Tobiano should be awarded best new dumb blonde in Canada...
Average holes...
Hard as hell, not very fun, narrow sloping fairway with death on bith sides...
Really badly done rugged edge bunkering...
A lot of details way off as far as quality (grass line, tie-ins etc...)
but
A lot of hype and great views goes a long way
Hmmm.
I'd disagree. Perhaps my Quebecois friend had a tough day. I think it is wide enough with the exception of the ninth hole, which is pretty damned tough. Yes there are heroic tee shots, and yes, there are some relatively big forced carries, but nothing that hard. I played it from a mix of the tips and next-to-backs and didn't struggle with it even in a wind. The back nine is wider and more forgiving, I suppose.
As for the bunkering, it didn't do anything for me -- but I wouldn't hold it against the course. In fact it kind of reminded me of Muskoka Bay (the bunkering that is), and people rave about that course.
As for poor tie-ins, I didn't see that. Land forms were extended nicely thoughout. The one notable exception was the fifth, where I think the cart paths were unnecessary.
As for difficulty, well, lads, be careful what you're saying when you just built a course with greens that are 10,000 square feet and up. Players at Sagebrush may get on in regulation, but five putts later.
And I don't get this tempest in a tea pot about the fescue. Fescue gets irrigated in grow-in. It gets thick and isn't much fun in the first two years. Oh well. Once it thins, Tobiano will be fine. Sure there's hype around this one, but I think, for once, it is warranted.
Can't say as much for The Rise, which was awful, though Tower Ranch was nice. I thought Canoe Creek was terrible, but the Cooke/Carleton work at Talking Rock was not bad at all -- with the exception of the holes that run straight up hill on the back nine.