"Dr. MacKenzie compared hazards to the fielders in a game of cricket -- they won't catch every mistake, but you can't keep making mistakes without being caught out." TD
What a great quote, thanks going to keep this in my back pocket!!
After reading all the posts on this thread, it's pretty clear to me that a great course doesn't necessarily need to have a ground game, some terrain and grass types simply won't allow it, however most great courses have a mixture of aerial and ground features on their holes.
As some have mentioned in this thread, some ground game elements could be tee shots, layups and not simply approaches. A windy course, even with zoysia or kikuyu , will require low shots that will roll some, especially downwind.
The 4th hole at Riviera has some ground game element to it for a lesser player, or a moderate player playing the back tees, to hit the ball with a boring trajectory and use the slope right of the green to roll it onto the surface.
I've seen average golfers roll the ball on holes 1,2,3,5,11,13,15 at Riviera, so its available, but better players would rarely use this shot type unless it was the only way to get the ball to the green, ( impeded by trees.)