Tom D says it well, with fun being the primary goal. Mike N is kind to mention Bill Yates, who did more for pace (flow) than anyone in history. Bill brought science to an often ‘personal opinion’ topic that most people have no idea about.
A few tid-bits:
Bunkers can have a consequence, but greenside bunkers usually have a clear club choice — unlike all sorts of grass cuts where any of 3+ clubs might be among the selection. Greenside bunkers really don’t affect pace that much.
A par-3 opening hole is the most efficient in any routing — but our clients won’t have that!
Flow is a better goal. No one complains if they’re hitting shots and actively playing the game. It’s waiting that stimulates the negatives of ‘pace’. For this reason Yates slowed play at Pebble Beach’s 5th and 6th holes by moving tees and recommending difficult cup locations. This way there is not as much backup on the iconic 7th with its delay of 6 minutes worth of photo ops.
Few know that the USGA has a pace rating manual. There are 3 great questions Bill Yates always asked:
How much time should it take? — that’s answered by a pace rating developed by a set of analysis steps.
How much time does it take? Gleaned by tee sheets and studying actual round times.
How much time would you like it to take? Which often involves the golf architect to make changes, along with maintenance, management and starting time protocols.