Of course, there is nothing wrong with Penal or Heroic (though I prefer to play strategic), there are plenty of great Penal/Heroic Holes. Nash Old 7th is an excellent representation of penal golf design in Australia.
Anyway, for clarity, here are the definitions of heroic / penal / strategic:
Strategic - Even designers with a penal or prescriptive bent, are prone to describing their philosophy as being strategic, such as overwhelming evidence that strategic golf makes the most sense. Strategic design is all about choices, and giving golfers the option of taking risk in order to reduce difficulty of a subsequent shot. Width is an essential ingredient of strategic golf, along with cleverly positioned hazards that tempt and test golfers across the ability spectrum.
Penal - Penal design differs from strategic design by forcing golfers to take risks and then punishing mistakes more than rewarding a successful gamble. Penal courses are the most mundane, reducing the need for cerebral thought by instead prescribing how each hole must be played. Think water carry par 3's, and narrow par 4s and 5s through trees, bunkers, or thick rough. Little thought is needed; you simple step forward and hit the shots prescribed through design.
Heroic - Straddling the line between strategic and penal design, heroic holes are those that allow the golfer to take large risks in order to set up a birdie opportunities. This often involves the carry of a hazard from the tee on a par 4 or 5, Whereas a misplaced drive on a strategic hole might leave you with a poor approach angle, on a heroic hole it might leave you without a golf ball.
https://www.planetgolf.com/news/a-gl...e-architecture