Paul,
I agree and think this mainly occurs in linksland because  sand is the base.  IMHO once we began to play golf on land away from its natural beginnings then we developed the need to ,renovate,restore,remodel or whatever.  

John,
I am speaking of agronomic features and issues and not strategic.  I am saying the basic grasses etc just seem to be more prevalent in the sand conditions within specific climates.  Outside of those areas we have to improvise such as where we are in the South.  Ex: bent greens in our climate is no different than if we were trying to grow banana trees IMHO
Mike

 Gentlemen...I initiated this thread more as a reponse to the debates here about purism , what to save and not to save, when to improve or not to improve a course regardless of it's pedigree etc....... the Darwin inclusion was tongue in cheek, indicative of my confused craniums attempts to communicate at times .

Tom,

You wrote, "before 1850, when golfers didn't travel from course to course, their swings evolved based on the needs of their home course and the style of the best local players.  So, there was a St. Andrews swing, a Prestwick swing, and a North Berwick swing, all very different from one another."

I find that a fascinating thought but wonder how the course itself would have so great an impact on a golf swing. Might it have been more a product of the equipment and balls being used. For example, the qualities found in the Gutties as a golf ball type greatly varied depending upon the talents of the person making them, as were the clubs. Wouldn't these have a greater effect on the golf swing than the course, though I am sure that they were created because of the courses they would be used on.

An example of what I am trying to say, and probably doing so poorly, was the creation of the sand wedge as a specialized club for use in a special situation (yes, I know it was a 20th century invention, just using it as an example). Before this club, players used a variety of general clubs and adjusted there swings for how they wanted to play the shot.

So, wouldn't this have been more of the case in earlier days, with swings based more on the clubs than the course?  

Brent:

It was more than that.  You could have a long, loopy swing at St. Andrews because it was a long and fairly open golf course and you weren't penalized too much for an off-line shot.  The North Berwick men didn't have a big swing at all since the holes were mostly short; their swings were built for precision.