Well, to put it bluntly, your pal is an idiot. Bandon Trails may "suffer" by comparison to the other three courses on the property, because the others are more consistent 1-18 and have more seductive eye candy. It may not be viewed as kindly as the other three because no matter the weather conditions, it is a very difficult golf course. If there's no wind or rain, the other three courses can come across as relatively easy because of the fairway widths, among other features, while BT is much more demanding off the tee, perhaps because it is more protected by the trees. I can understand people not liking 14; I count myself in that camp. I guess I'm more accepting of quirk on an old golf course than a new one. I'm not saying that is a particularly defensible position, but it's the way I feel. 15 is a great hole, with a tough second shot that can lead to a tough third shot. 16 is a little goofy with the green that has so much right to left slope, 17 is a great par 3 hole and 18...well, I just don't like anything about 18. To me, it's the weakest of 72 holes on the entire property. It's almost as if they ran out of land, sort of like 18 at Cypress. It's a very unsatisfying finish, in my amateur opinion, which ain't worth much. So if you want the bulldozer, I'll listen to some opinions about 18, but not 1-18. There's a lot of great holes among the other 16 out there...