Archie,
I was also fortunate enough to play Hidden Creek earlier this year, and have been surprised it hasn't generated more discussion here than it has, given C&C's general popularity among this group. Perhaps enough folks haven't played it yet, but I'd encourage anyone who has the opportunity to take advantage of it.
It is not a course that cries out to be noticed from a visual standpoint. There is little in the way of architectural histrionics to woo or cajole the golfer into falling under its spell. It does not almost cry out to be loved, as so many modern courses do.
Perhaps an apt comparison might be Pinehurst #2. Built on similar terrain, not exactly flat but something less than "rolling", most of what is there is very subtle, very natural, low-key, classy, and deceptively easy-looking. You're correct in assessing that the greensites are where most of the challenge begins, and what one must learn and be aware of while placing drives and approaches.
And no, even that comparison breaks down because there are few Hidden Creek greens with the severity of #2. Instead, they are just all different in some unique ways, containing all sorts of subtle internal contours, as if someone had just mowed a piece of ground without much thought to creating shaped features. Minimalist, to say the least.
In my opinion, the best of the course can be found between the 6th and 12th, although a few of the early holes are more dramatic, such as the short par four second, guarded by a somewhat uncharacteristic man-made, gnarly mound to a fall away green, the par five 3rd around a deep sandy depression, or the redan-like 4th.
The combination of the 10th, with a blind approach to a deep green that screams for a running approach, the short 11th that you mentioned to a wonderful green, and the long par four 12th where challenging the bunkers on the left sets up the approach are all wonderful, and as solid a three-hole combination I've seen.
However, I must admit that a few of the final holes had me scratching my head, and I'd like to understand them better. For instance, you mentioned that 15 is one of your favorites, but I drove through the fairway there into the end bunker and found my approach totally blocked by trees, which is not apparent from the tee. What was it that you found so appealing there?
Fourteen is seemingly the most simple, innocuous par three one can imagine, and just looks like a flagstick sitting out there in the middle of nothing about 200 yards away. It is only when one gets closer to the green that you can tell that the green is oriented much more diagonally than is apparent, and is about 3-4 clubs in depth. Talk about a hole where knowing the exact yardage is critical!!
However, the one that really made me wonder was 16. I still have no real idea what the architects envisioned there, as it simply seems to be a long, straight, par four which, while demanding, didn't seem to offer much in the way of strategy.
One other note about Hidden Creek. I understand that the design theme was meant to hint at a Heathland course, with the type of "pop up" bunkers built by Colt or Fowler, and the look of the bunkers is uniformly excellent, with rough-hewn surrounds. They are most definitely hazards to be avoided. The par five 17th is literally a mine-field of them, and probably captures that look the best of anything out there.
I hope to get back there to learn more about the course, particularly those holes whose subtleties may have escaped me the first go round.
As to your point about the 8th, I did like the uncertainty of the blindness on the drive. However, probably like yourself, I couldn't really see where much of the "risk" was on this risk/reward hole, even with the suitably rolling green.
All in all, however, not only is Hidden Creek a superb addition to golf on the Jersey shore, but it's also the type of course that I imagine the members will play over and over without tiring of its charm and subtleties. Like an old sweater, I'm sure it will wear well with time.