Let's start with the general scenery. Overall, the property is easily recognizable. There are some quirks in the game. Among them is the odd-looking islands. They are misshapen without any details. EA probably didn't think they were that important, but I do consider that to be a noteworthy graphical issue with the game.
The Olympic Mountains also seem off to me. You can see them across the Puget Sound from some of the higher holes, but it doesn't look like EA tried to make them look like their real-life counterparts.
One thing that I have to praise is the Lone Fir (technically not a Fir, but even we call it that).While not photorealistic (trees are especially difficult to render), you can tell that EA gave their attention to that tree. Simply put, their portrayal of the tree looks like it was based off of the real thing.
Some people might point out to the problems with the color of the grass. When the USGA came to the property, they essentially shut off the water. Combine the shutoff with the unusually dry weather, and Chambers Bay was browner than ever before during the event that became the whole reason Chambers Bay was included in the game. Compare the US Open to the game, and the colors aren't even close. I have to be fair to EA on this one. There is no way they would have come to Chambers Bay during the US Open to get their information on the course, and they could not have properly predicted the color of the grass.
I don't know when EA came to Chambers Bay to due their research on the course, but there are at least some clues. The game includes the North Dock. I believe that feature was removed last October. I believe it's hole 17 where this feature is easily seen in the game. I intentionally aimed away from the hole to get a better look at the dock. I didn't see any tarps or any attempts to deter Ospreys from nesting on the structure. Those were added in late March or early April 2014. That means EA visited the property before then unless they decided to take liberties. Even if they decided to remove the deterrents, they still had to have done their work prior to last October.
I should probably clarify something. EA did not give us a mode to just explore. I have to aim golf shots in weird ways sometimes in order to get a better look at the scenery.
Personally, I would rather have the Playground by the Sound in the game than the North Dock. In some of their general course images, you can see the restroom by the North Meadow to help indicate where you are looking. The angle provided should include the playground, but that area is shockingly empty. Similarly, there is a shot in the game where you can tell they left out the Spot of Shade.
During the US Open, the playground would not have been very noticeable. That area had a number of tents that would have blocked the view. It's clear that EA did not have a map showing the USGA's tent locations. There were some obvious choices that EA correctly guessed, including on the hill in the generally vicinity of the playground (none of the tent were as far east as they really went), but the course was shockingly bare during the US Open in the game.
This was more of a problem along hole 18. Rainier Village was built in between the remnants of the old sorting bins. In the game, there were no tents along 18. This also allowed you to turn toward the North Meadow and be shocked that
As for scenery, there is one last thing that I want to mention, the railroad tracks. This is a well known feature of the course, and it's nice to see the tracks, but where are the trains? They were not stopped during the US Open. Why do they never pass while I'm playing?
One of the things EA has been using to showcase the game is their use of wildlife. Overall, I like the idea. The problems are that they didn't seem to properly research the local wildlife. For example, I have seen numerous shots with a large group of what appear to be elk on the beach. We have Black-tailed Deer, and they are not seen in such large groups as the Elk in the game.
In one game, they showed a bear. I should be a little cautious about this one. The thing about bears is that they like access to forests of reasonable size. We do not have that by the property, and they are not the kind of animal that uses the park. Even so, I would not call them impossible. Last year, a Black Bear was seen at Point Defiance. Although Point Defiance is a rather large park for forested land, it's actually a similar situation as Chambers Bay. If they can have one find its way to Point Defiance, a bear can probably also find its way to Chambers Bay. To make things even more interesting, I heard about a bear sighting in the nearby neighborhood not too long ago.
Foxes are another annoyance in the game. I have heard that they live in the Canyon, but I have yet to see one anywhere in the park. They are frequently shown in the game by the sorting bins. I do not believe that it's realistic to see a bunch of them in the middle of the day by the sorting bins. A Coyote wouldn't be out of the question.
Rabbits are common on the property, but I'm not sold on their abundance on the golf course itself. I have seen them on the course, but most sightings are closer to shrubbery.
I also wanted to mention the Orcas. This is an unlikely but definitely possible sighting. In my years of walking around the park, I have seen them once. It's kind of weird seeing them so frequently in the game. Porpoises would be more representative of the park. Despite this, it's at least realistic. In fact, I heard that they were seen during one of the practice rounds for the US Open.
Not all the wildlife in the game is seen. EA included bird sounds in the game. I believe the bird I keep hearing in the game is a White-crowned Sparrow, a common bird on the property. That was a very nice touch from the people at EA.
I still have an issue with the background sounds in the game. Why am I not hearing our Ospreys? Our park is very well known for this particular species, and they do periodically fly near the course. Vocalization is common. We should be able to hear them.
This is getting long. I think I need to summarize my overall opinion of this game. I really enjoy seeing how my home away from home looks in digitized form. Being able to visit the park when I don't have time to head out in person has definitely made the purchase worthwhile. Even though there are some mistakes, it's still a delightful representation of a place that has special meaning to me. For those who are interested, I should also mention that the game includes golf.
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