That takes me back to my Killian and Nugent days, when Ken in particular liked 3 mounds behind every green. At one point, another associate and myself concocted a plan in a Monday morning office meeting to consciously vary that. We prepared a chart figuring we would have 3 greens each at 0, 1 (one center, one each offset each way, etc.) 2, 3, 4, and 5. They agreed it was important to vary the style and we drew the plan set that way. (This was for the George Dunne golf course in SW Chicago area).
However, when it came to their first field visit, Ken looked at green no. 1, which actually had one mound, and said to break them up into three, on a 2 mound green, he suggested breaking them into 3. He liked the 3 mound green. But, when we got to a 4 mound green, he thought they should be simplified...and so it went.
I also recall building Lake Arrowhead (now just down the street from Sand Valley) and the 11th green had such a perfect backdrop of dark pines, I left it as a skyline green, and Ken came for a visit and wondered where the mounds were.
It wasn't just mounds, as those 50's trained guys really only used sand bunkers, mounds, rough and trees as their design palette. I tried putting a grass bunker on the front right of a green in Texas. They let it go, thinking the construction crew simply hadn't tiled it yet. But, when it was finished, they said "We don't use grass bunkers" even though the shaping was kind of cool.
Ditto, on my last project with them (actually Ken, because they had just split up) and knowing I was going on my own, I started experimenting with "mound theory" on a remodel for Jim Colbert. On one green, I pushed the mound back off the green, creating a little valley behind the green, and it was angled so the top skylines of those mounds crossed. Naturally, it gave the green great depth and standing on the tee (it was a par 3) Ken said it looked great. When we got to the green, Colbert liked the break from not chipping downhill if you overshot the green. His superintendent liked less water draining on the green surface from the surrounds. Ken made kind of a fool of himself arguing to change it when the whole team liked it. His only reason was, "We put the mounds right behind the green, dammit!" And, that is the story of how I ended up doing a half a dozen courses with/for Jim Colbert and at least twice as many renovations.
As Tom said, in most cities, clients get the sense when one style of design becomes too prevalent. It's even worse when the local architect insistently repeats themselves.