The only time's I've ever seen this work effectively is when it helps to equalize length off of the tee. If one player lands the ball in a flat of a hollow, which can't chase up the hill, the shorter player lands the ball on the downslope and it kicked to the bottom.
What seems to be most important is what does the next shot look like that leads to every player playing from that location. If the next shot is over penal, but there is no way around it, the funnel didn't work.