1. I'm calling your bluff. Which parts of Old Mac are manufactured, and which aren't? Which are the 3-4 holes where we moved the most dirt? And what particular features are created? [Don't try to go hole by hole, just pick a couple that you are sure of, and I'll tell you if you're right or wrong.]
I like the challenge! As I mentioned in a response to GJ earlier, I felt that the biggest issue was not the places where large contours had to be changed, but the minute ones which were done to adapt some of the templates and then having that clash with the rugged hazards (which may fall under the "A lot of people were going to have problems with using the templates too much or not enough category). So while, say, the ridge line had to be cut into for 7 and 8 tee (am I right on that?) the result is quite good and it's hard to discern if any dirt had to be moved. I would imagine it took quite a bit of dirt moving to put the 14th green where it is as well. 18 green would be my last guess for most dirt moved, as I recall the mounds on the right were manufactured to create the punchbowl (which, I may add, I thought was a great rendition of it.
But for features that stick out in my memory, either the front portion of the Redan was brought up or dirt raised for the back portion to soften the slope of the green, and the slope that leads to the "road" (in this case, short grass) on the road hole.
Well, you are one out of four.
The most earth moved was cutting down the 7th green and 8th tee. (check) But that was all done by cutting ... and all of the earth was hauled to #6, to build up the ground between Hell bunker and the green, and to build up the first landing area enough so you could see Hell bunker well. Most of #6 was very low and very boring when we started. Also, a couple of the mounds you are hitting over on #7 tee are natural, but a couple were created by Jim Urbina.
The next most earth moved was to cut down the crest of the fairway at #3, and create the upper landing area there. Originally it was just a big up and over ridge crashing down to the bottom on the ocean side almost as fast as it does on the (undisturbed) inland side.
The third most earth moved was to create the Alps feature for the second shot on #16. That whole mound is created ... and a lot of the remains of the gorse are buried underneath it.
The fourth most earth moved was filling up the bottom of #15 fairway from 125 to 200 yards back from the green. We thought the hole was too severely uphill for the average player from 150 or 200 yards out, so we raised that whole area 4-6 feet.
#14 green took a bit of shaping, but no big fills from outside. The right side of #18 is indeed all fill -- it was very flat in that area -- but that's not really much more fill than most architects put on every green site to build them up three feet. We just stacked it all on the one edge.