You see that sort of thing quite frequently on older, lower key UK courses, although the W&K example is perhaps more rigorously geometric than most others. When I think of the courses I grew up playing in West Yorkshire, there were several greens of this kind, or on a similar pattern but banked into a downslope with the drop at the front of the green. It's the simplest - though not the most aesthetically pleasing! - way of constructing a playable green on a slope that would otherwise be too severe.
At my father's club, Meltham, outside Huddersfield, there was a green like this on the 14th hole. Cut at the front, creating a two foot vertical drop from the approach to the green surface, and use the material to build up the back. About twenty years ago, the green was remodelled to make it fit better and look more natural - a lot of material was removed at the front to create a softer slope down onto the putting surface. It's more aesthetically pleasing now, but I'm not sure it plays any better - the soil is terrible and the run-up shot (useful as it's the stroke index one hole) still doesn't really work as the ground is generally too soft. Be careful what you wish for, I guess!