Hey Wade,
Hole 13 is one of my favorite "stories":
As you know it is a fairly short (297, 330, 339 and 373) hole that plays slightly downhill off the tee to a fairway that slopes slightly right to left and then the approach shot plays slightly uphill to a large green with absolutely no surrounding bunkers.
Here is a (very) crude before and after sketch:
The two left bunkers on the old hole were removed and we placed a bunker on the right side of the fairway. This is really the preferred side as it leaves a flatter shot from slightly higher ground. It is a difficult shot to try and get the ball to end up on the right side as the ground slopes pretty well from right to left. Only a ball landing within yards of the bunker or faded into the hill will stay up on the right.
Instead of leaving the two left bunkers that may grab a ball before going into the rough or trees we removed them and the uneven lies, rough and slightly more uphill approach confront the player on this "safe", left side.
The three small pot bunkers about forty yards short of the green accomplish two main goals: (1) They draw your eye for the tee shot farther left than they should and encourage a "pull" and (2) when you face the second shot from the left, the bunkers well short do deceive you a bit on the yardage making the green appear far closer. For a wedge shot this slight "trick", the uphill nature and people's nature to under club combined with the huge false front can turn this seemingly easy hole into a pretty frustrating double very quickly
The new green is only pinnable on the top tier. The front is a "green hazard"! What I really like overall about this hole is I think it plays much fairer and easier for the higher handicap player than before while being much more difficult for the scratch golfer.
The old green was a small, two tiered and surrounded by pretty deep bunkers. It was a drive and pitch for good players and I have always felt that surrounding a target like before only helped narrow the better player's focus which helped him hit a better shot! Surrounding a wedge shot green with three white bunkers just provided a "bullseye target".
Also, the bunkers required a forced carry onto a small target for everyone else. A poorer player has an impossible time hitting high, soft approaches and if they ended up in one of the bunkers, it was a certain double bogey or worse
Now, the size of the pinnable back area is equal to the entire size of the old green. There is nothing but grass around the green and a bail out to the right is flat and a relatively simple chip. A player has numerous options and can certainly run their ball up onto the green.
For the scratch golfer with a wedge hopefully they have played too safe or pulled their shot left and misjudged the approach or spun their ball too much and watched it zoom all the way back down the hill into the fairway. Once they have made that mistake, it can be several rounds playing deep into the green (or even over) leaving very difficult putts on what they deem a birdie hole.
For the average player, finding himself short of the green in two now instead of being in a bunker they have numerous options. Putting is the safest almost ensuring a score no worse than a bogey. A safe putt fifteen to twenty feet past the hole and safely on the top tier should yield a bogey. Getting "cute" and chipping or pitching in an attempt to get the shot very close can lead to numerous "do overs"
Again--easier for the average player, trickier for the better player and tons more options for everyone.
The small cluster of three bunkers about forty yards short of the green:
Looking from the right at the slope of 13 green:
