Alright, to give an opinion on how it plays, before my brother lights himself on fire...
The hole is something like 540-550 from the second to the tips. Perhaps 10-15 yards longer from the backs.
The tee shot is between the bunker on the left and the cluster of bunkers on the right. There are several fairway upslopes in the landing area that prevent large amounts of roll. I hit a good ball off the tee, and had probably 260-270 to the green. The fairway from the tee is not as narrow as it seems, as the length of time the ball will be in the air makes the landing area feel smaller. The drop is probably 80-100 feet from the tee, maybe only 30-40 feet from the picture spot. The pond is in play for a pretty good hook, but one could be safe in an adjacent fairway to the left.
If the plan was to present a gambling par 5, I don't see it. The hole is a bit too long for the player to really think of going for the green in two, and the area just in front is very narrow on the angle from the first landing area to the green. I hit a 5-iron up the left, and it required a carry over the corner of the pond to a semi-blind fairway that is much larger than the view the player gets from the landing area. I had probably 70 yards from there. The waste area to the right of the green is death. Hardpan, pebble-strewn dirt, the green is 15 feet above you, and sloping away. Not a good idea to miss on this side. My brother ended up in the mown grass short and left of the gree, which was a good angle. Some thick rough (not the tall fescue) could take care of this circumvention.
Strangely, I thought that while my "aggressive" 5-iron ended up in the last bend of the fairway directly facing the green, a layup to 100-140 would present a VERY difficult angle to a green sloping right to left and away (from that angle), all carry over the deadly waste-area. So, if the tee shot misses a little, and a layup must be to the biggest portion of the fairway right of the pond, a third shot of any length over 100 yards (unless way left from the adjacent hole) would be VERY difficult.
The green is small, pitched right to left, with a small tier towards the back right. It is appropriate in size and slope for a short shot, not a running wood shot.
As for the styling, it's not that bad. The course goes in and out of a couple of styles throughout the round, and this corner of the property features ragged-edged bunkering and waste areas. After this section, the course goes to more manicured hazards amongst woods and wetlands, back out into a meadow, then combining the two styles for holes 14-18. For better or for worse, it could work. I have problems with a few of the holes going along, and it definately needs to mature as a whole (especially the part including the hole we are analyzing now), but it's not all bad.
It has certainly had an interesting life already, as it took 4-5 years from ground breaking to opening. The financial issues are well-documented, and it was unique to have a "re-design" before golfers were able to experience it. All in all, Silva likely did an admirable job considering the hurdles faced and the multiple parties involved. I only say "likely" as I probably do not know every detail of the story.