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Sunchaser Golf Course
by Ron Watson
| Links Corner Course Database ID Number - 1372 |
Release Date |
CRZ Filesize |
Par |
Course Length |
| 2003-11-16 |
28,087,792 bytes |
72 |
7038 yards |
| Type |
Style |
CRZ Filename |
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FICTIONAL |
PARKLAND |
sunchaser2003.crz |
| Course ID |
Course Key |
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LINKS CORNER REVIEW |
Designer: With a course portfolio including Blue Marlin Bay Golf Course (Top 25%), Grand Pinacle Valley Desert Course (Top 50%), and Pine Trace G.C. (Top 25%), Ron Watson has designed some very unique, but outstanding courses, and with the release of Sunchaser Golf Course, this designer is certainly on his way to becoming one of the best.
Course: The scenic nature of this course can be quite deceiving, as even with an accurate drive off the tee, the bumps and undulations in the fairways can result in following shots from the rough, and with the greens having some strong curve and sloping to them, putts on this course will be difficult for many golfers. Cloned tree syndrome was not evident, and with exceptional planting, especially under the trees and along the shoreline, the course is certainly very picturesque. Even though there are many unique features like sand dune areas with grass on top and sunken greens (Hole 18), it is the individual hole designs that set this course apart from all the designer's previous efforts, and if the designer can maintain creativity in course design, but become more advanced with technical features, his next course is sure to be a gem.
Favourite Hole: With Hole 13 being a long and challenging Par 5, it was certainly my favourite hole on the course (Screenshot 4), as with the green being over water, there is a great risk/reward factor to the hole, and an Eagle awaits for those who dare to shoot right at the green.
Playability: The most outstanding feature of Sunchaser Golf Course is certainly the hole designs, and even though the course is very scenic, it is important for the golfer not to get distracted, as some very alluring holes with water await those who don't concentrate when playing a round of golf on this course. With water and fairway bunkers on many holes, it is important that each shot is carefully considered, as with the pin placements, if the shots are placed correctly, none of the bunkers near the green will come into play. The Par 3's are quite scenic (Screenshot 3), but in windy conditions, the greens can become quite hard to reach in regulation, so it will be quite important for iron play to be spot on, or else many golfers will be leaving with a bogey or worse. The Par 4, Hole 5 (Screenshot 2) gives the golfer an opportunity to drive straight at the green, but with the Par 5's having a great risk/reward factor themselves, Eagle's will only come to the true risk takers. Accurate play on the Par 4's will result in birdie opportunities, and by the time you reach Hole 18 (Screenshot 5), you should have had a challenging round, as Sunchaser Golf Course is not as easy as it may have seemed.
Technically: The first thing I noticed was the textures chosen for this course, especially the one used for the fairway, were very nice, and even though the textures seemed to be cleanly blended together on the front 9, this did not stay the same on the back, and in future, if the designer can seam blend the whole course, it will be certainly place his designs up there with the very best. The shoreline and edging around the water on the first few holes was quite outstanding, but as the round went on, the edging used between the water and land was continually changed, and ended looking quite unclean. This also has occurred with the designer's previous course Pine Trace G.C., and it is hard to understand why different techniques are being implemented on different holes. The bunker work and lipping techniques can still be improved, but with the fairway bunkers on Hole 9 being done very well, it was also hard to understand why all the bunkers did not have the same look to them, as the designer obviously has the talent to make them look very good when he tries to do so. All I would recommend for future designs is that the same techniques are used throughout the course, and that the designer's courses get thoroughly beta tested before release, as with the designing creativity that Ron Watson has, it is only a matter of time before we see one of his courses become an instant classic.
Other: It was quite disappointing to see that the zip file didn't contain anything but the course file, and like I have mentioned in a lot of reviews, it is impeccably important to include a read-me file with all course designs, as after many hours of work, it is quite simple to put together a read-me file to communicate to the user what you went through to design the course. Sunchaser Golf Course did come with a Cameo and Splash Screen, but contained no Custom Flags, Handicaps or Hole Previews.
Download Value: At just over 26mb, this course is in no way an extremely large download, and considering the challenge and playability aspects that this course offers, it is certainly a great download. If you have enjoyed the designer's previous designs, this course is a must, and even though it won't be staying on my hard drive, it will be burnt to CD, and I'm sure will re-emerge again one day.
Information:
Course Statistics:
2003 - Fictional Parkland- Par 72 - 3 Tees
7038yds (Back) - 5963yds (Forward)
Par 3's: 4 - Par 4's: 10 - Par 5's: 4
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