Sort of reminds me of what Pete Dye said was the most popular feature of Pinehurst - No one loses a lot of golf balls. I think (At $4 per copy) that is a factor in a popular golf course. Plus, the idea you find it, you hit it, you find it again, you hit it again is most enjoyable, certainly more so than losing a bunch in water hazards or deep rough.
Plus, the open green fronts. I really noticed this in the redo of La Costa, a 1950's tournament style design. For average golfers, a good shot is one airborne, in the general direction and distance of the green, and they don't hit a dozen of these per round. When they do, they prefer the course let them find the green, rather than a bunker. Most infuriating is a shot that hits the green, then bounds off to back or side bunkers. Close behind is hitting a fronting bunker.