I played Tetherow on Saturday and was very impressed by the course, especially since it was fescue based which is unlike any inland layout I have seen in Oregon.
My favorite element of the course was the aesthetics, which are exemplified by the contrast between Broken Top and Tetherow. Broken Top is very green, with homes lining the course and the coloring looked very standard (meaning mid to dark greens in the fairway and rough). I think these courses appear out of place in the high desert because it does not match the color palette of the area.
Tetherow, on the other hand (as evident in the great pictures posted on the site), melds beautifully with the environment and provides the golfer with a large amount of color contrast. The light shades of the waste area and bunkers, the golden yellow of the long grass and eyebrows, the dark greens of the native vegetation, the dark water, the light green of the fescue, the dark trees which tended to be sporadically scattered about the course, it really is something to behold and difficult to find elsewhere, especially when you factor in the panoramic views of the Cascades and high desert. I hope the home construction does not ruin the aesthetics of the course (which is probably unavoidable).
A couple of the holes had a "circus" element which was kind of fun/different but a little over the top. One of the forecaddies told us that Kidd hit a great drive and a solid second into #16 a couple of weeks ago and found himself over the green back/left, past the cartpath and in the junk. I think even the architect would agree that this hole needs some work. The pin position on #6 was ridiculous but fascinating at the same time because it is not something you see on 99.9% of courses. #17 is visually stunning and the bunker to the left is just nasty.
On many of the holes the area around the greens is cut really tight which allows for unique hole positions that other courses cannot get away with. The greens, although undulating, constantly resulted in straight putts during my round provided I was on the same tier. Not sure if anyone else found the same thing?
The risk/reward element of Tetherow reminded me very much of links golf. You can score well or you can get crushed depending on how you manage and execute on any given hole. There tend to be multiple options off the tee so strategy is up to the golfer, not dictated by the architect.
I did not find my senses overwhelmed but certainly understand how the pictures convey a bit of a disco element not at all in the spirit of minimalistic architecture. You may want to give the course a go before passing final judgement, since it is a great layout, a stunning setting and when you are playing it makes you want to smile, not puke, even though you may find yourself shaking your head at times.
I apologize that my first posting is a novella that probably sounds like an ad for Tetherow, but I think Central Oregon is very fortunate to have this track in addition to some other excellent layouts (such as Crosswater and PH-Fazio).