re: What makes a golf course great?

Not saying I play well out of them or avoid them at all, but I think pristine bunkers are the most aesthetically pleasing feature to a golf course.

One of my favorite Course designers is Tom Fazio. Fazio designed Squire Creek and his signature touch is that each hole is most intimidating from the tee box (you can see almost every hazard) but once you are on the green and look back to the tee box, you can't see the hazards. He was interviewed saying it's designed to give you a rewarding feeling.