GJ,
I can't be sure, but I think (as per the water crutch thread) that the ponds are required for detention. And, I agree it would be always be better without the real estate transitions, but I have no doubt of Shea Homes primary motives there.
Damian said the original plan was 36 holes, but after phase I, there was only land for the standard nine hole addition, but he convinced them to do something a little different, which seems to have worked commercially, given the thoughts on the other thread about the bias for par 72 and courses in multiples of nine holes. I had the impression that if it was just 9 holes, it might not have attracted so much interest.
I didn't think all the water holes were blah, and you must have some pretty high architectural standards. 4 of 12 holes have water........not quite up to those Florida courses. I do recall two full carry par 3 holes, which might be one more than ideal.......and a bit tough for beginners, but again, I figure they had to be there for non golf reasons.
What I found most interesting there is the theory that golf is just too scary for newbs. They have arrows guiding you to the pro shop, to the first tees, etc. When they surveyed people, there was a lot of latent interest in golf, but also a lot of fear. They tried to remove the fear in several ways.