Ira -
three years ago I introduced two friends (adults in their 40s, good athletes, smart) to golf. I'm very glad to report that they've both come to absolutely love the game -- indeed, both recently joined good quality and historic private clubs, and have established handicaps: my white collar friend is, remarkably, already down to an 8, while my blue collar friend is a 16. I played with them (and they with me) almost exclusively for two years, on courses both good and bad, old and new. My impressions and observations:
1. New-beginning golfers do in fact notice & understand architectural features, but at first they are not *concerned* about them in the least. Finding a rare fairway, hitting a rare green, and managing on rare occasion to get out of a green-side bunker is all they care about at first, for the first year.
2. What they then do begin to really appreciate (as JM and SL note) are angles, ie the importance (on quality courses with strategic designs) of being on the 'correct' side of the fairway for the 'better' approach shot, given green contours-orientation-hazards -- and how that relates to analyzing costs-benefits off the tee, given the nature of a given fairway and the (safe) options & risks on display.
3. What they also notice, but rarely encounter on newer courses, is how much of an impact fairway contours can have on their games, ie how much sidehill and uphill/downhill lies affect their approach shots, making those shots more difficult but also (sometimes) more interesting and fun.
4. After the first year and a half, both friends (thankfully) decided never to play again two courses that had in the early days had been their favourites -- specifically because the greens were too flat. Once they had started hitting more greens, they began noticing how boring it was to almost never have to aim their putts anywhere but directly at the hole.
Both are now members at golden age courses with much more dramatically contoured greens.