Ron, you're correct that 1 at Crystal Downs is a straight, downhill par 4 with a benched green. That description is as accurate as calling the Mackinac Bridge a suspension bridge.
So why is it special?
Start with the sweeping view. Because it's not just the hole that's all "right there in front of you," but the entirety of the front 9, with morning shadows cast over the rumbling ground and Crystal Lake off in the distance. Those iconic and often funky moments to come can all be picked out in the distance. It's distracting and even breathtaking.
Your focus narrows, at least if you're playing golf. Because that straight, downhill hole is also 450+ yards. The unmistakably Mackenzie bunker looming to your right reminds you of just how cool the next 4 hours could be, but the green looks far enough away that you sorta believe you'll spend all that time just trying to reach it. And even from 450 yards away, it looks pretty damn severe.
You swing. If you're good, you hit a drive that traces itself against that magnificent background on a beeline for the center of the fairway and it's one of the most satisfying shots you've ever hit. If you're smart, you bail out a little bit left to stay the hell away from that bunker. If you're dumb and lucky, maybe you flirt with it and open up the preferred angle of approach. If you're bad, you hit into it. I might have been right of it even. There's oodles of room to play. You're encouraged to open the shoulders and let it fly - that's my favorite kind of opener. You might even get to do it three times before you reach the green. And yet, in all that space, there's still strategy. If you just want to be able to find your ball and hit it again, you can hit it damn near anywhere. But if you want to play golf, you still have to make choices, commit, and execute. Now, doesn't that sound like the type of hole that has appeal for all sorts of players of different skill levels drawn to the game for all sorts of reasons?
If you were smart, you arrive to your approach from the left and realize that you've created a really odd angle to try to hold a green that looks wholly designed to shrug your ball away. You might even consider playing short right and trying to get up and down. Your opponent who hugged the bunker has a much better angle today, but a swing 3 yards looser tomorrow will call his "winning strategy" into question. If you're Josh Tarble, you go ahead and hole the approach from just left of center because you can't eagle 'em all if you don't eagle the first one. For the rest of us, there's probably a pitch shot to hit. Hopefully not a hit-and-hope from one of the bunkers long. Even if your opponent is on the green, don't lose hope. He's only slightly less likely to take 3-or-more to get down than you are.
I could go on, but here's the point: it's a hole that introduces its course wonderfully, with a magnificent sweeping view across its surroundings and trademarkable features. Strategy calls on every shot, and yet the features of the hole itself are subtle enough that you can almost lose sight of them while taking in the view and your mind onto the round of golf at hand. And you're right. It's not a "gentle handshake," and whatever 20 handicapper opined that an opening hole should be a "gentle handshake" might be overwhelmed by it. But I'm a huge fan of Donald Ross' ideal that an opening hole should be a "firm handshake." The opener at Crystal is perfect in that it demonstrates its strength but it also won't punch you right in the face, and while par might be hard to come by, it's also not a hole where you feel like you've botched your start if you make 5. By the time you reach 2 tee you've played one thoroughly engaging hole, have a great idea of what's ahead of you, and have been imbued with a sense of place. I can't think of much more that an opening hole is supposed to do.
I'd be curious to know what holes you've played that make you look at it and say it's a hole you've "seen before."