Nice thread. It strikes me that we talk a lot about "views" but not enough about "place" - a simple sense of place, an honouring and celebrating of its own unique qualities and features. It seems to me that this is what those old architects of the tier two English courses did so well, i.e. they draped a golf course gently over a place, never obscuring and in fact often highlighting its qualities -- a comfortable wool blanket over an sturdy leather club chair. I'd bet that if architects focused on respecting the "place" -- i.e. by not moving much earth, but blending fairways and hazards into existing/natural features and vegetation -- the golfer would be very happy, and the "views" (such as they are, unque to that place) would take care of themselves. That way, place would actually mean something -- a Philly course would offer what a Boston course didn't, and vice-versa, and London would not be new York and Mexico would not be Canada etc. Otherwise you get the feeling you're driving on an interstate across the country, when because the chains and stores are hotels are all the same, I can't tell if I'm in Altamont or Atlanta, North Carloina or Nevada.
Peter