I think I recall reading somewhere that Simpson considered the 8th and 18th at Cruden Bay to be two of his best holes. I've certainly always liked and respected them, the 18th with it's green that runs away from you and normally plays with the wind behind, and the 8th, which I recall needed a fairway rebuild in the mid 80's after a huge deluge ran down the side of Cardiac Hill and washed away large section of the fairway.
I guess it's now kind of difficult to believe as these two holes are maybe some of the lessor holes if you play today at CB with modern clubs and balls.
However, I remember playing these holes with persimmon and blades and older soft balata style balls and these holes were indeed tough, so what it must have been like when the course was laid out with hickory shafts and ancient balls in mind. Interesting to speculate. Then again I guess you could say the same for all the older classic courses, say the ones designed and built before WWII.
All the best.
PS - as an aside, I remember 25+ years ago playing the 8th in a competition and a playing partner, using persimmon not titanium, sliced his tee shot miles right onto the side of the hill. We found his ball within the 5 minutes set aside, but then took several more minutes to find where he'd laid his carry bag down (no stand bags then!). You can't beat the rough at CB!