As Emile's post shows, you don't have to drive the green to make birdie. Having the holding wind in the winter often makes it easier to hit and hold the proper portion of the green, and for a front pin being on the right side off of the tee is not a bad result.
I'd echo Will's comments on the hole, especially his thoughts on how getting greedy here can lead to an X.
Like its counterpart short par 4 on the course, the 8th, if you're going for the green you have to be pretty precise off of the tee (generally when one of these is drivable the other isn't). Both greens defend themselves well with their internal contours, and getting out of position can demand precise shots to have any chance at a birdie putt.
It is a Love It of Hate It hole, often determined by how people do on their first play.
In the general context of the puzzle that is Trails, once you unlock where the misses are on the course, it is pretty easy to negotiate a safe route around the course. For the first timer, it means having to overcome the visual tricks and subtle eye-pulls to the pin that Bill and Ben created here. You miss left at 2, and unless you're laying up, the play is well left on 6. At 7, 9, 10 and 11, there is way more room playing away from the flag off of the tee (even if it doesn't look like it), and little chance of trouble. On 17, any up and down from left is way easier from right of the green, and the opposite holds true on 18.
The most common refrain we hear is "with all that room over there, I had to hit it here." Its part over-aggressiveness, part not thinking past what your eyes are telling you. Hopefully, folks are able to build on what they learn on each successive round, and the best path for your game and the conditions that day becomes evident.
Sven