Hi James,
Thank you for the nice write up. Out of curiosity, when you played Deal, where was the wind blowing? You can play 12 through 16 with nothing between a 3 wood and a wedge quite frequently.
At Walton it's a shame you didn't get to see the Old as well. I think the Old has the best holes on the property and also has a better flow to it. The New has a lot of really good holes. The back nine is a beast too.
I'm not sure I've ever seen anyone play cross country (meaning from one tee to a different green), but you can chop and change where you go when it's quiet so easily. On the New, you can go from the 7th green to the 13th tee or the 4th green to the 14th tee, or the 12th tee or the 16th tee. It's very easy to play a few holes without winding up in the middle of nowhere. Not to mention switching courses. 16 on the Old is right next to 7 on the New (also I think my favourite hole on the complex).