I also used to work at GVR, when it first opened. I enjoy the course but it has plenty of flaws.
Matthew, I'm curious what flaws you saw in Green Valley Ranch (aside from the abysmal 16th hole, that is).
Doug,
Sorry I had missed your question earlier.
There are obviously a lot of environmental restrictions at GVR that make for some strange holes. I especially was never a big fan of the tee shot at the first (long, semi-blind carry over ESA wetlands) for the first shot of the day. The tenth hole would have been even worse if it were the first, since it has ESA on both sides. Both are decent enough holes (the first has nice Cape qualities and there's something interesting about the way the 10th narrows the further you play, all the way to the back edge of the green), but both are just harsh as potential starting holes.
The specimen trees in the second fairway are nice trees but I'm not sure either makes the hole better, the second one especially. And then you also get trees in the line of play at 7 and 16 (and honestly sometimes 8, which is a par 3, lol). The finishing trio is a run of not great holes, though the 17th green in kinda fun. The 16th is the worst offender by far, just a terrible hole, but I never found much to like about 18 either. When we first opened the course the deal was if you made pars at 16, 17, and 18 you got a free drink in the bar, but I doubt many people were even brave enough to lie and say they'd pulled that off on those holes.
Don't get me wrong, I actually really like that course. It has the Dye family use of angles, good greens, the wind blows a lot, and it's actually walkable (do they still let people walk?). Plus, obviously, I have a ton of great memories from a summer working there, including several weeks before the course was officially open. But the course does have a lot of penal features, including water or ESA on (IIRC) 12 holes, which is a lot more than you might expect for a course out on the plains by the Denver airport.