The Retreat at Quail Valley26
by Jamey Hribal
LINKS CORNER REVIEW
Designer Background: This is the second course released by Jamey Hribal. His first course was Pacifica Point, released in May of 2004.
Course Overview: The Retreat at Quail Valley is a Par 71 fictional woodland design playing 7416 yards from the back tees. There are three sets of tees. The Par 71 comes from the fact that the back nine has just one Par 5. The course is set in a mountain valley of grasses and heavy woods. The panorama is the Whistler's panorama, and dominates many of the views from the course.
Layout/Playability: The layout of the course is fairly good, although it could have benefited from a few of the really long Par 4's being replaced by shorter, more strategic Par 4's, but overall it is a nice layout. There are a couple of risk/reward holes. The 2nd hole is a 584-yard Par 5 with a very wide fairway. Any tee shot hitting the fairway has a chance to go for the green in two, but the shot is downhill from most often a downhill lie. The green is very small, and is surrounded by deep grass and a creek that runs around the front and both sides. There is also a bunker guarding the front right. The shot is such that, while success grants you an eagle chance and almost assures you a birdie, missing the green by more than a handful of yards means you will have to scramble for Par or even worse. The 8th hole is a 309-yard Par 4 that plays downhill. The green sits on a peninsula that juts into a lake, so the green is surrounded on three sides by water, and even covers the front entrance to the green, leaving a very narrow opening. With any kind of wind in your face, the green is not really reachable, but the water is. The smart play is to hit a 3 wood and wedge on for a birdie. With any other kind of wind, the green is reachable, but it is a hard target to hit. The smart play is still a 3 wood and wedge. In practice, I've hit the water a lot more than I've hit the green.
The putting on the course is about average difficulty. Although there are a lot of flat, straight putts to be had, there are also a lot of sneaky breaks that you don't quite see. Overall the putting is very fair.
The main challenge at Quail Valley comes from the heavily planted deep grass just beyond the rough. Most fairways are generous enough, followed by the band of rough and then the deep grass. The majority of trees are planted in this deep grass. A ball drifting into this stuff is sure to cost a stroke on most occasions. The fairways give you enough room so that a shot landing in the deep grass probably deserves to be penalized due to the shot being hit poorly. Over half of the Par 4's lack fairway bunkers, but on the holes where they do exist they are placed to come into play.
MOD Notes: The course plays well with the MOD. The increased distance of the driver and 3 wood is beneficial here with the numerous long Par 4s.
Summary: There is a lot here to be encouraged about. Mr. Hribal exhibited a good concept of the course, enhanced by the general look of the planting. With the exception of the 3rd hole, the layout is sound, fair and fun to play. The designer shows good promise and I would encourage him to consider future designs.
Reviewed by: Big Three
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