The Brabazon at the Belfry - Designed by Dark Horse Design Group
Reviewed by Joe Turner `Loner' May 2003
This course was not zipped but an exe. (executable) because in order to open the file you had to agree to a standard EULA (end users license agreement) just as you do with all software. At the same time it will install itself into your course folder saving you the time and trouble. Upon opening the file you will find 2 read-me’s, 2 EULA’s, 3 splash screens an install document and of course the CRZ.
This is a portion of the most attractive read-me:
Course history:
At about four o'clock on 15 September 1985, Sam Torrance stood over a 20-foot putt on the 18th green at The Belfry. It was a curling, right-to-left putt and it was to win the Ryder Cup. It is fair to say that at this precise moment European golf stood on the threshold of greatness.
Approximately 10 miles north of Birmingham, in an area where rich farmland meets rich suburbia, the British PGA had decided to build a new headquarters. The site was to include two eighteen-hole golf courses, one a championship layout on which, in due course, the Ryder Cup could be staged. The Belfry's two courses, the championship Brabazon and the shorter Derby Course, were opened in June 1977. As the Brabazon Course matured in the late 1970s and early 1980s, European golf discovered some extraordinary talent. The first to emerge was Seve Ballesteros and it was him who made The Belfry famous. In the 1978 Hennessy Cup, the first major professional event to be played on the Brabazon Course, the swashbuckling 21-year old drove the green at the par four 10th. At the time the hole measured 310 yards, and it was considered such a remarkable shot that a plaque was placed on the tee to commemorate the feat.
The Brabazon Course was designed by Dave Thomas. His brief had been to produce an "American-style" target golf course. (Tired of finishing second in the Ryder Cup, the PGA's philosophy was one of "if you can't beat them, imitate them"). In particular, Thomas was asked to create a course that could be stretched to more than 7,000 yards with ultraquick, severely contoured greens, with plenty of strategically positioned bunkers and an abundance of intimidating, do-or-die water hazards. The land Thomas had to work with could hardly be described as natural golfing terrain: it included a small lake and a winding stream, yet it was very flat and many of the native trees had been cut down to make way for agriculture. But Thomas and his construction team worked wonders, and he fulfilled his brief to the letter. The Brabazon Course was a slice of Florida in the heart of England. Traditionalists were never going to like it, but the general golfing public took to it immediately; it made, and was made for, dramatic golf. Moreover, one rarely heard complaints from the professionals. Aesthetically, the course was lacking in natural beauty and charm when it opened, but over the years extensive landscaping, notably the planting of hundreds of trees, has gradually enhanced the look of the course. Adjustments have also been made to the layout itself, and on each occasion the Ryder Cup has been staged at The Belfry.
First may I say that the textures used in this course are magnificent as is the entire course design. We start with a faintly mowed tee box and progress to the mowed fairway with a first cut leading into the lush rough. Finally we get to the faintly patterned green with a generous fringe. The sizes of the fairways are a pleasure to play, they are very fair sized and nicely but subtly guarded by beautifully constructed bunkers. The can be avoided but if your shot should go slightly astray you’d find them, guaranteed. The greens being somewhat less than medium sized and well guarded for the most part are very fair with ever so gentle breaks. They aren’t “over sloped” like we find on so many other courses. To judge the degree of difficulty I would say a touch over easy, not easy but interesting and enjoyable. The varied selection of trees that line this course have, in places, bushes as undergrowth but if you don’t examine them too closely the shadows that we all “pined” for (sorry about that one) fill in and look perfect. Many of the greens have water hazards and narrow throats but with proper club adjustment they don’t seem to be the problem you would think they could present.
This is a parkland course and the elevations are far from being extreme, they are small but enough to make you adjust your clubs as I said before, I found the caddie to be excellent even from the rough. Buildings, bridges, wood planking around the stream that runs throughout the course and in the larger water hazards. The larger water hazards are decorated with brush, tall grass and scrubs, very pleasing to the eye. Look far off in the distance and on some holes you can see the electrical towers. No I didn’t forget the magnificent fountains, how can I. They can be seen in the top views as tiny circles but at ground level they are some of the most beautiful that I’ve seen in any course, kudos to that designer. Last but by no means least, the clubhouse that has been a “staple” of all the designers that are with the DH group and also the ones that have either passed through or that have been helped by them. It is as always beyond description and has to be seen to be appreciated; you will see it because you have to download this course.
I had the pleasure of being one of the many that beta tested this course. I have not only followed the slow progression of it’s construction by I’ve been privileged to have played the many betas of it, and there have been many. This is not the first time that I have played the course and it will not be the last. Time, time and talent, but time, that’s what it takes to build a course such as this jewel, not a jewel in the rough but a finely polished one, perfect looking and perfect playing. This is one that is a must in all collections, download and enjoy it, I have, I do and I will…so will you…enjoy!
Screenshots
Filesize 66MB
Reviewer Note
I am a player not a designer and therefore rate a course as a player for other players.
Summary :
Included: read-me, cameo, splash, hole previews, cart path, buildings, bridges, tournament objects, other objects and a clubhouse.
Not Included: recorded round, custom tees, hole signs and numbers.
Statistical Information: par 72, 7120y, An “R” type parkland course, 4-sets of tee markers, 3-3 pars, 12-4 pars, 3-5 pars, played bck/nw/m/m/e, pro, clicker, a 66.2mb download and a 3.00mb shadow file. |
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