Dorse,
I am not a big Foster fan, though the three courses of his that I've played (Quarry, Tadition @ Cypresswood, Texas Star) are certainly interesting and difficult. Texas Star, in my opinion, is much too hard for its market- corporate, resort, and upscale daily-fee. Strange for a municipal course, I think.
Keith spent a lot of money on such things as retaining walls on creeks only visible when you get to them, waterfalls that you can't see unless you're looking backwards from the green, elevated greens on long holes that run away from you, semi-blind tee shots with few references, a blind green at the bottom of a hill with trash closely behind it, an uphill 250 yard par 3 into or diagonally to the prevailing wind with a deep depression guarding the left side of the green preventing the run-up shot. Add all the "natives" (= lost balls), eye-browed bunkers where you can loose a ball down the middle of the fairway (#1), huge tree in the middle of the fairway some 200 yards from the back tees (#9), and several other idiosyncracies, and the average Schmoe who plays the course doesn't have a good time. It might be a very good as a private with some additional clearing, but as pretty as it is, I wouldn't pay the $50+gf. By comparison, I think that Tierra Verde is a much superior course, though it too could use wider corridors, at around 40% lower price.
Re: Colonial- #18 is a hole which repeatedly eats my lunch. The loss of the overhanging tree on the left, a willow as I remember, has cheapened the hole somewhat. The second shot is still a hard one when the wind is blowing and the green is hard. Was it Bruce Crampton who knocked a few balls in the water during the final round of the NIT as Devlin did at Torrey Pines? #s 6 and 7 are the weakest holes architecturally, though #s 1 & 2 are probably the best opportunities to go under par.
If I was a member of influence at Colonial, I would try to convert the greens to Champions (Mr. Leonard would roll in his grave), limit the use of electric carts, introduce pull carts, let the course get firm and fast, thin out/ underwater/ underfertilize the roughs, and create more chipping areas around the greens. If the pros shoot 24 under, so what. Not many of the good golfers play the back tees at Colonial, so there is really no need to add length.
I would also cut the trees back to the left of 15 and perhaps bunker #7 more heavily 100 yards from the green. Adding some movement and roll to the fairways would probably help, but that opportunity was not taken when they converted the fairways from common bermuda to 419 a few years back. The walk-back from 12 gree to 13 tee is also less than ideal. I wonder if a very short, semi-blind, but extremely tight par 4 into the prevailing wind would work there with the tees to the tees just to the south of 12 green (near the shelter/snack area). If a Colonial member is reading this, I am sure he is thinking that thank God this guy in not one.