In my opinion, the number of plays required to "get" a course varies widely and is entirely determined by the number of different ways the same holes and shots can be played. Certain elements beyond the the control of the designer add to this, like a course location featuring varying weather, but the design itself can also require many plays even if the weather and wind stays the same.
Think of a hole like the 10th at Shinnecock:
-Do you lay back off the tee for a flat stance and a long approach or pound driver to have a shorter approach from a downhill stance to what is a very tricky green with trouble in the front and back?
-If you find that trouble in the front (the 50 yard backward roll down the fairway off the false front), how do you play the approach? Lob wedge off a tight lie at the stick? Play out to the left of the green where it is flatter and the false front less extreme? Bump and run a chip into the slope? Swing a putter hip-high and putt the ball up the mountain? All options can succeed or fail. A golfer has to know his own game well to determine the best option.
By this measurement, TOC reigns supreme in terms of number of plays required, and links golf generally is tougher to "get" without many rounds.