You are reading far too much into that little blurb. First of all I would not describe Fowler's architecture as overly penal. He favored deep bunkers, but he also took into account the fate of the rank and file golfer. By 1914 he had designed Walton Heath-New, Walton Heath-Old, Yelverton, West Surrey, Delamere Forest, Bexhill, Woodcote Park, Beau Desert, San Sebastian, and redesigned a number of courses including Westward Ho!, Southerndown, Fixby, Deauville and Dieppe. I would not describe any of those courses as overtly penal.
What Crump and Smith were looking at was an article written by Fowler in 1913 about his idea for an ideal golf course, with accompanying drawings. To say they were disciples of Fowler is a major stretch IMO.