Matt, your post is quite interesting. I often wonder how you approach playing what seems like many days in a row on your trips to the hinterlands, scoping out new courses to evaluate. Obviously, you go to the outback (like the western swing you have written about often when you were at Sutton Bay and various others out there) and fill in days by dropping by these other course you get info from locals about. But, then do you play alone, or try to get paired or placed in a local group?
I ask because I would tend to pass on the obviously mundane and be a bit of a snob if I were purposely on a trip to seek out new venues to evaluate. I would definitely go to see something the locals are speaking of favorably. But, since I was out to see good stuff, and went all that way, I wouldn't want to just fill my down time at any old local dog track.
The thing that would sway me to the mundane, at home or on the road, is if I were with friends and they just wanted to go out and have some fun. But, I would then seperate my usual attitude of looking for design merit, and just kick back and goof off.
If playing alone, and only having one kick at the cat at a great course, or if it doesn't hold up our group and delay play, I would be hitting some extra shots to test things I see, or redo something I missed but know it should work with the particular design feature I observe.
But, that gets back to the whole rating in one play thing I can't get past.
not that I'm a rater, I just like to write about them.