I wholeheartedly agree with Mark. Stone Eagle is a gem, for a variety of reasons.
The highly challenging terrain severe slopes along that canyon would've deterred most other architects, or at least yielded a far less enjoyable, and brilliant, design. I wonder whether this near moonscape of a property would be tackled today...by anyone not certifiably insane.
Furthermore, I believe that the evolution of desert golf is near complete...from the early genius of Red Lawrence's Desert Forest and C&C's We-Ko-Pa through to the incredible artificiality of Shadow Creek to the enlightened Stone Eagle. Stone Eagle is, IMO, that important a work for this sub-specific genre.
Some may criticize the greens (and I'm not always a fan of the perpetual and overt undulation found in most other TD courses), however Stone Eagle's mimic the movements of the canyon's footings and don't seem to fight the natural slopes and shoulders.
The course's width is exhilarating yet retains strategic advantages once you learn where to put a tee shot if you want any chance of exacting a close approach. The eye is easily fooled, but amply rewarded with well-placed shots.
Many folks I've discussed Stone Eagle with put it farther down their list of Doak creations, yet for some reason, I always think of it much closer to the top. Maybe it's my apples-to-apples comparison (desert vs. desert, instead of inland or shoreline), but after playing it numerous times, I've always appreciated it more and more and think it belongs at the top of any examination list. It deserves far more credit and attention than it has received to date.