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Gilligans Island Golf Resort
by Ed Spence
| Links Corner Course Database ID Number - 1087 |
Release Date |
CRZ Filesize |
Par |
Course Length |
| 2002-09-09 |
78,419,346 bytes |
73 |
8410 yards |
| Type |
Style |
CRZ Filename |
|
IMAGINARY |
TROPICAL |
Gilligans Island Golf Resort.crz |
| Course ID |
Course Key |
| 434ae22efa9248bdb75feffe293c38bc |
9cfe4800b04ab261630822de43150b1c |
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LINKS CORNER REVIEW |
Reviewed by Robert Rundel
October 2002
Sigh... Another promising course undone by some poor execution and, I suspect, lack of beta testing... Mr. Spence submitted his first two courses at nearly the same time, in September 2002, Gilligan's Island Golf Resort and Wolf Creek on Black Bear Ridge.
The biggest problem with this course is that the designer seems to have skipped a chapter or two in the APCD tutorials. When two surfaces meet at an angle, there needs to be a transition, or blending, from one to the other. Otherwise, the 3d effect that is so vital for a realistic Links course is mostly lost. Screenshot 1 shows an example of this, as well as demonstrating the virtues of the beautiful locale and the ample and effective planting. Behind the green there is the grass surface, which meets the vertical dirt surface, which in turn meets the brown sand surface. In both cases the line of intersection is sharp as a razor. This bunker just seems a little unreal, or unnatural. Note also the white line where the water meets the sky. Screenshot 2 demonstrates a more egregious example. The bunkers have become caricatures, just blobs on the grass.
There are also some problems with textures. For example, in screenshot 3 the green hillsides are so featureless they seem painted. Then there are the rocks, wildly improbable geologically speaking for a volcanic island (screenshot 4). I suppose if you're a connoisseur of fantasy rocks, that might make a theme for an entire course, but here they seem out of place.
Finally, there are length problems. The course is outrageously long at 8410 yards. There are 5 par 4s near or above 500 yards. Three of the par 3s require a 3-wood off the tee. It gets discouraging after a while when most of your approach shots are around 250 yards, and you end up with some very very long putts, or worse. My playing companion Arnold Palmer shot 76, 3 over par, so he found the course extremely challenging. And the length (size) of the file is pretty outrageous too, especially for those of us still getting by with a 56k modem. The zip file is 66.8 Megabytes, second by a hair only to Pacific Breaks. In the case of the latter, I feel the quality of the course made the long download acceptable, but with Gilligan's Island, although there are many custom objects and an extensive soundtrack, I don't believe the size is justified by the results.
The Gilligan's Island TV show theme plays a major role in this course. Although I'm not one of those that consider Gilligan's Island to be a peak of 20th century cultural achievement, it makes for some good fun. The cast appears in the splash screen, just to set the mood, and the theme song is heard all the way down the first hole. Other associated musical themes are heard on many of the holes. Several of the tees have 'bimbos,' young ladies dressed in attire suitable for a warm climate, and other ladies take advantage of the beach to enjoy the sunshine. There is an imposing edifice along the 10th fairway that looks like it might be the Gilligan residence.
Strangely, there are a vast number of commercial signs on this course, advertising Microsoft and a number of other golf-related businesses, so many that is distracts from the natural beauty of the course. I hope this doesn't demonstrate a trend for future Links courses.
There are a number of good features to this course. The theme and the locale are both well designed. The planting is effective most of the time, marred mainly by a couple of overly garish tees such as the 5th and 9th holes. The palm trees are especially atmospheric for the tropical location. There is some cloning of trees, but it's usually in the background, and not very noticeable.
I would encourage Mr. Spence to read a tutorial on transitions and textures, and then give us another course, maybe with a little bit less length? I will look forward to it with interest.
Summary :
Details: Imaginary Tropical Island course, par 73, 8410 yards, 4 par 3s, 9 par 4s, 5 par 5s, 5 tees per hole. Includes a cartoon cameo, a splash screen with the whole gang from the TV show of the same name, hole handicaps, no hole previews, no hole signs, but many custom objects and sounds. |
This course is available as a FREE download.
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