I lived in northwest Ohio for nearly 16 years where the corn grows bountifully, but not without considerable effort and preparation. Many hours of grueling, back-breaking work following a large trencher while laying tile in the fields gave me a special appreciation for the importance of drainage.
But it wasn't until I moved to Texas where we get both quick, heavy downpours and long periods of slow but steady rain that I developed an appreciation for the ability of moving and draining water. We have a number of courses in the Dallas area that have had extensive work done over the last 30+ years to alleviate shortcomings in original construction and the changing character of surrounding landscapes due to development.
Jeff Brauer and his one time associate John Colligan have typically gotten most things right in their original work. Whatever their courses may lack in "artistry" and exclusivity that seem to drive rankings, they more than make up in challenge, playability (drainage component included here), and fun. It is one of their competitive advantages, and a pretty big one.
From most members' perspective, my home course drains well. With continuous concrete cart paths, only flood events blocking bridges and a few low areas, the course is nearly always open for play. Some of our bunkers hold water for days, but that is probably as much of a deferred maintenance issue as the typical corners cut during original construction (an architect once confided that due to budget constraints and principals' demands for aesthetic bunkering, most will need to redo the bunkers within five years of opening).
One aspect of drainage doesn't receive enough attention perhaps because it is also linked to irrigation, a system that now can run well over $1 Million to install new. My home course has a great abundance of catch basins on every hole, many in playing areas that remain soft, gather balls, and become divot fields. Coupled with soft, often wet entries to most of our built-up greens, the variety of shots is limited to the aerial game.
Our irrigation system has nearly 1900 heads keeping one to two full time guys working on nothing but repairing the system and replacing heads. It is a losing battle and results in some areas receiving excessive water to get enough to other parts of the course. How to marry irrigation, drainage, and the required ongoing maintenance is no easy thing, but unless done reasonably well, many of the neat architectural features of the course can go unnoticed.