CerinoDevoti:you have to have a much more realistic idea of what an acceptable result could be.
That's a concise explanation of why I prefer the unevens game, even in its current flawed form.
However, I don't believe that it's a good argument for keeping UEL the way it is. I believe a much higher portion of the general membership would play UEL if it were more intuitive. The current UEL game confounds our expectations, at least in tougher lies in the short game, which is an experience that people simply don't like. So they go back to the flats.
If the result is reasonably close to what is expected, people are much more willing to work through the puzzle.
I think that an intuitive UEL combined with an across-the-board reduction in spin would yield a game that expands the definition of acceptable results, even beyond the limits of the current UEL, while retaining a broader appeal.
I'd also throw in more random deviation from sand and heavier rough. That's often part of the challenge of those shots in real golf - you can't know exactly how many of those shots will play.
Those of us who enjoy the challenge of extremely difficult conditions will always have the cheap gear at our disposal. Crazy green speeds pop up from time to time, and might eventually be a user option. Hurricane winds are a possibility, as well. Heck, they might even have the ability to give us lunar gravity or Venusian atmospheric drag.
There's a place for elements like that, but it is apart from general gameplay. Uneven lies should be a step towards greater realism in the mainstream game, not a ghetto for a relative few nuts to inhabit.