Here is a description of some issues with Arcadia posted by Warren Henderson several years ago:
6th Hole - This green sits in a natural amphetheater setting. The various elevation changes in the green surface are a reflection of the way the existing slopes and ridges worked down off the preexisting hillside. The fronting bunker on this hole is certainly the most obvious hazard but I believe the contours of the green itself create the most challenge from the tee. It certainly is to your advantage if you have played the course to understand this, the elevation change is some 23 feet uphill from tee to green.
9th Hole - The bunker on this hole has generated quite a bit of discussion. Most either hate or love it with few in between. As we were building this hole and the more time I spent on the property, the ravine for me became less of a strategic element and more the defining edge of a dramatic setting. As such I felt that the hole should be looked at from the perspective of what challenges should be presented in and around the complex itself. The green is more than 40 yards wide and almost 29 yards deep, a target larger than many fairways I have seen. I felt the elevation change plus the distance made the bunker possible because even for those players using the back tee and potentially hitting 3 wood, the ball would be descending in its flight. Personally, from the rear tee I have always found that playing out to the right side of the green was the best play, the ball then works back into the green.
14th Hole - The left side pin location on this hole is well protected by what is the only bunker on the hole at the left front of the green. Based on your comments I would say that it has been succesful because it has caused you to think through the options. Long hitters actually have the option of going at this side of the green because at 60 plus feet in depth it can hold a mid iron shot. For others the choice is to play it safe and run into the open right side or try and turn it over a little and feed the ball down the slope. One of the main goals in the design of this course was to create options at every turn, I think this brings people back and makes the course fun to play.
18th Hole - One of the difficult things in working with a property with dramatic coast line and stunning views is that not all the holes can be on the coast or have the best view and while the 18th tee has a great view behind you of Lake Michigan, it is playing away from this vista. I had noted in a previous thread that the Arcadia course can actually be played in four different routings. Two of them have the current 18th as the finishing hole and the others have the current 11th as the finish. The routing change proposed for next year will continue to have the current 18th as the finish. Having said all that the debate will rage on as to whether it is a solid finish. I like the tee shot and think that it has a big impact on peoples perception of the hole. The center bunker requires a decsion as to the line of play. Hit it right and yes you will be blind into the green, but remember you chose the safe tee shot. Trying to fly the bunker will give you the best angle for the biggest risk. Working it left of the bunker will open up the view into the hole but it will leave you with an even greater uphill shot. Similar to the 6th hole and due to the 42 feet of uphill elevation change, the green was set up to be very receptive. Once on the suface the contours are the cahllenge.
10th Hole - To correct you, only 18 feet of the middle section of this green, which is 60 feet deep, breaks away from play. The back right section drains through the middle and out the front. To take advantage of the slope of the green it is best to play either right or left of the bunker.
The decision to combine two distinct bunker styles was not something I took lightly. I anticipated that it might be criticized by some but I arrived at the decision after careful study of many of the great bunkers from other courses. The one thing that stood out to me was when stacked sod or timbers were used to shore eroded areas of bunkers that it was this contrast of materials that appealed to me. The large waste area on hole 2 was the genesis of this concept. From the tees the bunker works through native grasses, sand and plants to ultimately work into the right side of the green. It was at its termination at the green where I worked the sod wall effect into play. My intention was not to create a look alike effect of other bunkers I had seen but rather to go one step further in the creation of something unique. The fescue blow out style bunkers are for the most part worked into the surrounding hillsides while the more formal sod wall bunkers are worked into the rolls in the fairways or greens. There is some deviation of this for variety.