While I won't likely run the course with the "extra" points, especially with my current dogs, I like the idea. It satisfies everyone. I admit, I am not a big fan of hoopers of any kind, so I am not likely to run this type of course often, but if people want to run it, then I see no downside to having it. It is good for older dogs too.
While I admit, the gates or pens help with the dogs path because they had nowhere else to go, I, myself, didn't like the gates because my little dog (all 11" of him) couldn't see me and therefore was not able to run it very well. He ended up spinning cirlces in the middle and got very frustrated by it all. He was far better with the gates because he could actually see me and my body. However, I know people who didn't like the gates because their dogs didn't see them and ran into them. So by removing both, you satisfy both groups of people. Then by adding a line, you satisfy those who like to have the distance challenge.