Ron:
Thanks -- thoughtful question, as always. I'll try my best to answer it.
Having gone back and looked at the Longue Vue post, I think your observation of the difference in tone between the posts is dead-on. And I think the reason for that is, as you pointed out, primarily due to the difference in the experience of the two golf courses. Longue Vue is an under-the-radar, traditional, old-world, understated club and while the course is, at times, spectacular, the feeling there is one of charm.
Bayonne, on the other hand, smacks you in the face from the moment you enter the property. There is a sense of grandeur about the place that overwhelms.
With regard to the number of photos, I think I took more at Bayonne. It seems that I tend to shoot more on courses with (pardon the pun) long views. Places like Bayonne, Bandon, National, Somerset Hills, Eastward Ho, Myopia and others allow cross-property views and shots of holes from the perspective of other spots on the course. And these shots tend to be some of my favorite looks at a course. On tree lined courses, the shots are largely limited to tee shot, approach shot, green shot, reverse view shot.
To your last question -- I played to my index at Bayonne. I'm largely a low ball hitter, so I appreciated the fact that Bayonne lets you use the ground and the slopes to steer the ball around. I do not think the course is overly difficult (although it may be a completely different story from 7100 yards). Rather, its just a lot of fun. The terrain, the wind, and the options available require most every shot to be thought out. It's a very strategically demanding course, and I tend to like those a great deal.