So, yes, OP here and you're effectively right on the money. Mark Broadie's strokes gain approach is literally dynamic programming applied to golf. He even discusses a bit of the history of dynamic programming in Every Shot Counts.

The point of what I'm doing here is pointing that strokes gained approach at the golf course instead at the player. Ideally, I'd like to continue working on it to build something that can help clubs make minimal, inexpensive changes while maximally improving the strategic interest if the way the course plays.