My thoughts are as follows:
1. What a great hole Sand Hills #17 is. Beautiful and demanding, with subtle challenges around the green. I finally hit the green by hitting a low 8-iron in there, after about 5-6 more traditional efforts.
2. Although #5 at Dismal River is visually spectacular, this hole may say something about the Coore/Crenshaw versus Nicklaus philosophy of architecture. Sand Hills also has a hole where a shot that comes up short rolls backwards 40-70 yards. The difference is Sand Hills #1 is 520 yards long, so the third shot should be a wedge. Dismal River #5 is something like 180 yards uphill, so a mid-iron is required. I have a question. If you fly the ball up there, but not so softly, like most players hit a mid-iron, does it stay on the green?
There's no question that Dismal River has some really dramatic shots.