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Foxfire Country Club-Spring
by Lacy Gearheart
| Links Corner Course Database ID Number - 110 |
Release Date |
CRZ Filesize |
Par |
Course Length |
| 2001-04-21 |
25,010,728 bytes |
72 |
7842 yards |
| Type |
Style |
CRZ Filename |
|
FICTIONAL |
PARKLAND |
Foxfire CC - Spring.crz |
| Course ID |
Course Key |
| 8a656dc2363411d5b01b0000e87e4e35 |
1653ce95973c3291ace28c71d7816470 |
|
LINKS CORNER REVIEW |
Reviewed by Pete Dixon
This is a review I have been looking forward to doing and one that Lacy will probably be dreading! I reviewed the original Foxfire set in the autumn and one which I criticized as being too colourful and a bit chocolate boxy, Lacy has never forgiven me since J, in fact he has stated that the reason he has designed this is because of that review.
I also praised the original and it is with some interest that I have had time to play this new spring version and compare the two and also write the review as a standalone course.
He has done more than just change the appearance of the trees and plants, although these have been changed and are more understated now due to the time of year it is set in.
In fact it has been changed quite a lot, but it is still the same course, if you know what I mean? There are design improvements as well as planting changes.
The tees have been improved and tidied up and the textures used are much greener than the original as they would be in the spring. He has also added the cut of semi rough between the fairway and the rough itself.
Sound has also been vamped up and that adds to the realness of the course.
The fairways are the best I have seen and there are two cuts between the greens and the rough that polishes it off nicely and something that I think we will see more often in other designs. The only fault I could find was on the fairways though and that is that where the rough meets with the first cut it appears a little bumpy in places, something I am sure Lacy is working on to eradicate.
Bunkers are the usual Gearheart standard and are second to none although equal to some.
The greens are also custom textured and have some difficult breaks making them fairly difficult.
Best Hole: I am changing my mind now to the first hole, which sets the scene perfectly, all the holes are excellent in their own right and could easily be here.
Overall: I much prefer this to the fall version of the course, the big question is, is it Lacy's best course to date? Well I still personally prefer Gator 2, which will probably frustrate Lacy, but it is only my opinion, I think it would be fair to say that this is his best course other than that and very close to it.
What you must know is that this is a stand-alone course and if you already have the original Foxfire you mustn't be put off downloading this, in fact everyone should get it.
I also think that he has to do the set, summer and Winter still to go, over to you Lacy.
Course Info :
Cameo Screen? Yes
Splash Screen? Yes
Text file? Yes
Hole Previews? ?
29mb
Reviewed May 2001 |
|
CLIPNOTES by Ben Bateson (ousgg) |
Description
Fictional, parkland course |
Location
TBC |
Conditions
TBC |
Concept 6/10
There's a very quaint, austere style associated with Lacy's courses, and Foxfire is certainly no exception. The rich (albeit dated) textures, and some well-observed planting do an awful lot in terms of the overall course ambience. Hole design tends towards the ungenerous and narrow, which is a shame, although clearly the difficulty gradient has occupied a significant amount of time. As ever with a Gearhart course, you can be assured of a break from the norm. |
Appearance 6/10
The attention to detail could still teach course designers a thing or two today. Flowerbeds, rocks and upper-level planting are of very high quality, with very few clones. The texture colour set is brave but effective (more so at closer range than longer), but the terrain does suffer from signs of shape-placement and the occasional extrusion mark. The stock panorama does little to lift the course. |
Playability 5/10
The sound detail is charming and something that many more designers should take to heart in realising how well ambient sound lifts a course. The golfing values are an odd mix - the opening holes are terrifically engaging, but later on it becomes arduous more than anything: the Par 5 holes in particular, being soul-less, over-long and unappealing. |
Challenge 8/10
I'm in two minds about how to rate this. Certainly, Par is very much the right number here. But you will find yourself on some near-unplayable greens and some difficult target areas even on route to a good score. At the end of the day, it's clear the designer has taken the crucial extra time to difficulty-adjust this course, which is an area too often missed. And the age of the course is fair excuse for some over-the-top putting. |
Technical 7/10
For its time, there's nothing poor with the work at Foxfire. It would have been nice to see more of a stretch in terms of panorama, and a continuation of the impact golf offered by the opening holes would have ensured a truly excellent round. |
| Overall |
Standout in terms of Gearhart artwork, but perhaps less so when the enjoyment values start to devalue around the turn. |
32/50 |
Please remember that Clipnote reviews are the opinion of one person and do not constitute an 'Official' Links Corner review of the course. |
This course is available as a FREE download.
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