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Stone House Country Club
by William Kline
| Links Corner Course Database ID Number - 1104 |
Release Date |
CRZ Filesize |
Par |
Course Length |
| 2002-09-29 |
60,292,323 bytes |
72 |
7540 yards |
| Type |
Style |
CRZ Filename |
|
FICTIONAL |
PARKLAND |
Stonehousecc.crz |
| Course ID |
Course Key |
| 93377998896d43f188692b4444b52c54 |
f3288c2d24247427d95608d9b418fb45 |
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LINKS CORNER REVIEW |
Reviewed by Robert Rundel
October 2002
Stone House Country Club is the sixth course designed by Mr. Kline, making him one of the more prolific designers for Links Corner. His Barkcamp Lake Resort was one of my favorite early fantasy courses; his other courses are Belmont Hills, New York Memorial Golf Club, Salt Creek, and Spring Valley Resort. All have been well received, with the top score of 84% and 4 user stars, going to New York Memorial.
Stone House is set in open parkland with many widely-spaced trees. It is a really stunning course visually from the first hole on (screenshot 1). I like his less-is-more treatment of the flowers, and the texture of the long grass is very realistic. The panorama fits the course quite naturally. The bunkers are all beautifully done (screenshot 2) and very realistic. There are many custom objects; curiously, each hole has a TV camera on a tripod beside the green, and a light pole. The tenth tee has a ball washer with trash containers, a birdhouse, a bench, and a picnic table with barbecue grill (screenshot 3). With this plethora of objects, I was a bit surprised at the absence of hole signs. The stone house, from which the course takes its name, is behind the 9th green. There are an interesting variety of greens, some quite flat, some rolling enough to yield interesting putts.
My favorite stretch of holes is #15-18, which runs alongside a large lake. Hole 15 is 457 yard par 4 (screenshot 4). The lake is on the right, there's a bunker guarding the left side of the fairway, and a bunker just past the tee to guard against any 50 yard drives. The best drive is to the left side of the fairway, to avoid several large trees on the right. Then a lofted iron to a green which slopes from back to front.
The 16th is a beautiful short par 3 over the lake to a large undulating green with a small bunker and a large bunker guarding it. The view from the green back to the tee is quite spectacular (screenshot 5).
17 is a 595 yard par 5, with a dogleg to the left. The landing area for the drive is at the dogleg, and the direction and length of the drive must both be right to land in the fairway. If you do land safely, the second shot is downhill, making the green easily reachable in two. The green has some major undulations, so your approach needs to be near the hole. This is a fairly easy birdie, with eagle a definite possibility.
18 is a 430 yard par 4 over the lake to a nice wide fairway. One small bunker is to the left of the fairway, and a larger one guards the front of the green. This hole is tournament ready, with a leaderboard, a TV tower, and a grandstand for the gallery. The green slopes sharply toward you, and an underhit approach shot will roll off the front of the green. If you miss the snap you may have a nasty sidehill putt. The hole is not nearly as easy as it looks, and it makes a great finishing hole.
My only disappointment with Stone House is the lack of hole handicaps (one of my pet peeves) and hole signs. Otherwise this is course is a magnificent achievement in the use of the APCD, and is nearly perfect technically. The interesting variety of trees provides many beautiful vistas, water comes into play on five holes, and the bunkers are immaculate. Many of the fairways are invitingly wide, and the course is very fair. My playing partner Arnold Palmer shot a 66, 6 under par, in spite of a problem with some nasty long grass when he drove into the rough on the 13th hole, so many birdie chances are available. In my opinion, this is Mr. Kline's best achievement so far. It is a large download, but worth the time. I recommend it highly.
Summary :
Details: Fictional parkland course, par 72, 7540 yards, 4 par 3s, 10 par 4s, 5 par 5s, 5 tees per hole. No readme file, a nice cameo of a stone house, a splash screen with an interesting course montage including a mesh view from the APCD, no hole handicaps (boo hiss!), handsome hole previews but without tips, no hole signs, cart path, lots of custom objects. |
This course is available as a FREE download.
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