Now I'll start something not OT.  

I'm curious about courses that people think are on a boring piece of land but came out much better than you thought possible, and conversely, how about some courses on wonderful property that under-perform.

What about Whistling Straits?  Wasn't that one "created" from basically nothing?

Winged Foot West is definitely one of them IMHO.

Would you classify the Rustic Canyon site a "great piece of land"?  I am in no way making a comment on the golf course or the surrounding hills but the land itself does not seem very special.

Paul,
   I'm pretty sure that would be zero that find linksland boring.

Two of mine have already been pointed out, Stevinson Ranch and Rustic Canyon. Although the Rustic land seems more special every time I go down there, even I though I still never could have conceived  of a course as brilliant as what Gil, Geoff and  the guys came up with.

Aetna Springs that was  redone by Doak and crew seems like a fairly mundane, typical Northern California meadow with some oaks. Then you get out there and walk the property and notice a little feature here and there and realize that they used every possible feature beautifully. Will this 9-hole course ever show up on a  ranking? I doubt it, but if you appreciate golf architecture I think you would have a delightful day out  there. Tiny greens, diagonal hazards, uphill shots, downhill shots, seasonal creeks, optical illusion bunkering, etc...

I haven't seen Talking Stick yet, but it was apparently another blank canvas that has some pretty good golf on it according to the feedback here over the years.

 ;)I have reservations about stating that either Talking Stick North or Talking Stick South are "great" designs, though the work that C & C did on an "absolutely" flat piece of land is pretty remarkable. The North course uses the natural features it was afforded incredibly, with washes and arroyos disguised as bunkers and waste areas... Incredible work, though "great" is a word that I don't use lightly when discussing golf design. Another course that springs to mind is Barona Creek, which I would label a great design. Though not a boring peice of land, bottom line is it's grazing land that can be found by the square miles throughout the Dakotas, Montana, Wyoming, etc. If only the summers were't 3 months long

sawgrass.

pinehurst.

Mildenhall

Wigler might vomit on his computer, but Art Hills did a great job at Half Moon Bay with a useless mud hill. Yes, it faced the ocean, but the land itself was unusable.

In the great category, you have to figure it's going to be a list of all the "manufactured" courses, starting with Lido and ending with Chambers Bay.
...
Ken

Chambers Bay does not belong on this thread. The 18 holes at Chambers Bay were not built on boring land. The county wanted 27 holes, but RTJ II convinced them there was not enough interesting land for 27 so the southern, boring part, of the land had no golf holes built on it.

However, in part Chambers Bay does belong on this thread as it is a great design.

I played and really enjoyed the Rawls Course in Lubbock, TX.  The surrounding topography is absolutely flat but the course has quite pleasing terrain and variation.  My member friend says that there was only a few feet of topographical elevation change over the entire property before Tom Doak interceded.  Perhaps he or others will comment on this project.

For years I have traveled through West Texas to visit my in-laws (Amarillo).  The Rawls Course is an unbelievable transformation of land.  I would compare it to Primm in CA/NV and what I imagine Shadow Creek in Vegas to be.  You would not believe you are anywhere within 200 miles of there.  There have been pictures posted here showing an aerial view of the land while it was being moved and before.  

Black Sheep Golf Club in Sugar Grove, Illinois. Brilliant design by David Esler ( 27 holes ). Basically carved out of flat corn fields.

I think without question it's Winged Foot West...  Outside of the area of 10, 11, and 18 approach, the property there is very flat and there was nothing manufactured like at Whistling Straits.