Andy,
I thought 12 was neat, and that green is indeed outrageous. I hit two good shots to get just left of the green, but I walked off with 6. Obviously, I was not in a good mindset about the hole after that, but looking back now I'm remembering how cool that green is. I was not a big fan of the other par fives, which I found to be awkward and generally devoid of options.
In general, I thought most of the greens were wacky in a good way. How about that front-to-back bunkerless green at 5? Or the sideways two-tiered green at the short 2nd? Or the rippling green at the long 6th? They were all a hoot.
It's interesting you say people are polarized by the railroad ties on 16. I've always been a sucker for Dye ties, so I thought 16 was great. But beyond that, the hole is just a classic dogleg. I ripped a 3-wood there, but I played conservatively out to the left. That left me with a blind second shot over the trees, and I had to shape a 9-iron into a back left pin. My friend Brian hit 3-iron off the tee, but he hugged the waste area on the right and was left with both a better angle and a shorter approach, even though my 3-wood was 20 yards past him. Bottom line: 16 is exactly the type of mid-length par four I love. The railroad ties were just a bonus.
One other thing I didn't mention in my first post: PB Dye is super-walkable considering the terrain. Clearly most of the play there is cart ball, but they let us walk and carry at 11 AM on a Sunday. I imagine that is a rarity for the area, and it was a nice surprise that started out the day on a good note.