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Myrtle Beach Golf Resort (North Course)
by Scott Osgood
| Links Corner Course Database ID Number - 1228 |
Release Date |
CRZ Filesize |
Par |
Course Length |
| 2003-02-08 |
60,321,545 bytes |
72 |
6955 yards |
| Type |
Style |
CRZ Filename |
|
FICTIONAL |
PARKLAND |
Myrtle Beach Golf Resort (North.crz |
| Course ID |
Course Key |
| 085e59653a6242efb3739308af51646e |
e8af98c8c67b1bea59c2c78254e968ff |
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LINKS CORNER REVIEW |
Reviewed by Simon Kent
February 2003
History: 'Thank you Scott and good luck with Myrtle Beach', that's what the reviewer said after Scott completed his last course Badger National. Scott Osgood has a successful background in designing Links Golf Courses, with his first course 'Osgood National (Memorial Course' scoring an 83 and his second course Badger National scoring an 87. This latest course is based on the North Myrtle Beach Area and is made up of real holes from numerous different courses.
Playability: I shot a -5 (67) Round, with 92% Fairways in Regulation, 72% Greens in Regulation and had a Total of 26 Putts, which shows that the course is not easy. Playing careful and smart golf is most advisable, or else you'll end up in the water and find yourself struggling to break par. The Par 5's were brilliant, because they made you think. For instance the 9th Hole (Par 5, 523m), only allows you to get to the green in 3 shots, or maybe if your brave and have an upwind you can try and get there in two, but more than likely your ball would end up as 'fish bait'. On Moderate Pin Positions, some pin placements were quite difficult; like the 8th Hole (Par 4, 312m) which was right under a set of tree branches and along with high elevation in the green, made for a very difficult birdie chance.
If you don't usually use the Green Analyzer, like me, you may just want to take it up on this course. Some greens had very high ridges, and if you were on the bottom of a green and had to putt upwards, sometimes you might have to putt 60cm above ball height to get up on to the next level. Don't expect to break your scoring record, but by not always going for 'Tin Cup' shots over the water, you should end up with a decent score.
The Course: Playing this course was quite an experience, because it made me think how good it would be to play these holes in real life. For instance on the 16th Hole (Par 5, 534m), which was on of my favourites, you're in for a treat. Myrtle Beach Golf Resort (North Course) is difficult due to the vast amounts of water, and with the elevation changes found in the greens, you'll have to settle for pars on many holes and grab birdies when you can.
Technically: APCD wise nothing actually affected game play. The textures were seamed together quite well, I was though disappointed because I only heard a sprinkler and a bird whistling occasionally; so even adding some 'wind' or 'cracks' in the bushes of animals walking on branches would have made the course 'that' much better.
Areas To Improve: The only areas I think that needs to be improved would be adding a Tournament Option, less harsh slope elevations in the green and more to offer in the download.
Feedback: The custom Distance Markers are a great idea and I hope you continue to use them again in the future. A worthy note to all designers when making a course that is actually real, is that there is no problem with adding custom tees, signs and sounds that may not be necessarily be found on the real course.
Other: Hole 3 (Par 3, 128m, Screenshot 1) shows the nice little extras provided by the designer in front of the tees and also the bunkers themselves. Hole 17 (Par 4, 372m) was my favourite and I felt the 18th Hole (Par 4, 412m) that was chosen for this course is a nice way to finish off Myrtle Beach Golf Resort (North Course).
The designers other courses may have scored better than this course, and this course itself might be better than the other two, but Links 2003 Courses are now of a higher standard and with new criteria and standards being adopted, getting a score of 90 or higher is now much harder and if you want a score like that, make sure everything is perfect as possible.
Recommendations: I know the effort went to by reading through Golf Guides and Yardage Books for each hole, but there's no reason why a description of each hole and even some personal accounts of the holes the designer has actually played on could not have been added. A note to other designers is that it is very disappointing to open up a zip file after downloading, to only find a course and a read-me file. There is no harm in including a Saved Round/Saved Shot, and a thorough read-me file.
Course Statistics: Links 2003 Course. Par 72, Fictional, 5 Sets of Tees, Distance: Forward 5592m Back 6349m, Par 3's- 4, Par 4's- 10, Par 5's- 4.
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CLIPNOTES by Ben Bateson (ousgg) |
Description
Real, lakeside compilation course. |
Location
TBA |
Conditions
TBA |
Concept 7/10
Now this is more like it! A daring, rollicking, make-or-break compilation
course with superb trademark holes all the way through. This set of 18
hold together much more nicely, and indeed you could almost believe that
you were playing a fully conjoined course. OK, so it's occasionally a little
bit rough around the edges, and the endless target-golf and shotmaking
can become wearisome, but there's the extra edge here that perhaps the
other Myrtle Beach courses lack. |
Appearance 6/10
The designer has brought a hit-and-miss approach to this course. In places it looks quite natural: the planting and terraining are both
well done. Elsewhere, though, there's some odd views and hard transitions, the planting is an bizarre mix, and the choice of textures
doesn't always suit the idea. Perhaps the saving grace is a sprinkling of slightly offbeat 'extras', including a golfing four-ball, which
don't grate on the eye like they have done at so many other courses. |
Playability 9/10
Shot-shaping and accuracy enthusiasts will have their fill here, and for all but the links purists this should be great fun. It's addictive,
engaging and - most of all - fun golf. Overkill? Well…yes, occasionally, but don't take it too seriously, and you should have a riot. |
Challenge 7/10
Only the most aggressive or the most conservative will score well here. Whatever, you do, don't try to toe the line, or you'll inevitably
be caught out by crafty hazards or unexpected heavy rough. Scores could vary by some way either side of par, but that's not
necessarily any bad thing. |
Technical 5/10
In some ways, the weak link. There are just too many errors here - particularly from Dyna Cam angles - which can detract from your
game. Water features so prominently that it really should be better cared for, and so many features look too much like a mesh edge to
be realistic. I've seen far worse on an APCD course, but I'm not convinced by this one. |
| Overall |
Some brilliant tactical golf, let down slightly by some unconvincing presentation. |
34/50 |
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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