Since the hole goes from short right to long left, do you need as much room in the surroundings because of the way a RH player (the vast majority) hit the ball?
What I mean to say, is that the tendency to miss short right or long left is most common with most golfers, so since the landing area mirrors that it is likely that the hole plays wider than if would if everything were mirrored, or if most golfers were left handed.
And to Jeff, I think that's part of the reason #12 at Augusta is so damn hard.