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Ardennes Dunes
by Andrew Jones
| Links Corner Course Database ID Number - 1199 |
Release Date |
CRZ Filesize |
Par |
Course Length |
| 2018-08-23 |
50,588,852 bytes |
72 |
7690 yards |
| Type |
Style |
CRZ Filename |
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FICTIONAL |
LINKS |
ArdennesDunesLinksCourse.crz |
| Course ID |
Course Key |
| 604608e4148344e3b95cb671a2595caf |
14ebe6a8a75bffe880c0539b9f1a55e9 |
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LINKS CORNER REVIEW |
Reviewed by Mike Nifong
February 2003
Course type: Ardennes Dunes is (appropriately) described by its designer as
'a North American Links style course set along the Atlantic coastline.The course plays in a figure of 8 up and down a spit of land poking out into the Atlantic Ocean. This means that there are excellent ocean views along many of the holes, and the ocean changes from on the left to on the right every few holes.'
Historical perspective: Ardennes Dunes is the fifth APCD course released by Andrew Jones, although in reality, three of the previous four have been versions of a single real course. The first of those, Magnolia Lane (November 16, 2000), was a thinly disguised in-the-ballpark-recreation of/homage to the storied home of The Masters (I always enjoyed the inverted cameo shot of the fairway mowing operation.) Although it achieved an LC review score of 75 (which almost certainly represented a higher level of achievement at that time than the same score would today), the user rating was only a single gold star. Not quite two months later, Andrew released his fantasy/imaginary course, Volcano Island, to similar critical acclaim (another 75 score) and a slightly warmer user response (two stars). But Mr. Jones had much bigger things in mind.
Had he made no other contribution to the Links community, Andrew's place in the pantheon of the gods of the APCD would have been assured by the release of his 'real' re-creation of Augusta National. Perhaps the most anticipated of releases in all of the (admittedly brief) history of the APCD, the original version of the course-that-most- people-seem-to-believe-they-know-better-than-any-other appeared at the end of June 2001, entitled Augusta National 2001. As is so often the case with silver linings, however, some members of this community could see only the clouds: criticisms ran the gamut from complaints about the textures used through failure to provide the course in its new version in time to play along with the real event in early April. And while most of the criticism was of the 'the real Augusta National looks different on my TV' variety, there were some legitimate issues, the most prominent being the phenomenon (as I recall, in its first appearance) of 'concrete trees.' To his credit, Andrew did not (at least outwardly) become discouraged, instead working overtime to correct that issue, with the result that a Version 2.0 was released on August 21, 2001, accompanied by a promise of a follow-up version incorporating the revisions to the real-course layout.
I find more than a little irony in the fact that Andrew, having suffered the slings and arrows of outrageous misfortune at the hands of the Real Course Police following his last endeavor, managed to land in the middle of the Pay-to-Play Course controversy right on the heels of Mike Jones' superb initial foray into those uncharted waters with this one. Would you - would anyone - want to follow that act? While that may help to account for the overly harsh criticism that Ardennes Dunes garnered in at least one LC forum post (subsequently deleted) - which included a most unrepresentative screen shot - it in no way justifies it. And I would further suggest to you that, had this course been offered for free, you would have heard nothing but the highest praise for the quality of the workmanship.
What is included: The inclusions here represent what has become the norm for top-level courses. There is a read-me file that describes the design philosophy, lists some of the course features, and acknowledges the contributions that others made to the project. The cameo and splash screen are consistent with the overall high level of execution here. Hole previews (by Dexter Gresh) are included, and they merit special mention for quality; in addition to useful strategy tips, they also contain green slope diagrams, which are often invaluable on this course. The tournament option seems to consist of crowds only - I detected no tournament objects - and, although they are well planted, I thought the course looked more appealingly natural without them. There is also a recorded round from Andrew (modestly entitled 'How not to play AD').
An introduction to the course layout (unless otherwise noted, distances are listed in the order back/middle/ladies/forward/junior):
#1 Par 4; HC 9; 403/349/336/310/298 yards: A straightforward opening hole of middling difficulty, with the ocean down the left side. That is also the side toward which you will need to hit your tee shot for the best approach angle, as the fairway is mounded on the right near the green. All in all, a gentle start to your round.
#2 Par 5; HC 3; 555/530/499/492/403 yards: A semi-blind dogleg left, with the fairway split into two sections joined by a bridge. If your tee shot finds the fairway, you can probably reach the green in two, which will give you an excellent chance at a birdie (and a decent chance for an eagle) despite the complicated green slope. For the AI players, and for me as well, this hole played easier than the handicap would suggest.
#3 Par 4; HC 13; 378/357/295/282/245 yards: Here the fairway is tiered downward from left to right. From the left side, the approach is pretty simple, but from the right side you will have to deal with an elevated green, the left two-thirds of which slopes left and the right one-third of which slopes right; this can make it hard to place your ball close to the pin. The AI players did not have much trouble here, but I found it plenty challenging.
#4 Par 4; HC 11; 502/481/456/434/378 yards: The first of three 500+ yard par-4's (#9 and #16 are the others), this is actually listed as a par-5 in the hole preview. The left side of the fairway gives a better approach angle, but it is guarded by a large pot bunker in the landing area, so you may want to play safe on the right side. The green slopes in three different directions. [I noted a few anomalies visible in the dynamic view near the green that were apparently related to the proximity of the plot boundary, but they did not show up in the normal view.]
#5 Par 3; HC 15; 249/218/180/158/146 yards: The first par-3, this hole features a deep green that is tiered downward steeply at the back; a pin placement on the back may require a driver off the tee. The green is not too difficult if you are on the same tier as the pin, but this hole can play either hard or easy depending on pin location and conditions.
#6 Par 4; HC 17; 477/433/423/383/370 yards: The elevated tee gives a good view of this hole, on which your tee shot will have to carry dunes and a huge bunker along the left side of the fairway. If you do not reach the fairway off the tee, you will probably need three shots to reach the green.
This is the first hole that does not follow the normal tee distance pattern: here, the forward tee (at 423 yards) plays longer than the ladies' tee (at 383 yards).
#7 Par 5; HC 1; 538/490/457/435/403 yards: A very useful aiming marker is included for your tee shot, on which you will need to avoid trouble on the right side of the fairway. The green is reachable in two, but the very narrow approach alley with sand on both sides may make laying up a more prudent choice. The relatively straightforward green slopes from right to left. Overall, this hole seems to play easier than its handicap.
#8 Par 3; HC 5; 202/176/161/147/135 yards: The elevated tee gives a somewhat deceptive view - you can see the pin fine, but not the pot bunker in front of the green. The green is also bisected into front and back segments by a valley that runs across it - placing your ball on the same side as the pin is crucial to your chance for a birdie. This proved to be one of the easiest holes, whatever the conditions, for the AI players.
#9 Par 4; HC 7; 501/462/424/399/381 yards: The second long par-4, with bunkers guarding the green front and rear, this hole actually turned out to be the most consistently challenging of the front nine for the AI players.
#10 Par 4; HC 4; 437/383/356/334/302 yards: The opening hole on the back nine may remind you a little of the opening hole on the front nine, although it is a little tougher and has the ocean on the opposite side. The best angle for your approach is from the right side of the fairway (as on #1, the ocean side), but the prevailing winds will probably try to push you left. The green slopes away in all directions from the right side.
As was the case on #6, the forward tee (at 356 yards) plays longer than the ladies' tee (334 yards) here.
#11 Par 5; HC 14; 618/593/569/550/526 yards: The only par-5 that is absolutely not reachable in two from the back tees, this hole features a relatively narrow landing area with two pot bunkers guarding the left. The elevated green is relatively flat, but in practice this did not turn out to be a particularly good birdie hole.
Here, both the forward (at 569 yards) and junior (at 550 yards) tees played longer than the ladies' tee (526 yards).
#12 Par 4; HC 18; 480/457/439/398/373 yards: The landing area is guarded by a huge bunker on the left side of the fairway, the green by a small pond in front - one that is not visible from the golfer's position (of course, that is why we have hole previews) - that must be carried. The green slopes away in all directions from its domed center. Not as easy as the handicap might suggest.
As on #11, the forward (at 439 yards) and junior (at 398 yards) tees play longer than the ladies' tee (373 yards).
#13 Par 5; HC 10; 541/532/530/520/509 yards: A reachable par-5 provided you can carry the sprawling bunker in the landing area - go for it if the wind is at your back, but a lay up may make more sense hitting into the wind. The green slopes from front to back, toward a bunker, which will make it hard to keep the ball close to the pin if you have to chip from off the front of the green.
The distances are really scrambled here, with both the middle (541 yards) and forward (532 yards) tees playing longer than the back tee (530 yards), and the ladies' tee again the shortest.
#14 Par 3; HC 2; 220/202/165/149/132 yards: The elevated green has an arced tier down to the back right - a drop of just over five feet (!). It is hard to run the ball onto the green, hard to hold the upper tier, and hard to putt from the lower tier (or chip from off the lower tier) onto the upper tier, all of which adds up to a well-deserved handicap.
#15 Par 4; HC 12; 405/381/361/334/260 yards: The key here is placement of the tee shot. You want to be on the right of the fairway so that you don't have to hit your approach over the water that guards the left front of the green, but not so far right that you have to contend with the tree that blocks the right side.
#16 Par 4; HC 8; 508/480/468/454/444 yards: On the longest par-4, the fairway narrows and doglegs to the left at around the 290-yard mark. For PS or RTS players, or clickers with a tailwind, this means it is possible to drive the ball all the way through the fairway and into the right side bunker. It is also hard to hold the green, which is domed on the left and bowled on the right, with your approach shot.
On this hole, the forward tee (444 yards) plays shorter than the junior tee (454 yards).
#17 Par 3; HC 16; 236/197/149/123/106 yards: Water all the way down the right side, a thicket on the left. If you err, err on the left side - at least you can play the ball out of the thicket. The AI players had a lot more trouble here than the handicap would suggest.
#18 Par 4; HC 6; 453/410/368/354/300 yards: With its ample landing area, the finishing hole looks pretty straightforward off the tee, although you have to flirt with the right bunker to set up the optimal approach angle. The green has three tiers from left front to right back. In actuality, this proved to be one of the toughest holes regardless of conditions, and combines with the tougher than expected #17 to provide quite a finish.
How it looks: From virtually every angle you will see, I would say just about perfect. Some people have commented on how much Ardennes Dunes resembles the Ocean Course at Kiawah, but I think the real Kiawah course looks almost scruffy by comparison. This is a drop-dead gorgeous creation, with one breathtaking view after another. You will find yourself checking replays from several different angles - even of your bad shots - because you will be afraid that otherwise you might miss something.
Although there have been numerous APCD releases of 'ocean' courses, I believe that this is the first that has specifically set out to recreate the look of an Atlantic Coast barrier island course, and it is spectacularly successful in that regard. A couple of things leap out as being just right. One is the handling of the ocean textures, especially with regard to such things as the way the waves break on shore in the bays. I cannot imagine how this could have been any more effectively done with the static water textures with which the APCD is burdened. The other is the sense of depth achieved in the dune planting; this appears to have been accomplished with a rippling of the underlying sand texture, the planting of multiple layers of grasses, and the assigning of a top view to those grasses so that they cast shadows. It looks like a tremendous amount of work, and it is not without a cost in terms of course footprint - Ardennes Dunes has a rather substantial shadow file - but the bottom line is that it was absolutely worth it! You can practically see the sunlight glinting off each blade.
But even beyond these features, nearly everything about this course is a perfect fit. The grass textures are not only well chosen, but the blending of the fairway-to-first-cut-to-rough transitions seems ideal. The understated bronze hole signs are a nice touch (I was less enthusiastic about the tee markers, but they're okay), and the elevated boardwalks that snake through the dunes are wonderful. The planting seems to be appropriate for the location and always just the right amount.
When I reviewed the excellent Wyntoon Club not too long ago, one of the few things I complained about was the too-sharp transition from the sand in the bunkers to the sand in the surrounding dunes. I am most happy to report that the same transition here is superbly natural - it simply could not have been done better.
A lot of attention has been paid to the sounds on this course, and it shows. The ocean is almost always present (there was one stretch of fairway on #13 that seemed unnaturally silent), and at a level that makes its presence felt without being overwhelming. (Now if we could just get a patch that provides appropriate wind sounds for the playing conditions chosen.)
How it plays: Well, that depends. And on a lot of different factors - your playing style, what conditions you choose to play in, what 'aids' you use, and so on. But there are a few generalizations that can be made. From the back tees, the course is certainly long. The length is not achieved on the par-5's, all but one of which is normally reachable with two well-placed shots, but on the par-4's - only one of which is under 400 yards - and par-3's - all of which are over 200 yards. This means that the majority of your approach shots, and all of your tee shots on the par-3's, will be taken with long irons or fairway woods. This is not, in other words, target golf. You have to find the right line, and then you have to take into account the fact that your ball will not stop where it lands. A further complication is the fact that the fairways rarely run in an unbroken line from the tee to the green; more often, they will cross the path of your ball at an angle, or bend near the landing area. And because their elevation is usually higher than that of the surrounding dunes on at least one side, with a fairly abrupt slope down to the sand, there is the danger of driving the ball right through them if you get too much on your shot, or of not reaching them at all if you get too little. Mention must also be made of the greens, which, as a group, present quite possibly the subtlest and most complex series of challenges you will encounter in this game. They are never unfair, but you will almost never have a putt of more than a few feet that is truly easy, and different sections of the same green sometimes differ substantially in the way they affect the roll of your ball. You may nevertheless find, as I did, that your putts per round are actually lower than normal here, a function of the fact that you will likely have more chips from just off the putting surface than usual.
Ardennes Dunes is also a very flat course: you will find very little elevation change from tee to green on most holes. This has the effect of frequently making it hard to determine your desired line off the tees, especially in close-up view, and in concealing many of the hazards with which you must deal. This will make it very tempting to use the top camera to place your aiming marker, but I urge you to forego that temptation and make use instead of the outstanding hole previews that have been provided. Most of the hazards you will encounter here will be of the sand variety - pot bunkers on the fairways, the dunes themselves, and the larger bunkers that lie among the dunes. The general flatness of the course, incidentally, extends to the bunkers, so the most significant consequence of hitting out of them is loss of distance; even the pot bunkers are large enough that you can usually get out of them comfortably. For all of its visibility on this course, the water is not in play as often as you might think. And while there are not a lot of trees, they are placed for significant discomfort on several holes. All of the plants, by the way, from the dune grasses on up, seem to have ideal pass-through characteristics.
In sum, then, if you are a clicker, playing in moderate or easy conditions, using the top camera to aim your shots and the grid to assist your reading of the greens, then you will probably find Ardennes Dunes a bit toothless. But why anyone would want to play this kind of course in that fashion is beyond me. It seems to cry out for at least breezy - and preferably windy - conditions, and if you restrict yourself to the kinds of views you could get on a real golf course, I think you will find it to be a most satisfying challenge.
The AI foursome (skill level 79.0) combined for a total of -12 (+2 to -5) under b/m/m/m conditions, hitting 76% (71-85%) of the fairways and 60.5% (44-72%) of the greens, and averaging 24.75 putts (22-28). Under w/f/f/d conditions, they were +1 (-1 to +1), hitting 69% (50-78%) of the fairways and 42.5% (27-61%) of the greens, and averaging 24 putts (21-27). One thing that also showed up in their rounds, which is confirmed by my own experience, is that the balance between the front and back nines suffers under more severe conditions, with the back nine becoming relatively much more difficult. (The -12 under b/m/m/m conditions combined a -7 front with a -5 back. The +1 under w/f/f/d conditions, on the other hand, resulted from a -11 front and a +12 back.)
The one additional observation that I would make about Ardennes Dunes is that it is laid out so that there is essentially a single way to play each hole to maximize your opportunity for a good score; once it is learned, play of the course is more a matter of execution than strategy. While that is not necessarily a bad thing, I do think it ultimately places such courses at a disadvantage in the long run against courses whose layouts provide more alternatives - ShadowLands comes to mind. But that may well be merely a matter of personal preference, and it certainly should not dissuade you from giving this course a try.
Difficulty
The bottom line: Let me just put it this way. I have played every Links 2003 APCD course released through the end of January 2003 - more than 30 in all, and including all four of the Pay-to-Play courses - and all 26 Microsoft 2003 courses. While I would rank it fourth among the Pay-to-Play courses released to date, it is still at the very top of the list - only the 2003 remake of Medinah #3 among the free courses reaches this level. To miss it would be your loss.
Course statistics: Par 72; 5 sets of tees (back - 7690/middle - 7140/ladies - 6444/forward - 6380/junior - 5781 yards; there were a few anomalies in tee designation that are described in the text); holes are handicapped.
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CLIPNOTES by Ben Bateson (ousgg) |
Description
Fictional, dunes course |
Location
TBA |
Conditions
TBA |
Concept 10/10
A stunning interpretation of coastal sand dunes sits centrally to this
inspiring and innovative design, and it's easy to see how this became the
original, mould-breaking P2P course. The degree of devotion on the part
of the designer definitely warrants payment, and that's quite apart from the
fact that Ardennes Dunes represents some brilliantly conceived and laidout
holes in a totally immersive setting. Keep an eye out for a surprise on the 15th if you pick the right pin position! One of the greats. |
Appearance 10/10
The planting is a delight: the windswept grass on the three-tone dunes textures and spindly trees alike. The course has been made
over with new textures and the coastal regions no longer look out of place, nor are the fairways quite so starkly contrasting with the
rough. This course has its own, defining look - a rare trait that perhaps only occurs a dozen or twenty times in the entire Links oeuvre. |
Playability 8/10
Rough, wild sand dunes do not play happy host to some narrow, twisty holes, but luckily there are few hidden penalties, other than the links-style pot bunkers which litter the place. There are a few blind tee shots, too. Where Ardennes Dunes really excels is in atmosphere: turn the sound and the wind right up and you'll be in a golfer's barren paradise, lost in the wilderness with the boom of the
breakers sounding in your ears. |
Challenge 8/10
The elevations were long a source of controversy here: the designer's attempts to emulate St Andrews having resulted in some
impossible putts. The latest edition has gentled them up slightly, but there are still some immensely tricky situations, although to be honest the slowest green conditions would probably be the most realistic here. If the test was going to be tough, I'd have preferred the dunes to be really ramped up instead. It's a lot more playable than it was, but it just doesn\'t feel quite right. |
Technical 9/10
For the age of course it is, perhaps we had a right to expect a little more from this update. Quite a few holes don't fit easily with the dunes, and the 3D bridges have ceased to become remarkable and instead just look a bit silly. It's still enormously good golf, but if the best courses can have subtle changes appended to them, why can't this? |
| Overall |
Unique and original, even six years down the line. A very special golfing atmosphere. |
45/50 |
Please remember that Clipnote reviews are the opinion of one person and do not constitute an 'Official' Links Corner review of the course. |
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