There's are some nice photos on this thread. I'm enjoying learning about this hole style.
I was a member at Fircrest for a couple of seasons on our assignment at McChord AFB in Tacoma. I'd venture I played the seventeenth hole forty times. I never got to play Jeff Mingay's restored version, though I have seen it several times. Through years of top-dressing and reduced mowing lines, the hole had morphed into the more abrupt and severe version of the hole. That is, a small round target with a steep bank on 360 degrees. I never considered it the strongest hole on the course, or even on the second nine. Strategically, it provided little interest other than it's do-or-die nature. For that reason, it was fantastic for matches. And in its restored version, it is easily the most picturesque hole on the golf course.
But I question the hole style in general. I understand why it's attractive. And I understand it's appeal as a do-or-die option. But I n that way, it's the earliest island green. The recovery is virtually the same from all angles. And missing the fairway (on the par 4 version) is nearly always a lay-up as there's isn't anywhere to position the ball except on the green itself or well short.