|
Seahawk Golf Club
by Jon Weinrieb
| Links Corner Course Database ID Number - 1226 |
Release Date |
CRZ Filesize |
Par |
Course Length |
| 2003-02-07 |
53,479,504 bytes |
71 |
6925 yards |
| Type |
Style |
CRZ Filename |
|
FICTIONAL |
OCEAN |
Seahawk GC.crz |
| Course ID |
Course Key |
| c9d468392cf040ae8b15f12e3b124875 |
e8f5e97ed5e3bf5bd01167b1f3c77870 |
|
LINKS CORNER REVIEW |
Reviewed by Joe Turner `Loner'
April 2003
I think you will enjoy the playability and fairness of Seahawk, which provides a variety of challenges. From needing to work the ball both ways off the tee to the test of its undulating greens, many of which feature several tiers, Seahawk will pressure every aspect of your game. Despite the par 71's mere 6,925 yards from the tips (6,340 yards from the middle tees and 5,630 yards from the forward tees), you will need every club in your bag to successfully navigate the course. Seahawk is meant to be played with at least a little wind, and I think you will find it most enjoyable with a stiff, ocean breeze. Although you will not get a look at the ocean until the back nine, it is very much in play on five of the closing holes.
Beautiful ocean sounds greet you on the first tee, the tee boxes look nicely done, a checkerboard fairway with a first cut and the green with a very smooth looking texture and fringe all combine to make a pleasant nicely color blended course. The rough is deeply plush and leads to wider fields of deep grass or deep grass as an undergrowth for an unusual assortment of trees that seem to be weather beaten enough to be on what Jon calls an Oceanside course. Seeing his ability to make such pleasant looking textures with the 2001 APCD makes me wonder how much better they will look if they are redone with the 2003 APCD. His bunkers are very nicely shaped and constructed, in all he seems to be quite at home with the course building tools. The fairways are ample sized and with the lack of hazards, bunkers, water, trees or patches of rough jutting at odd angles into the fairway, you can haul off on most of the holes with your drives. The greens aren't tiny but the do seem small and again the majority seem to be unguarded but the slopes, sometimes a little too extreme, are a hazard unto themselves. They do make for fun putting though. He has planted sounds throughout the course, birds chattering, hole # 9, and the back 9 you'll find more of the mighty ocean roar.
His varying elevations kept the course interesting and with a good caddie I was able to eagle 3 of the 4 par 5's, #2, #14 and as a great finish #18 the hole with an impressive looking clubhouse. Now we get to hole # 17, it reminds me of hole # 3 on Mauna Kea, I always loved that short hole. Both driving (and if you're a good putter) statistics should be improved somewhat on this course. One of the major problems that I had here was the lack of imagination in the shaping of the holes. It didn't seem like the usual fictional course, you could say it's very similar to a real course in the simplicity of the hole shapes. What do I mean, a real course is usually much easier to play in cyber golf that it is in real life, that seems to be the rule at this course.
This is more than just a nice course it's a very good course and could with its wider fairways and smaller greens be quite a bit of fun with full wind and other difficult settings. As it is because of its size it's a tough call for dial-up users, it's a nice course. If you want to take the time you wont be sorry. As for all others (broadband) I would call it a definite download, not a long-term keeper but one that you will enjoy playing a number of times..
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, ball washers, custom flag, buildings and other objects.
Not Included: custom tees, recorded round, hole signs or numbers.
Statistical Information: par 71, 6935y, 3 sets of tee markers, 5-3 pars, 9-4 pars, 4-5 pars. |
|
CLIPNOTES by Ben Bateson (ousgg) |
Description
Fictional, ocean course |
Location
TBA |
Conditions
TBA |
Concept 4/10
The ocean course that barely brings the sea into play at all, Seahawk is a
moderate and - to be honest - slightly forgettable early effort from JW, in
my opinion one of the APCD's best practitioners. It seems that the course
basics are down well (the rough dune areas are the best) but there's
something very random and slapdash about the course construction as a
whole. It's not helped by having hole designs that almost do their best not
to imprint themselves on the memory. |
Appearance 5/10
Certainly there are hints from the designer of the beautiful look he would bring to courses in the future. But at Seahawk, there are just
too many problems that catch the eye. The elevations are lumpy rather than natural, and there's a touch of desperation in the way that
the course buildings are scattered around the landscape. The planting, too, lacks finesse, and seems like an effort to use more
different trees than are really necessary. |
Playability 5/10
I found it really hard to engage with this course, and through no apparent fault of the designer. Certainly the strategy on several holes
has been very well considered, and the roar of the breakers is less of an annoyance than an atmospheric setting. There are few golfing
gimmicks and not many booby traps. So why is it less than appealing? After much consideration, I can only conclude that there's a fair
amount of repeated features, not as much variety or target golf as you'd expect in a target course, and at heart just noticeable for the
wrong reasons. A shame. |
Challenge 6/10
Seahawk gives very little away and many players will be banjaxed by the hole shapes and maybe too much bravado on their own part.
Birdies are not impossible but, contrary to normal golfing fare, they are much more common on the back nine that the tough outward
half. I would still expect to score over par, though. |
Technical 7/10
For an early design, this shows great competence in APCD use, with only the forced randomness of the planting and the insistence on
'painting' elevations letting it down. Some more customisation wouldn't have hurt, particularly to replace some of the less appropriate
trees. A little more coherence between holes wouldn't have hurt either. |
| Overall |
A good promise of the things to come, but nowhere near the golfing values of
Ballylecum or Quidnet. |
27/50 |
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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