I've had the good fortune of having played 50 to 60 rounds at World Woods over the last few years on my winter sojourns to Florida. As a matter of experience I can say that I have preferred PB by 7-3 over RO. This is not to say that RO is a bad or even mediocre course. It is better than most I've played in Florida. But, I enjoy the aesthetic, routing and challenge of PB more - apparently a lot more based on how I've spent my dollars.
Apart from the pine tree vs oak and Spanish moss aesthetic of the two courses, the major difference I see is the rough and tumble look of PB vs the more formal and conventional look of RO. At speed, PB greens are a great challenge although the conditioning has deteriorated in recent years. RO greens are challenging in a different way with more abrupt changes in elevation. Since being re-grassed a couple of years ago they are in significantly better condition than PB. Overall, perhaps it's where I come from - PB suits my eye better as it's different from home. RO looks more like the conventional parkland courses back home.
Regarding the routing, I don't see anything in PB's that detracts from the playing experience for me. The holes on the west side of the property are primarily north/south while the east side holes are predominately east/west. And, they change direction frequently meaning you will end up playing upwind, downwind or crosswind from either side multiple times spaced out during a round - seems like good routing to me. For a long time I was completely lost about where I was on the property relative to other holes. Over time I now have a sense of where I am and this has been eased by the fact that they've thinned out the forest some over the last couple of years. A side benefit of that is that it's virtually impossible to lose a ball on PB and most often you even have a recovery shot out of the trees. Since I presume they wanted to market the Pine Valleyness of PB I'd guess that Fazio wanted to route the course in the pine tree part of the property. Perhaps the grand central station in the center of the course was necessary to fit the holes into the pine forest part of the property. I, for one, don't think twice about the distances between holes #1/2, 6/7, 11/12, and 17/18. I've hardly ever seen anybody walking, but if you do then it would be a distraction. RO certainly has less distance from green to tee. Not a big issue to me.
I can't think of a hole on PB that I don't look forward to playing. They all have something of interest and challenge for me. RO on the other hand has some blech holes - #1 is a hole that could be anywhere with bunker left and right in the driving area and left and right front of the green, although the ledge in the green is interesting; #2 just bland; #3 has 10 bunkers (Arble would be aghast) guiding the play through the landing area, second shot and approach to the green; #4 is an uninteresting short par 4; #5, #6, #7, #8 and #9 are all good holes in different ways; #10 is an OK straightforward par 5; and #11, #12, #13, #14, #15, #16, #17, and #18 are all good holes. The start detracts much more for me than the shorter green to tee distances add. RO's routing is also more predictably SW to NE for most holes so the wind is more of a constant factor.
Kyle,
(PB) Holes 12-15 are individually good to great holes, but they run east/west through the quarry area with little to break up the direction. I never quite get a sense that the routing is leading me to something. 15 works well as a short, reachable, two-shotter but also carries a bit of a let down element because yet another discord happens in the routing to get us to 16, followed by yet another to get us to 17. The entire routing seems compromised solely to get the golfer to this stretch, which then leaves me wanting for something a bit more.
Similarly, the equivalent 12-15 stretch at Rolling Oaks actually does crescendo as the routing takes one down to the lowest part of the property and back up to the highest part with each other increasing in difficulty. This stretch, furthermore, is not isolated from the rest of the golf course and the segue from 15-16 is much more seamless. This gives me a much more coherent feeling and there is no sense of let down because the routing maximizes the golf on the terrain.
Not sure I understand your point about the direction of PB 12-15. The twelfth goes east, the 13th goes west, the 14th goes east, and the 15th goes west. How could you have more direction change than that unless they went in a circle? The 12th, to the right green up the hill is a fun and challenging ride for me, especially since they moved the tees up one block. The 13th can be a challenging long par 4 with a very difficult green. The 14th is a brilliant par 5 for me. There are so many ways to play the second shot and they are affected greatly by where you place your drive. The green has some really interesting pin placements. And, the 15th is a good reachable par 4 where the right side requires a lot of thought if it's into the wind. The left side second shot is a difficult angle for me. This is a crescendo, certainly on a par at least with 12-15 on RO, and to me better.
On PB it is less than 100 yards to the 16th tee and I love the 16th hole although it usually is a difficult par for me. The 100 yards doesn't seem disjointed to me. The 17th is a subtlety difficult hole with a green that drives me berzerk with a back middle pin. I have yet to find someone who can read the putt from the front to the back correctly. The 18th is a killer hole and in truth I like the 18th on RO better mostly because it is more playable and scoreable.
Altogether, the routing of PB through grand central station is different but I've played there enough times that it doesn't even cross my mind anymore. And when I set foot on the 2nd, 7th, 12, and 18th tees I feel good about arriving at that hole and the challenges and enjoyment that follows in playing those holes. If that routing detracts from your experience, I can understand. Each to their own - it's a big world.
I'm curious if you think you could have routed a course on the property that PB now occupies and that would evoke Pine Valley and that you feel would provide a "more coherent feeling and there is no sense of let down because the routing maximizes the golf on the terrain". I'm not even sure I understand what that means - perhaps you could explain.