I don't think the course is much more penal from the back tees than it would be from the middle tees (though I only played it from the back, so I'm not sure). There were only two shots where the added distance significantly increased the penal nature of the hole (the forced carry off the tee on the par 5 5th, and the carry on the par 3 12th).
Regarding the individual holes, here is my assessment. I couldn't quite get to Anthony's 7 great holes, but I do think there are four great holes, five more pretty damn good holes, a couple of really interesting but flawed holes, five boring holes, and two actively bad holes.
Great:
11 - reminds me a bit of a shorter, par 4 version of the 13th at Augusta: a drive flirting with the hazard down the right side on the tee sets up a MUCH easier second shot across the creek to the neatly canted green.
14 - I think this hole has to be my favorite island green hole in the world, because it's the only island green I've seen that doesn't look artificial. The green looks much smaller than it is, which I like, and it's severely contoured in the middle, so that if you hit to the wrong part of the green the putt is nasty.
15 - excellent lay-up-or-go-for-it dilemma on the par 5 second shot, with a really nice green sited naturally into the edge of the pond fronting it, contoured to make the chip shot if you go for and bail out on the "safe" side very difficult.
17 - fantastic natural shelf green for a short par 4; very interesting problem of where to hit the layup if you don't go for it, with problems of blindness, angle, and lie to think about; also an interesting problem of where to aim if you do go for it, with a rocky hillside above the right edge of the green and a sharp drop on the left side of the green.
Pretty damn good:
4, 13 - two short cape par 4s, which I think suffer a bit from their similarity; I imagine most people will like 13 better because it's reachable and more scenic, but I like 4 better because there's more going on around the green to reward a well-placed tee shot.
6 - I love the gambling tee shot on the par 5, but there's a bit too much going on in the landing area for an aggressive tee shot given that the shot is blind, and I didn't think the approach was that interesting.
12 - long carry par 3, which I like b/c the green is tiny with space to miss long leaving a pretty terrifying shot -- but one that's much better than being wet. But the green doesn't really look like it "fits" as well as some of the others, and the hole is awfully hard for high handicappers.
16 - neat solution to an uphill par 4, lots of character, great green made very tricky b/c it's built into the hillside.
Good and bad at the same time:
5 - I love the green site, wedged tightly between a creek short and rock formation long. I appreciate that it's a true three shot par 5 where you have to think about where you want to be for the third shot while standing on the tee. But think the hole's a bit too narrow considering it's length, when the narrowness is unnecessary (there's extra space on the sides that could have been grassed in but wasn't, unlike at most other holes). I also think there's too much going on in the first and second shot landing areas, when the real interest of the hole is third shot; keep the hole uncluttered at first, so people can focus on playing the hole backwards.
10 - a beautiful natural hole, with a sharp drop off the cliff awkwardly placed right where a long drive would end up. I'm very glad Silva built this hole: it's original and interesting, fantastically natural and great to look at. But it's not a great golf hole.
Neutral to bad:
2, 3, 9, 18 - just not that interesting.
7 is a little more interesting, but still not that memorable to me.
Bad:
1 - awkward layup tee shot is a terrible way to start the round.
8 - way too narrow in the landing zone.