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Burn's Old Links
by Mike Jones
| Links Corner Course Database ID Number - 1334 |
Release Date |
CRZ Filesize |
Par |
Course Length |
| 2003-09-11 |
55,229,960 bytes |
71 |
7118 yards |
| Type |
Style |
CRZ Filename |
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FICTIONAL |
LINKS |
BurnsOl.crz |
| Course ID |
Course Key |
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| COURSE NOTES |
A newer version of this course is available.
Here |
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LINKS CORNER REVIEW |
1/22/04
Reviewed by: Chuck Clark
Background: Well, what can I say, here I am lucky enough to review another Mike Jones masterpiece. Pardon me while I repeat a few sentences from my last review of one of his courses: 'As the top practitioner of the APCD (can't imagine you would get an argument from any other designer on this) his work is widely known and loved. His courses are universally well done, beautiful to look at, fun to play and cutting edge in their use of the program. From Northern Dunes to Pacific Breaks to Burn's Old Links we have come to expect (and get) the best there is available for Links golf courses from Mike'. Burn's Old Links may be the best APCD creation to date. It sits atop many people's lists of the best course ever. Many people, including me, rate it as their top course. Not only did Mike actually surpass himself with the use of the program (no small feat) but he has made a links course in Burn's which actually transports the player to the east coast of Scotland. It's almost like he took the best that Scotland has to offer and improved on it. Playing this course is truly an extraordinary experience!
Overall Impression: Burn's Old Links is reminiscent of an old time links course in the tradition of St Andrews. You are playing Old Tom Morris golf right next to a quaint Scottish village. You almost want to get out your mashie and gutta percha and start slashing it around. But unlike St Andrews (on a calm day) and some of the other older links, this course is no pushover (with or without wind). On the contrary this course will eat you alive if you're not planning and executing your shots carefully. There are OB stakes, big brushy mounds, deep pot bunkers, severe slopes, burns (small canals) and a few other things thrown in for good measure. I recommend using the (well done) hole previews to plan each tee shot. If you are not confident in your swing there are usually areas to play safe away from the intended line of play. If you don't use the previews or top view then you are gonna get into a lot of trouble. Mike fools you into aiming at the wrong things if you don't know the course. This is a direct reflection of Alastair McKenzie's 'Line of Charm' theory. Mike uses this design characteristic to confound and fool the intemperate golfer.
Playability/Shot Values: This golf course is very fun and very playable if you know where to aim. Each hole is unique and special. That is quite an achievement in and of itself. There are no two holes that look or play anything like the other. Most of the holes present you a choice to make on the tee. There is usually a risky line or lines and a safe line or lines. There are some holes which have no clear path from tee to green. I just love this type of course! The first hole is a prime example of these strategic choices you are forced to choose. The first hole has OB markers just to the right of the fairway all the way from tee to green (par 4). On the tee you must choose the direct line to the green or the safe/bail out line way left. If you choose the direct line (which most of us do) you have to thread your tee shot into a very narrow path between the OB markers and a deep (wood-plank wall) bunker. Making par from the bunker is close to impossible (I speak from lots of experience here). If you decide to play safe though; you must play far left of the direct line to the green. This results in a very long approach shot (over 200 yards) to a narrow green (from this angle) with another deep bunker in your line of flight (right up against the green). Making par from the 'safe' area is pretty tough as well; so most of us decide to go for the narrow direct line. For me, this usually means I end up either in the bunker or out of bounds with a big fat 6 staring at me to start my round! Not all of the holes at Burns are quite this severe, but you get the idea. You can safely work your way around this course without losing any balls or knocking them out of bounds; but that doesn't mean you're going to shoot much of a score either!
Favorite Hole: This is almost impossible for me to do. I love so many of the holes at Burns that picking just one is difficult to say the least. I love the 14th hole: a long par 3 played to a deep but narrow green set between high mounds. You can bounce the ball off the mounds and usually get it close. I really like the 9th hole where your drive must be carried across an angled line of deep pot bunkers. I think the 18th is fabulous with a beautiful sandy waste area in front of the tee and a green modeled directly after the Road Hole at St Andrews. I also really like the 1st hole for all the reasons mentioned above. But I guess since I have to pick just one it would be the third. The third is a par 5 played along a road (OB again) and some maintenance sheds. The hole dog-legs slightly around the sheds; so just like the Road Hole (17th at St Andrews) you have to aim your drive over the buildings to get your drive in the fairway. If you push your drive just a bit, it will bounce off the roof of the second shed and go out of bounds. If you play a bit too safe to the left, then you will most likely end up in one of three deep pot bunkers. The green (which is part of a double green with another hole) is set behind a big mound so you can't really see it from the fairway. The green falls away steeply at the back into rough and another deep bunker. Although played down wind, it can be reached easily in two shots; it is no small feat to make a birdie or eagle on your first try here. It's got everything a great golf hole should have; its beautiful to look at, its fun to play, it has great strategy and there are wonderfully created and menacing hazards all around!
Visuals: Truly extraordinary in every way. This is a real links-like experience; so there are few if any trees. The terrain is rolling and bumpy with wispy grasses and coarse heather on the bigger mounds. The attention to detail is amazing with buildings, paths, wood stakes, wood-walled bunkers, truly realistic planting, incredible textures and nasty little burns running here and there. It is the most realistic looking golf course ever built for Links 2003. Need I say more?
Technique: As usual, Mike has given us more mind-boggling advances in technique. His work here with texture blending to create the worn looking spots on the shoulders of mounds is really amazing. Just when you think he can't find any way to make a golf course look any more realistic; he does! The planting is just so perfect looking; it's hard to believe! I keep thinking he has found a way to import actual photographs of golf courses into his course file! Again, do I really need to say that there isn't even one tiny little technical problem I could find?
Summary: A truly extraordinary achievement! In my opinion the best APCD course ever created. I would hope you haven't been waiting for this review to decide whether to purchase and download this course; but just in case you have go get it! You couldn't possibly be disappointed!
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CLIPNOTES by Ben Bateson (ousgg) |
Description
Fictional, links course |
Location
TBC |
Conditions
TBC |
Concept 10/10
Convincing links design has always been one of the hardest tests put before an APCD designer, thanks to the requirement for a convincing windy wilderness. Mike Jones has helped himself to a handful of St Andrews influences with Burn's, and has naturally come away very well. Part of the sheer genius of the place is very little discrimination between fairways, which means nearly all holes have a viable choice of routes. The odd discrepancy between the pot and plank-faced bunkers is strangely indicative of evolving architecture, and the sprawling greens certainly offer little concession to the player, even in their updated and flattened format. |
Appearance 10/10
Photo-realistic textures and an improved palette help make the important distinction from distance between rough and short stuff. Planting is rightly understated, and it would take very close examination to realise what an incredible array of grasses have been brought to bear. Inch-perfect course buildings are the final flourish. |
Playability 10/10
Burn's has become the most-played course for many a Linkster, and the new high-resolution incarnation is unlikely to do anything to change that. In fact, if anything, it extends the play-life by more clearly offering options from every tee, and the few careful hole rearrangements take away much of the perceived unfairness. The extra eye (and ear) candy don't exactly form a hindrance. |
Challenge 9/10
The original course suffered from some horrible deep rough hiding in places that was hard to foresee, and some almost unputtable greens. These are problems that have been addressed, but I retain the nagging doubt that perhaps a little over-compensation has taken place. Sure, it's no pushover, but the greens - on all but the fastest setting - just aren't the scary prospect that they used to be. It's a course where you'll hit closer to par, for certain, but you might just do it without thinking about it. |
Technical 10/10
Along with Pilgrim Trails, this is one of those courses which might just force me to re-evaluate what is worth ten points. Perhaps there should just be a special 'Mike Jones' category for elite performance… |
| Overall |
Who would have thought you could improve on perfection? A links course possessed of all the charm and wildness you could wish for. |
49/50 |
Please remember that Clipnote reviews are the opinion of one person and do not constitute an 'Official' Links Corner review of the course. |
The download of this course has been suspended.
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Please refer to the course notes above for more information. |
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