Matt Ward:
I wasn't so worried about whether the back tees had "teeth", as you say. Rather, I was thinking about situations where the back tees were far more fun to play. More demanding, but more fun at the same time.
On my one trip to World Worlds, I played the back tees while a friend played up front. I recall several holes where it just didn't seem as much fun playing up front, largely because of the different angles. It wasn't a length thing so much as the front tees just seemed less thrilling. If I recall correctly #2 and #4 were good examples. From the back you hit over a hazard;up front you didn't.
It just seemed like my friend wasn't playing as thrilling a course.
There's an example where the back is far preferred just to go out and play, but I wonder if it should be played up front for rating purposes to more accurately reflect what most players will experience.
True, very few people can handle the length of back tees. But, it seems like the forward tees should provide the same thrill, e.g., heroic carries.