Jud,
Mac Dunes IS an awesome site! The environmental constraints were what presented the major challenges there. The course has had mixed reviews because due to the strict design guidelines, when it opened, a very raw presentation was the result.
If they had instituted a proper caddie program, it would have made all the difference in minimizing most of the bad reviews. There are: some blind shots, areas of run-through on some tee-shots if you don't know the course, scruffy patches with weeds, coarse fairway definition on some holes and some severity of slope on morethan a few surfaces.
That said...it's Brora on steroids for me. Jolly golf, with a bit of stern Carnasty thrown in for good measure! That said, the project will continue to struggle until they have some real golf people there who understand what's needed. The unfortunate thing is, it's always best to get it right from the outset! Sadly, the climb for them will be much steeper now, as it got slammed by many in the early days.
On an environmental responsibility level, it is probably the most important golf course built in the last 50 years, at least. With all respect to the assertions of the folks at Askernish, ain't NO WAY it's any more natural than Mac Dunes! I know firsthand, the exceedingly strict guidelines they had to operate under and I doubt any other team could have, or would have done much better than the design and grow-in bunch that built the course.