"The ground game is easiest when the ground around the target is rolling slower than the ground before the target. Imagine (hypothetically) that you had an approach shot from 50 yards with a fairway stimping at 13 and a green stimping at 6. It would be fairly easy putt the ball on the green as the ball slows when it hits the green. Reverse the stimp readings and it becomes much harder to putt the ball onto the green as the ball rolls "speeds up" when it hits the green. Greens that slope away from the player have the same effect (unless of course when the pin is at the very back of the green)."
David, the way I read this is that given the reality that most green stimp faster than fw, the front to back green would DISCOURGAGE the ground game, since it would be too dicey to control, and thus, not attempted.
Also, I think the idea that every green MUST slope back to front may have been overdone since WWII, but I would ask the same question of every other architect, starting in the Golden Age. Its fine to pull out a quote from John Low, but lets examine the more prolific gca's of the Golden Age - How many Ross greens slope to the back? (Oakland Hills 5 and White Bear 12 are the only two I know, but I am sure there are more. Even so, that's one per each of those courses, not a regular diet) Like Ross, I include a reverse slope green every so often, but I think the notion that a course should have more than a few is insane, esp. for a public or once a year resort course.
Ask the same for Mac, Thomas, etc. Actually, the course I noticed different green slopes on the most was Riviera, but they also went to the sides, and at different angles.
I do look at side to side slope as a way to create the premium from one side of the fw or the other. However, I'm not sure the average golfer does. I also try to vary the front to back slopes to require more or less spin control, and maybe trajectory control. As someone mentioned, I do like the idea that from time to time, the golfer has to know that being long puts them below the hole. But, I fear a steady diet of reverse slope greens would prove as boring as all back to front slopers of the same slope.
Just MHO, but I have gotten the impression that the romantic notion of reverse sloped greens has trumped reality around here. I don't think many gca's have really done them often, even back in the golden age.