Wayne -
There has been MANY a thread about the 14th at Trails - it is, in all likelihood, the single most discussed hole of the 54 at Bandon.
Many (and I would guess the majority) would tell you that you are not missing anything.
I, having only played it once, feel unqualified to strongly agree or disagree with your conclusion. I agree with your premises that it does not offer an easy birdie, but I do not necessarily think that is a disqualifier for a hole striving to be a good short par 4.
I will say this, love it or hate it, I am at the very least happy to see the fact that the hole was built in the first place - it's a risky hole and one that I would guess C&C knew would be controversial.
Of all of the holes in Bandon, I would say that the 14th at Trails is the one that I am most eager to play again...not because I think it is a great hole, but because it is so divisive amongst a group of people well qualified to assess its relative merits and shortcomings.
When I played it, I wiped my Driver to about 50 yards short of the green in the collection area to the lower right, and then nipped what I thought was a perfect semi-flop lob wedge right at the middle pin that came up about a yard short and caught the top edge of the bunker. From that point, I blasted to around 10 feet and missed my putt. The rest of the group did not fare as well as I did.
So at least that gives you some perspective as to where I am coming from - I probably played the hole as most do - from the lower right and then missing the green short.
Either way, you can pull a search out of the archives as I recall a very lengthy discussion that concluded some time around February or March of this year on this very hole, but I find the hole intriguing and fascinating in part because of what it is, but maybe even moreso because of how people react to it.