Tom W....that's the course in Wexler's second book, right? It looked like a pretty good layout.
Tom P... I've always had trouble with the 18th green, b/c there just isn't a bailout. I feel as though one is always hitting a middle iron to that green, which cants slightly away, leading to thick rough. Unlike many other greens at Myopia, there is no room on the ground to help a ball on the green (come to think of it, only 9 and 15 are also like this). The features on 7 at least allow you to land short, although it can be a crapshoot whether it releases, or whether it sticks. #8 is what I was thinking of when i said it is advantageous to miss the green, as a chip from the left is easier than a 4-footer from the right.
I never had too much trouble with #17, although it is difficult to hold the fairway. There is ample room to bounce a short iron in from the left, but I admit that it's a crapshoot, much like many other shots all the way around.
I agree that there are many half-par holes, and the nature of the tiny greens and ground game around them means that it's very tough to get under par and stay there, as the good, lucky shots tend to even out with the unlucky shots.
I haven't had the pleasure of Garden City (I stopped by to gaze over the course once from that short street that dead ends into the early/late holes), but I always saw from the pictures that it appeared to look alot like Myopia with a majority of lay-of-the-land holes interspersed with early methods of golf earthwork.