This is one of the better Nicklaus courses I have played. I think the one of its weaknesses is that it is a heckuva tough course for a poor or inexperienced player. There are an inordinate number of forced carries (#'s 3,5,6,7,9,10,12,13,15,16,18). Another (in my own opinion) is that the walk is strenuous to say the least. The trek uphill from the 12th green to the 13th tee is a cardiac waiting to happen. The course has always been groomed impeccably, as you would expect; but they tend to keep the fairways somewhat soft - a negative for me.
The 8th hole, a dogleg right par 4 (411,384) is a very good strategic design with a fairway bunker on the inside of the dogleg and an opening on the right side of the green. It has a terrific contoured design element - a slope running on the right side to the opening to the green. When I first played there, and for quite a few rounds, you could sling a shot into that ridge W-A-Y short of the green and run a ball up and onto the putting surface - a two-tiered green. Very fun. The last two times I played there, they had grown the rough on that bank and simply taken that shot out of the bag. IMHO a terrible maintenance decision.
That third hole previously referenced, the par 3 (178, 157) is probably the most controversial hole among the members I have spoken to. Most feel it is just too difficult for the average player and a round wrecker. I agree. The green is up fairly high above the creek and tends to dry out very quickly, making it quite firm most of the time. Matt Cohn's desription is accurate - there is nowhere to bail - and even a well struck shot can go over the green, and into the hazard, very easily. Northern California is almost always windy; and the prevailing wind is with the shot and slightly left to right, adding to the difficulty of holding the green.
Despite all that, I personally very much enjoy playing the course. It is one of the more strategic Nicklaus designs I have played (a style I tend to love). For the most part, the fairway bunkering is quite strategically placed and though it never has played truly firm and fast, during the summer months there are some options to employ the ground game (#'s 1,4,6,8,9,11,12,17,18).