Kevin -
You remember correctly about the elevated tee shot. From the course's website:
Fabulous, head-turning vistas on this par-72, 6708-yard jewel include special touches like the signature 15th hole’s 250-foot drop to the fairway below.
I was going to call b.s. on this number since it would be impossible for a 6-foot-tall human to see anything 250 feet below the tee unless he was within 10-15 feet of the front of the tee.
But, I looked on Google Earth, and the drop from tee to fairway is slightly over 200 feet. I don't know why they felt the need to exaggerate; that's as much drop as I have heard of anywhere in golf, other than that stupid 19th hole on some course in South Africa where you need to take a helicopter to the tee.
From the looks of the hole at Hidden Valley Ranch, you're about 80% likely to hit that drive into the trees, or possibly into a house on the far side of the fairway.