John,
Based on what I see, apparently every green needs to have bunker left-bunker right for perfect design continuity......Seriously, this is one of my pet topics, and a good one.
There is the theory that gently rolling greens always provide variety of chip shots when missed in different locations. I think that's a good default, but the gca should strive for the most variety possible. For a golfer at a club, or regular course, I believe that the variety should lead, over the course of the many playings of the season, to the widest variety of interesting shots.
I am of the belief that far more courses (on a ratio of perhaps 500 to 1) have greens that are too similar than greens that are too diverse. With the exception of a course that has had just a few greens done, and done by a gca with no thought as to being sympathetic to what was there originally, it just doesn't happen, IMHO.
It may be because gca's are human, and humans are creatures of habit, always brushing their teeth before shaving, or eating meat loaf on Tuesdays, or whatever. Are we to believe that this very human trait doesn't creep into design?
That is why there is a place for template greens, or at least pet pre-concieved concepts in the gca palette. When Raynor started a design know there would be a Redan hole, a Biarritz, etc. he had a better shot of gaining 18 individual greens than another gca who thought he would "see what develops." And, even then, he would have been better, had he developed, say 50 templates rather than 19. Plus, his (or any gca's stylistic tendencies tie the greens together, perhaps even too much, and over the course of a career, he got repetitive.
That's why I have started to develop a pet list of features to incorporate in greens, if not necessarily in the exact same green every time. That list includes things like:
Approach type (from narrow or even cut off to wide and rolling),
Green elevation (from below natural grade to well above it)
Hazards (including number of sand bunkers from 0-12, and other hazards, like trees guarding the green (but only on the west side to allow morning sun!) chocolate drop mounds, grass bunkers (damn, those need a catch basin......)
Backdrop (natural trees, skyline greens, set below natural or built ridges)
Chipping Areas - by location, elevation relative to green, width, shape (simple vs complex)
Green Size and Shape (going for at least one postage stamp and one ultra huge) and from simple to extravagent, including "r" and "L" shaped greens, etc. I break size down by hole type, so that, for example, one long par 4 requires a shot to a tiny green, some to medium, and some to large, rather than follow the tired formula of "long shot-big green"
Green Contour - planning some at 1.5% and others at 3% general slope, including at least a few that roll either away or to the side on a plane, rather than in swales, so that golfers can never assume that the putt will break in any constant fashion.
Green Concept - whether two tiers, three tiers, biaritz, etc., I plan a nice balance of green concepts from the approach aspect.
Well, you get the idea. Being that creature of habit that we all are, I find that when I get to the end of my first run of feature designs, I have relied on one feature too much, and its a simple matter to check the list and make a few tweaks to the greens that aren't working as well, perhaps substituting chocolate drop mounds for a bunker, etc. to get more variety.
Now, this group is probably choking on their Cheerios to read this, and because my name isn't Doak, will probably want to reenact the Salem Witch trials .......probably believing that every C&C green is a gift from God, does nothing but follow natural contours, etc. Simply isn't true - greens are built! They take their cues, even as above, from the natural contours, but they are built (and then maintained) by the hand of man!
Golfers seem to like my courses, and since I have started designing this way, the magazines have given more acclaim for my designs than previously, so the idea must work to some degree, and I think I will stick with it for a while.