shot, even if they are open in front. The better idea in golf, in my opinion, is force the player to consider all options of play. A course which (sometimes severely) penalizes the marginal shot just doesn't suffer fools as much as some lesser courses.
Having played Oak Hill's East Course hundreds of times, I believe this course does an excellent job of smacking down shots that didn't have a good amount of thought put into them. For example, the tenth hole is a meduim range downhill par four, extremely tight in the LZ. Any drive that is reckless or isn't hit just right bounds into trouble. If the player survives this, they are left with a tricky approach across a creek (not in play for most longer hitters, but as someone who is a short hitter, it plays an integral part on my second-shot decision-making) to a green with flanking bunkers, but one that has a wide enough area in front to bounce the ball onto the putting surface. The green simply makes the hole, a classic Ross surface with a knoll in the middle, throwing shots hit just a smidge too hard to the back rough, and disrupts almost every putt.
After a short but straight drive on this hole, I hit a marginal layup in to the right rough, which is very short at this time of year. Not bad, right?? My yardage (yes, I do use sprinkler heads) was 105 to the middle, 118 to the back edge. The pin was in the center of the green, just a bit right of the peak of the knoll. I assumed the shot would be a full 9-iron, my 100 yardage, accounting for the fact that the wind was helping. I hit a very solid shot, only I forgot that the ball would jump when I hit it from the shortish rough. Still, the ball landed just over the top of the knob, throwing it over the green into a lie which was rotten, dead into the grain. The chip shot was solid enough, but it chugged past the hole and down the slope of the knoll, 30 feet past. A two putt later, I walked to the 11th tee, cursing my six.
The third and fourth shots that I hit were not bad shots. In fact, both were very well struck, especially the approach shot. But looking back on it, it was poor thinking not to use the firm turf in front of the green to bounce the ball onto the green, even with a 9 iron in my hands, and let the knoll feed the ball around the bunker in the front-right portion of green and up close to the hole, bringing about a very good attempt for a four.
Would I like to see more of these types of penalties from an architectural standpoint, ABSOLUTELY!