George nails the salient points. Fun and Challenging.
Sir Boab,
Harder, more difficult should not enter into the picture. No hole is hard if the proper shots are hit. And if not... easy, the alternative, doesn't seem to inspire much, or the many.
For m, the BIG questions, divergence, lies in the mind of the player.If they are a real sportsman, do they really want easy? No, they want to be challenged. On the other hand, if the player is of a mind that they expect their golf to be fundamentally the same, hole after hole, without much opportunity to have the ball end up anywhere but where they want it, is this really golf?
Catering to these game mind players is the dearth of the modern era of gca. Isn't that why we're seeing the return of great bold features, like those at Sleepy Hollow, or the ones Tom Jim and Mike built at Old Mac? Or why a course like Lawsonia, where L&M built these types of features, has stood the test of time?
Catering to the whims of the day, or the fashion du jour, caters to the most fickle (and selfish) of players. This club in question might be able to sell a few memberships if the decision to go forth accommodates theses, but I highly doubt they'd be able to sway the panelists whom your stated goal is to impress.