Kenneth and Bryon:
Okay, I'll play your length game, just this once.
Let's say the hole is 725 yards, and my nasty cross hazard is from 450 yards to 525 from the tee (200 out from the green on the near side, 275 on the far side).
The only way to reach the green in three would be to carry 525 yards in two. If you can't do that (the 260-yard hitter), you might as well just play the hole patiently as a four-shotter, although you don't want to screw up your drive or second shot and get into the rough to make your third harder, and you obviously don't want to top your third shot.
The 280-yard hitter CAN make it over the hazard in two, and onto the green in three, but he's got to hit two excellent shots back to back to succeed, and if he tries the second shot and doesn't pull it off, he's at a disadvantage, with a longer fourth shot.
Of course, in all such examples, the hole will work better for some players than others. For the 320-yard driver, the hole described above is no problem ... but if we make it hard for HIM (or her?) to get across in two, then everybody else had better be playing a different tee.