" I would also agree that Jack Nicklaus's moving of the par 3 5th hole down to the oceanside was a good one, though admittedly I never saw the original and if it had anything notable to it. There is also no choice but to leave it anyway since the other land has been developed.
It is a shame the author never experienced the old 5th. It had one helluva green. Severely sloped from back to front and the right side was steeply sloped to the middle.
But the greatest aspect was how the route flowed from the back of 5 to the 6th teeing ground. The impact of seeing the view, as you came around the trees, was special, ala the walk along the river at Highlands Links, or the walk from 15 to 16 at Cypress.
This loss is the most devastating of all of the ill-conceived changes.
In 1998, a year before the Am, approaches were all re-worked. Also, around that time 1999, the bunkers around the 7th were re-done, overnight.