That's crazy to hear! I'm not PADI but when I did my beginning class we had to do a 500 yards swim NO mask/fins, 15 min tread, and 25 yd u/w swim. It was hard because I was not a great swimmer. I ended up questioning if I could hack the cert. Where I got my cert in NorCal a 500 yd surface swim is not uncommon, everyone has to do it, frequently. Still, allowing the use of mask/fins is insane!