Tommy
I've never played the back tees either, at either course, but as there is so much more length available at Sandwich, it just has to be harder. I'm not saying Rye is at all easy, just that it is not ball-bustingly hard. One thing to remember is that Rye is designed more as a winter course than a summer one. In ye olden days, little golf was played in the summer at courses such as this (cricket being the preferred summer game for the English toffs), so the slopes and angles at Rye when firm and fast were probably rarely thought of until recently.
Matt
i don't know Rye well enough to comment on your comments. I will say that outside of the land near the main road (1, 2 and a few others) there is great movement and a routing full of variety and creativity. That is one of the reasons it is held in such high esteem, again IMHO.
Rich