Steve:
The shame of it is that the club when it was being first contemplated could have built a course with a real linksy type look. The Curley / Schmidt / Couples collaboration is still OK but the focus soon turned to the plan of the club being a "men's only" deal and the resulting bad press plus associated costs and isolated location with limited amenities pushed matters down the more difficult path.
Be curious to see if going public will change the direction.
Matt, I'm not so sure what you mean by linksy type look? Are you suggesting that was the original idea?
Or for some reason, do you think that would have been a better look than this:
You call the course..... OK, I thought it was fantastic (before any inherent bias since now being employed by Schmidt-Curley). Like others have said, its a core layout, you are completely sheltered from the outside world, which really helps sell the style/look. You will not find anything like it in Arizona. Not to mention... everything else architecturally is pretty solid.
Given your affinity for Vista Verde, how would these two compare... in your mind?