Keith, thanks for writing about Montclair, and I will look back in the archives to see if there are similarities / differences between how Ross employed tiered greens in comparison to Banks. Do they look/play similar?
Jim/David/Michael, I agree the spine perpendicular to play works best with tiered greens. Looking at the 14th at SGH, while I haven't played there (yet!), it appears from the diagram that the spine doesn't run the full length of the green, and further, that it doesn't merge two 'levels' as a step might. Is it therefore just a nice 'natural' feature, which was incorporated into the design of the green rather than tiering two distinct areas of flat green?
The Royal Haag green looks tremendous. It is tough to see from that photo, but I love how the tiers have a softer look, and blend nicely into the surrounding areas. This flies in direct contrast with what I have generally experienced with tiered greens - ie. harsh steps, unnaturally perched on a plateau to create some thought on the approach.
I will give on one position: I believe that a more unnatural looking tiered approach works better when the entire course design follows a similar design. I am thinking of Raynor specifically (although caveat* I have not played a Raynor) - if the bunkers are more straight-lined, and there are more angles to the edges of greens / bunkers / fairway definition, then I think a rigid tier approach works better.