Pat, Nicklaus never could be said to have "popularised" the high cut, as he was the only one who could do it (and even today, few can do it with regularity and precision)!
Rich, he demonstrated that you could attack difficult pins with long irons if you had a high enough trajectory.
To deny Nicklaus's impact on the play of shots (trajectory and flight) is to rewrite history.
Hogan played prior to the saturating exposure provided by TV and was deemed an anomaly, a freak who achieved unique ball flight by excessive practicing.[/color]
I am also unsure how this has any relevance to the topic. Good players for the past 100 years have been able to put significant backspin on the ball, whether playing right to left or left to right.
That's not true.
Long irons, hit with a draw or hook weren't prone to stopping quickly. In addition, most golfers were hitting 3 and 4 woods, while Nicklaus was hitting HIGH long irons with a cut and stopping them on a dime, something those playing woods and long irons with a draw couldn't do.[/color]
Also, there have always been choices as to shifts in strategy off the tee depending on hole position, but they were, are and always will be highly subtle, rather than SUBSTANTIVE.
Historically, the draw was THE shot off the tee, especially prior to automated irrigation systems. Much of the world of architecture was interfaced with by right to left ball flight from the tee and from the fairway.
You may recall Lee Trevino stating that he could NEVER fare well at ANGC because it favored a draw off the tee and with a large number of approach shots.[/color]
On the great (and even not so great) courses I have played and continue to play the value of "position A" relative to position "B" is rarely more than a fifth of a shot over repeated play, and ususally less.
How would you evaluate play on the 7th at NGLA based on hole location ?
Listed below is my original post. 
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In the most recent edition of "Golfweek" Brad Klein touched upon an interesting point.
The effect and value of hole location on playing strategy.
On what holes, on which courses, does the varied location of the hole substantively alter the playing strategy ?
I would submit that the "template" holes provided this diversity on par 3's, such as the Redan, Biarritz and Eden, and to a lesser degree on the Short, despite the fact that par 3's tend to be strictly target golf.
On par 5's and par 4's, the location of the hole on The Road Hole green would seem to substantively affect play on the second and approach shot, and even the recovery shot.
Specifically, which holes, on which golf course have their play substantively altered by the location of the cup ?
Tangentially, has the more aerial nature of ball flight somewhat muted the intended effect ?