Glad this cool thread was brought back up.
I was recently able to stop in here and take a quick look at these greens. The 18th has been mostly wiped out into a big flat cut/fill pad in the amphitheater it still sits in. 12, the more famous and wild one right next to it, still has some contours intact.
I really wanted to see this in person, having obsessed over this picture since college days and using it in numerous presentations since. Also wanted to see how it compared to 16 at Pasatiempo, which I got to spend some time around last summer, to see if any sort of re-instatement/restoration was practically possible.
Having now seen it in person, a true restoration would seem to be a stretch, even if there was a commitment to keep speeds at 9 or less. What kind of skews my judgment negatively though are two clearly changed conditions from that original version--the current green pad that is built up very high up above the back section of the old one, making it all feel a bit steeper than it would have been; and the front left bunker and landform is missing, which would provide a supporting stop for any poor souls who end up too long and having to putt back downhill. Both of these items would reduce the overall back to front slope differential, thus making everything in between a bit more manageable. If you start with those moves, and maybe even exaggerate them to skew toward playability, you might have a roadmap to re-instating what might very well be the most incredible green ever built. Because I wouldn't be surprised that there are actually a bunch of clever ways to get from level to level if out of position, aiming sideways or even backwards, taking big zig-zag routes to get from A to B, with stops at C, D, and maybe E along the way. I have a feeling you'd be able to find the original levels and shapes in the back section too once you start peeling away that current pad. Would be pretty amazing to dig around and see what you find.