Mark, as I said, I don't trust that an artist's influences will show up clearly in his work, and I believe Jones and Mackenzie saw the influence of links courses where no one else would. Grantland Rice was Augusta's most noted propagandist during its early years and was prone to making wildly inaccurate claims about the course (he overestimated the attendance of Augusta National's first Masters by the heretofore only-seen-on-Maury-Povich 2000%, for instance).
You told Colin that Augusta used template holes. Can you explain six holes at Augusta, how they fulfilled the requirements of a template hole when the course opened, and offer their counterparts from The Old Course or other noted links courses? I'm open to the idea. I just don't see it myself and need someone to explain it with some specific examples.