In my opinion, North 9 is far superior to South 9. If all 18 holes were like North 9, it would rank much higher in my mind. It has much more interesting elevation changes in the fairway and that add greatly to the dimensionality of the course.
I will also say that Sahalee plays much wider than it looks due to wider landing areas (can't see them from the tee) and the fact that wooded areas are completely clear of debris. Even if you hit one in the woods, unless the ball gets stuck in the tree, you can usually find it and play it as it lies. That is far superior to most NW heavily wooded courses that rarely clear areas under the tree. McCormick Woods may have wider playing corridors, but once you hit it into the woods, it is much more difficult to find your balls and that is true for most NW courses outside of Sahalee.