This is the first paragraph of Ran's course profile on Woking. It is not quite in point, but does maybe shed a little light on the question. I suppose I agree that great courses have great holes but it is a reminder that this logic only takes you so far......Mercifully, the question cannot be reduced to just one concept!
"Tom Simpson and H.N. Wethered in The Architectural Side of Golf said they would select Woking as the course they would choose to play the rest of their lives if they were condemned to but one choice. Is it because Woking possesses one stunning hole after another? No, not really. In fact, Simpson and Wethered reckoned the second hole to perhaps be the sole hole that 'could be termed of really outstanding merit.' And yet, they selected this course to be the one they would play for the rest of their lives? What does that say about the misguided attempts of modern architects today who try to build eighteen signature holes?!"