I had a nice day with Paul Fireman several years back when he first took over Willowbend, going up there as part of a team to interview for refurbishing the golf course. I think we lost the job when the clubhouse architect kept trying to sell him on "knockout wet areas" i.e. spa, whirlpool, etc. ignoring Paul's gentle hints that "New Englander's don't walk around naked in front of others like you Texans do!" Even after pulling the architect aside to tell him I thought he was going the "wrong direction" with Mr. Fireman, he went right back over and started pushing the spa concept......Then, Paul said, as nice as he could, that he didn't think "Texans understood the culture" of the club and we wouldn't be getting the job.
The point of the story is, Bob Cupp may have listened better than all the other gca's he talked to, as relationships, understanding of goals, etc. is usually key to an Owner hiring a consultant.
In fact, I recall Rees Jones telling me a story about the original design of Willowbend, which was not for Mr. Fireman. Hurdzan and Rees happened to fly up on the same flight. Mike pulled out and showed all the pre-analysis of the site he had done (he was thinking of moving to Massachusetts at the time and really wanted the project) while Rees was somewhat less prepared. While that usually doesn't happen (showing your work to a competitor, but Mike is always willing to share information) Rees told the Owner that Mike deserved the job.
So, a lot of things go into hiring a gca above and beyond reputation, reputation for certain jobs, etc. Even then, I think Bob may have a repuatation as a better tecnical architect for difficult sites than the others, or at least was better able to highlight his visions and thoughts.
All of this is off the top of my head, BTW.
Regarding the driving range, I suspect it was a Tom Kite decision - players of that caliber want to practice into the wind, and views be damned as they might be a distraction!