Ivan,
First of all, this thread is phenomenal. Your question is very simple, but it is a very difficult one to answer. I hope some of the great GCA posters weigh in here. I would like to see how varied people's opinions are on the subject.
To address your statements about wind: I think you will get some strong disagreement from many people on here, myself included. Wind is an asset to golf course architecture for many different reasons. I think many players would agree that "wind is obnoxious." It throws you out of your comfort zone and forces you to fundamentally change how you play the game. However, wind's "obnoxiousness" is what makes it so important. A course with wind as a factor encourages the golfer to player by feel rather than by the mechanical use of laser yardages and swing tips from the latest Golf Digest. The wind is also, as you say, uncontrollable, meaning that creates infinite variety for the golfer on a day-to-day basis. A course with wind will never be boring, even after a player has played the course hundreds of times. As the wind direction changes, the player will have to adopt new strategies of playing the golf course every time he goes out. Wind ensures that golf is a mental rather than a physical endeavor.
As for your bigger questions, I think a few things make for great architecture. I think a course should present the golfer with multiple options and ways to play every hole. The golfer will need to think, make decisions, and commit on every shot and hole he plays on such a course. Any combination of features can produce this result. However, I think wind, firm and fast conditions, and proper placement of hazards are all critical in creating options and variety.
Great architecture will defend par around the greens rather than off the tee and on the approach. Many modern courses focus on tee to green difficulty, meaning that the courses will eat average golfers alive and will be eaten alive by top players. Classic courses tend to defend par at the greens because EVERY golfer who plays the golf course will have to deal with the green and its defenses. It is the most honest way to challenge players.
A great golf course makes maximum use of the natural terrain and surrounds. A good architect will seek out the best natural features on a property, highlight them in his design, and make use of them in the strategy of the golf course. This "natural terrain and surrounds" could be anything including water, sand, topography, trees (although these should be used sparingly), or pre-existing manmade features (such as stone walls or buildings). Golf, after all, is an OUTDOOR sport coexisting with nature.
Most importantly, a course needs to be FUN for all golfers. It should be challenging for the better player and playable for the average golfer. The player should be able to play reasonably without losing a golf ball. The player should be encouraged to hit good shots more than he should be penalized for hitting bad ones. The golfer should be able to hit all kinds of shots, including ones that he has never hit before in his life.
Finally, all great GCA should be walkable. Any course that is not walkable and does not have a certain flow to the routing is inferior, no matter how high the quality of the individual holes.