Matt:
I've seen people hit plenty of shots in the water on that hole. Guess what - that's golf. The plural of anecdote is not data and I'd say that the water is very much on golfer's minds. Drop the ad hominem arguments from here on out, please.
I do not feel the tee shots at Twisted Dune carry nearly as much value and urgency as those at MEGL. The same criticism you are attempting to levy on the 18th at MEGL could be levied at a large number of holes at Twisted Dune, especially as one gets into the second nine on holes like 11, 15 and 18. Just bomb away with little regard for challenging the hazards or dunes and find a straight-forward approach. What I feel that Twisted Dune is ultimately lacking are tee shots like the 3rd or 6th at MEGL, where not only do the bunkers influence the line taken off the tee AND the club selection, but their placement insists they be dealt with in some form at some point.
On the whole, MEGL is a very convex golf course, Twisted Dune is a very concave one.
Would the holes at MEGL across the road be better in your eyes if the trees between them were removed? From what I'm getting, that could be the only thing that's really detracting from the holes in your mind.
Is the shot in 16 that much more different than the postage stamp? I mean, the green is tiny, you're going at it with a wedge and the thing is surrounded by bunkers that are designed such that it is possible to roll into them from the green.