I think "calculus" is a very good term/concept, John. I failed the subject in high school. (I bet Tom D didn't!). It makes me think of all the maths: algebra, functions & relations, geometry. In that context, the boring golf holes are the ones that use the same calculus and geometry from start to finish, consistently/continually. Architects (and supers) sometimes try, consciously or not, to disguise that fact: with vegetation and hazards and mowing lines, but I think our mind's eye perceives the sameness nonetheless, i.e. perceives that the same basic calculation using the same basic vectors is being asked for/indicated throughout. I think maybe that's why wonderful sites/great land - with cants and sways and dips and hollows and rises - are so useful, i.e. they can add, sometimes even without the architect's knowledge and consent, a whole new and other level of algebra to our engagement with a golf hole.
Peter