I spent six months working at Tumble Creek in the summer of 2010. The course grew on me each round I played. I have probably put in around 40 rounds there. The thing that hardly no one mentions is that it is on an extremely windy site. I would like to hear Doaks opinion, but I bet this would rank up there in windy sites that he has had to work on, and he has had quite a few windy sites (Ballyneal, Pac Dunes, Old Mac, Barnbougle Dunes, Cape Kidnappers, Tumble Creek). The average round at Tumble Creek is going to be about 60 degrees with about a steady 20mph breeze, that gets stronger on the open holes. Any day could range to a 2 to 4 club wind.
The course has a fantastic set of greens. Even the ones that are more subtle such as (1, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16) still have tons of back to front slope. The greens that have a ton of contour are (2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 15, 17, 18). They are bent grass greens that roll perfectly all season. The fairways are also bent grass that is mowed very tight. I would put these just fairways just behind Pronghorn in terms of perfect bentgrass fairways. Though bentgrass is not a perfect surface for fast and firm conditions, with all the wind, it dries out the surface and makes it very firm.
Standout golf holes are #1, a very tight drive but nothing more required than a hybrid off the tee. #3 a slight dogleg right that tempts the driver to give it a go downwind, but bunkers lurk the entire way down the right side. #4 a fantastic par 5, and ranks as one of Doaks Best par 5's. #5 a is stern par 4 that wraps around the canyon. #9 is awesome how he just saddled the fairway over a huge ridge. #10 is another great par 4 that goes along the canyon. #11 is one of the prettiest par 3s around. #18 ranks up there IMO as one of the best Doak finishing holes.
I will be back up in the Northwest this summer interning at Aldarra, and I am looking forward to playing at Tumble again.