Dan - I understand your thoughts on 18 and you are not alone. You would have really disliked it in its original version because there was a deep and huge bunker on the upslope that covered most of the fairway.
I am not sure it is out of character. The green has very severe slopes in its front and back portion and the fairway simply follows the land, as is the case with the most of the course. The green is, however, angled to the line of play and might be the only one that is.
Many people criticize the hole because virtually every tee shot feeds to the same spot - to the left side of the fairway leaving a 190 yard blind approach. I disagree with that view because a very accurate tee shot down the right side yields both a shorter and visible approach. I love blindness as a hazard. Ideally, I could do without the pond but it has been there since the course opened so I am sure it is natural. It also places pressure on the player who knows it is there.
I don't disagree with anything you said here! As I said, I'm not sure it's "out of character," either -- but in my wee mind, it doesn't quite *fit*.
I don't think I've ever seen that very accurate tee shot down the right side. (Maybe if some trees came down in a terrible thunderstorm ... or a freak chain-saw massacre ... I'd see it -- and would be happy to!)
And I don't think I've ever dealt with those severe slopes on the green. (As I said, I haven't played OR enough to make any argument against the hole. The hole's been in the middle area of the green almost every time I've played it, if not every time.)
Your comment on the angled green is interesting. That's part of what I was *feeling*, more than thinking. That green doesn't *look* like the rest of the course.
To me, that green is not a dramatic-enough-looking green for the closing hole at Oak Ridge.