John,
Good topic and a near-great course. Personally, I prefer the first Ross hole (9) to the second one (15). I feel the green is the best on the course, and the approach shot places the type of premium on the long-mid iron that Ross tended to favor. That green motivated me to coin the phrase that "every green has a back door to let yourself in."
I especially like the 3rd as well, and surprised you didn't mention it. Considering Wilson's comparably small list of contributions to architecture, I felt that hole captured a Wilson-esque Par 5 as best as anyone could.
The first par 4 on the course, the fourth is another great hole patterned after Dev Emmet. Good to see him get his due.
The Tillie Hole may be the best adaptation. You can take that hole and put it anywhere on Bethpage Black and it would fit. Same with Philly Cricket or Baltusrol.
10-11 I had mixed feelings on. Both seem to be exactly contradictory to the strategies employed by Thomas and Flynn. The tenth forces you to aim at the bunker, leaving it well short or try to carry it to aim at the green, whereas Thomas would have offset the green such that making the hole longer by aiming away from it would give you an optimum angle, but challenging the bunker for the long hitter would give a shorter shot.
The Flynn hole makes you cut the corner to gain a shorter shot to the green, which is reachable in two. The bunkering seems forced at best, especially for Flynn. Also, I question using a par five to represent Flynn. Flynn's significant battery of quality par 4s is his strong point, and the terrain on the course seemed to dictate that a bold routed, outside the dogleg, plays longer than the number Flynn Par 4 could have been built.
The Par 3s are the weakest part of the course, in attribution at least. Without their attributions, I would be fond of all, but the MacDonald, Banks and Colt/Alison holes don't capture what I feel those respective architects would have put there. A lot of criticism goes to the Colt/Alison hole, mainly for the attribution. I look at the par 3s (except the superlative 17th - Stanley Thompson) as Stephen Kay designs, and it makes the experience much more enjoyable, as they are great holes. The Banks "Redan" at 12, is a good par 3, but not a Redan, save for the bunkering.
The Dick Wilson hole (16) is a downright monster with a huge green. Not sure how I feel about it yet. And ironically, the RTJ, Sr. hole (18) is the easiest on the course. Drive down the middle, wedge to the green, one putt birder both times I played it. And the pinched landing area bunkering doesn't seem too punitive either. Maybe that was a light architectural jab at RTJ, Sr? He was still alive at the time of design and construction, and passed away shortly before the opening.
As for the Travis hole, I loved it. The Maxwell hole I am still out on, as well as the Mackenzie hole, which is a bit contrived.
Glad you brought this course up Jon. Next time you're in the Jersey/Philly area, let me know.