Seems to me that different courses work for different people. When you play in Scottsdale for the first time, it's a little like being on the moon and that part of the experience makes the courses seem better than they are. Indeed, if you look at their fate in the ratings, it seems the raters have just this experience. In any event, very few of us play those courses more than once a year and, as a direct consequence, we don't have a sense of their true character. What makes PV or NGLA or Shinnecock great is that they are different and special each time we play them. This is what makes their challenge timeless and their greatness evident. Few desert courses reach that standard (Talking Stick North, Legend Trail, and Estancia maybe) -- I think that, for the most part, they grow less interesting on multiple trips.