Having put in a few design proposals with LT, I got some insight into his thinking, which is largely as described.
Two points I recall right off the top of my head were him telling me he thinks the green slope ought to face the sand bunker to help stop a bunker shot. He felt it was bad design when the green rolled away from the bunker and he couldn't get one close to a tight pin. While I explained that we do need to raise the bunker lip to keep water from draining in the bunker, I do find I have moved my swales closer to the low side of the green to minimize that.
He also took some time to point out a feature at Dallas National, where Fazio put a subtle change of grade in the middle of a green. That is he offered a chipping area with a downhill slope. The right of the green probably sloped away 2%, and the left of the green sloped away from the chipping area about 2%, but there was a 5-10 foot strip in the middle sloping away about 3-4%, not enough difference to see without looking closely, but just enough to accelerate the ball, potentially off the green. He felt that was just terrible design, with the rationale that he couldn't judge or play it, so how could the architect expect the average player to play it?
Notah Begay III was there, and chimed in on agreement about not liking the feature. He even hit a few shots from there to demonstrate how hard it was to get to a pin just past/below that slope change.
It was not long after playing the opening of Trip Davis/Justin Leonard design at Old American. They also said that a change in contour mid way through a chip or putt was the only way to make a pro miss, sometimes badly. They, however, embraced the idea.....on nearly every green
Coincidentally, I recall having just read Tom Doak espouse that theory as good design on this site, and had to chuckle at the differences of opinion.
Jim Colbert was a big fan of the seemingly obvious bail out chipping areas that resulted in a downhill chip that might get away from you, but didn't think a mid green grade change was a good idea. He felt a downhill chip was enough punishment for a bail out (intentional or semi missed shot) and good design. I think he also felt that there ought to be a chance to get nearly every shot close to the hole, provided you had the skill and touch to do it. Conversely, it would be bad design to introduce a contour that made it impossible to get close, even with the best shot.
I think most pros and good players would fall into that category.
I mostly stick to Colbert's theory. IF I ever put that subtle grade change in the middle of a green, I sure wouldn't do it without some counter slope on the other side to hold shots in, and I would never do it with water or a cliff on the other side that would cause a lost ball, etc. If you miss the green, and then miss the chip, you are looking at bogey-double bogey. Under the circumstances I just gave above, you could miss the green by ten feet, chip into the water, replace and chip again, and you would be looking at a double/triple.......both on the course, and probably in the bar after the round.