Huck,
I think 15 is a very solid hole, and I'm with you on 16 and 17...but 18 as nothing special? You've got to be crazy. 
18 was one of my favorites on the course and its a damn unique par 5 with one two of the most gnarly fairway and greenside bunkers that I've ever seen. And while it can be reached in two with two excellent shots, it still requires 3 well placed solid shots to be on the green in regulation.
Note I said I personally think 18 is pretty cool; I can just understand it being given a "nothing special" tag sooner than 16 or 17.
So if anyone is crazy, it's my friend Mike.
I just tend to understand craziness more than others.
In any case, 18 is a difficult hole for sure.... but in terms of the world's great golf courses - which this is a discussion of - I can just see someone saying it doesn't stand out. In the end it's typically a layup type drive (just stay right of blowout), then whatever one wants on 2nd shot (just stay straight), the whatever's left on the third (just miss front death bunker). While the bunkers are fabulous and the green is very cool and the shots required are all difficult, there's little strategy involved - it's all quite penal. So if strategy is one's bag, then that whole could be given the "nothing special" tag in the context of the world's great courses.
Note I don't nceessarily agree with all that, I just don't find it completely crazy.
TH
Good point Huck...I read the nothing special bit and overlooked the pretty cool tag...my bad
I don't however think 18 is a penal hole per se. While the tee shot is demanding, I think the strategy lies in getting as close to that bunker as you can to have a better line into the green. If you go far to the right its more difficult to know where to go.
I think the green can be hit in two by long hitters. I hit a 3 wood off the tee and laid up with a 5 wood and only had 80 yards left..and I'm no where close to being a long hitter. Yes it was playing downwind that day.
The real genius of the hole is the approach in as there are options-a-plenty. Sure the nasty bunker short and right must be avoided, but one can play a runner into the green, they can play it off the left bank, they can play it high and try to spin it, or even intentionally leave it short of the green as its difficult to hold that green when playing downwind.