I think Strantz was able to make sharp doglegs work because he provided large, receptive landing areas at the corner. A big part of his genius was in making those landing areas appear smaller or more difficult to hit than they really are; it is elating to find that your shot ended up safely in the fairway!
I also think that, at least with 13 at Caledonia, Strantz still gave people some opportunity to take a chance ln putting the ball further down the fairway by blasting a drive over the right side of the tree. A shorter approach is definitely useful to a green almost totally surrounded by sand.
The walk across that rickety bridge to the back tee on 14 and the resulting tee shot is, IMHO, the very best of all the pretty sights and pretty interesting shots to be found at Caledonia.