I love narrow golf holes on links courses, though rarely on parkland courses.
The challenge of hitting a straight ball in a strong wind on a narrow hole with a fast fairway is one of the great (and common) challenges of seaside golf, one that requires strategic thinking in regards to club and shot selection, and mental toughness, and one that applies equally to golfers of just about all abilities.
And on a links course there are a number of risk reward issues to think about....the rough down the right side might not be that high at this particular time of the year, but the recovery angle to the green may be impossible. A rollicking fairway may slide uncontrollably to the left or the right at your favourite layup distance. A particular patch of gorse may suck up golf balls. Just because a fairway is narrow doesn't mean the rough is unplayable.The rather freakish Paul Lawrie Open aside, playing from the rough at Carnoustie, for example, is often an extremely interesting challenge - its not that hard to play from but the angles to the greens are always intriguing.
Trees of course take away some of the strategic possibilities.
The width at St. Andrews (misleading of course because of the bunkers) is an accident of Tom Morris' greenskeeping, and makes for fantastic golf. But its not the only model for a links course, certainly not in Scotland or Ireland.
The par 4 17th (by Harry Colt) at Montrose is an excellent narrow straight hole. The fairway proper may not be extraordinarily narrow, but there is out of bounds right, and gorse left down the entire fairway so the claustrophobic effect is there. A good (though not necessarily mamoth) drive is necessary so that you can play a high enough approach to a plateau green perched on slightly higher ground hugging the gorse on the left (uniquely at Montrose, a bounce up shot here is usually rejected). Ideally, you may may want to keep your drive a little right on the drive so the gorse doesnt seem so threatening on the approach. Yet you could argue that for someone who draws the ball it's better to be slightly on the left. And of course in the back of everyone's mind is the fear of duplicating the one or two wayward teeshots you made on the first 16 holes - a hook OR slice here is dead.
If it was the second hole, then playing it short off the tee and laying up to the foot of the green on the approach, or playing just to right of the green (where there's a bit of space) would have merit, though trying to get up and down from the below the plateau green is not easy. But on the penultimate hole - in either stroke or match play - playing safe is often not palatable. The result is a drive and an approach that preys on a golfer's insecurities, especially in the wind (i.e. 80% of the time). Thats narrowness for you.