Tom Doak,
My wife and I got engaged after two weeks, and that was 24 1/2 years ago, so i might not be the typical guide for this sort of stuff.
As for Pebble Beach, that one waited until the 4th hole, though to this day I still cannot get over the awkward start and have trouble with some of the inland holes when it comes to character and greatness. And obviously there are other courses where it takes longer, maybe not until the fourth hole (Riviera) or fifth hole (Desert Forest). But my point, if you will indulge the literary exaggeration in the posting, is that it should not require multiple visits to get the essence of something, though it will require multiple visits to get the subtle detail in place, and ideally a great golf course continually reveals itself each time to have more than you thought (St. Andrews). But my basic point holds, that you can feel a place and get a sense of its core identity pretty quickly. I find too many folks (raters?) need way too much time, and I am always amused how, during day-long visit when i might walk the course once and play it once, by the end of the day when making a presentation I usually know it far better than the majority of people n the audience, many of whom have been playing it the whole lives.