After reading about Quietly's latest winter course project (and seeing some... gif (!) of what one hole could look like), I figured that it would be nice to start anticipating playing in wintery conditions, so I decided to try this Alpine course, one of the few (if not the only one ?) available that I found so far.
Needless to say, it is impossible to compare the 2008 technology with today's impressive display, shown by Quietly.
On the plus side, the Alpine panorama looks gorgeous all around and the white "blanket" covering the landscape is quite nice, making the scenery beautiful and, obviously, quite different.
As expected, quite a few holes are gorgeous, most notably, the par-3 3rd (with the green set on a high mound), 7th (my favorite hole, very short - 96 yards ! - with its hidden green, surrounded by beautiful high trees all around, but with a magnificent overview), and the 11th and 15th, with their wide greens.
There are also plenty of risk/reward holes on this par 72 course (par-4 2nd, par-4 4th, short par-5 5th, par-4 14th) where you might be very tempted to try to reach the green from the tee : I was, and I... paid for it, as I finished 7 over par (!), playing in novice mode !
And that's where the minus side comes in : despite some other gorgeous dogleg holes (par-5 1st and 12th, to name a few), it is very hard to see the fairways, especially on the back 9 where plenty of trees are in a way, be it from the tee or on your second shot.
If you add some holes with ponds and small lakes, Phil Vanderbur 08 created a very tough fantasy course. As for the snow effect, it looks nice but when your ball lands in it, it does not look natural as it does not disappear like it does in high rough, for example.
But, overall, Phil Vanderbur 08 ought to be commended for designing such an ambitious course, which, despite its small drawbacks, is a lot of fun to play ! Try it and you will see... At least, you will be better prepared when Quietly releases his winter course !!!

Notes to architect: 1) Please do not upload your courses in RAR format. Your courses must be in ZIP format ONLY. If you upload in RAR format again, the course will be deleted until it is uploaded in the proper format. 2) Do not upload your course multiple times. Please allow up to 24 hours once your course has been uploaded for staff approval. Courses are not instantly approved.