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Owelstery White Horse
by Mitch Sirk
| Links Corner Course Database ID Number - 1397 |
Release Date |
CRZ Filesize |
Par |
Course Length |
| 2004-02-06 |
56,581,120 bytes |
74 |
7509 yards |
| Type |
Style |
CRZ Filename |
|
FICTIONAL |
PARKLAND |
owelstery.crz |
| Course ID |
Course Key |
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LINKS CORNER REVIEW |
Designer: As an established designer in the Links community, Mitch Sirk's course portfolio includes Aitch Heath Municipal '92 (2001 and 2003 versions), Brydestone Golf Club, Kanaal New Course, and now his latest work, Owelstery White Horse. With three Links Corner Recommended and one Players Choice awards, Mitch's courses are truly unique, and along with Index Ratings varying from 0.93 to 1.09, any person who plays one of his designs will certainly not regret it.
Course: Based on 'what was previously farmland in the rolling chalk hills of Southern England', Owelstery White Horse is a course full of scenery that is very reminiscent of a painting you would find in a museum, as with a beautiful panorama, diverse planting including both mature and newly planted trees, lakes and holes built right into the terrain, golfers playing this course will be able to experience realistic golf at its best. An unmistakable feature of this course is definitely the 'white horse' found in the distance on many of the holes, which as noted in the read-me, 'date back to prehistoric times'. The first third of this course is truly remarkable, as the designer has combined both beauty and design together to create an awe inspiring feeling that can only be fathomed by people who actually experience it for themselves. The water and shoreline planting was one of the best visual features of the course, but the drivable Par 4 on Hole 18 is what is sure to be most remembered, allowing for a captivating finish to any round.
Favourite Hole: Hole 11 was my favourite hole on the course, as even though it was aesthetically pleasing off the tee, it was the design and blind second shot to the green that offered the greatest challenge on the course, while the white horse in the distance certainly made this hole stand out as a true masterpiece.
Playability: As the course has been designed straight into the natural terrain, the elevations and undulations in the fairways and greens are certainly the most testing features of the course, and with Owelstery White Horse being an extremely challenging Par 74 course of over 7500 yards from the back tees, a round here will test golfers of all skill levels. From the first tee onwards, it is evident that the hole designs allow the golfer to take both safe and risky routes, and because of that, any golfer wishing to take the route that could reap most rewards, but that slips up, will soon find themselves deep in one of the courses many bunkers. Although the Par 3's are very striking, their beauty is deceptive, and considering there are twelve Par 4's, the golfer really doesn't have any opportunity to rest at any stage, as each hole presents a brand new challenge. As the positioning of the ball is an important issue with how you manage a round on this course due to the possibility of blind shots, putting will become crucial, as with long putts seeming to become a standard occurrence on many holes, it is the first shot off each tee that will determine the score the golfer shall get on each hole. The Par 5's are definitely the most challenging aspect of the design, as with each Par 5 being long and having testing features like water or out of bounds areas, golfers who use the top cam will soon learn to also use the hole previews if they wish to successfully play any of the four Par 5's.
Technically: As this is the designers first venture into P2P designing, he needed to present a course design that had numerous high quality APCD techniques included, and that is exactly what he has done. Technically, unless you are a designer or specifically go looking for faults, you will not be able to find any with this design, which is especially evident with the panorama, as even though a subtle feature, due to the magnificent planting, it is quite hard to detect where the panorama actually begins on many of the holes. The textures used gave the course a very unique, but yet realistic look, while even though seam blending and shadowing exists all over the course, rendering times were still quite fast. The bunker technique used was very good, but it was the extras like bins, bridges, buildings, clubhouse, ducks, practice green, tiled stairs and a water well, that stated this course as a truly amazing design.
Other: The course came with very a professional looking Cameo and Splash Screen, but the Hole Previews were especially well done, as they included various types of information, which allows golfers of all skill levels to play without the top cam view. The course is very pleasing to the eye, but when you turn the tournament options on, it takes on the look of a true tournament style course, and along with Cart Paths, Custom Tees, Custom Flags, Distance Markers, Handicaps and Hole Signs, Owelstery White Horse is one of a kind.
Download Value: There is no doubt that Mitch Sirk's designs are quite good, but with Owelstery White Horse, it is evident that the designer has indeed reached another level. The zip file includes two recorded rounds and the course file, but also has an exceptional read-me detailing ever facet of the course and its history. At just over 53mb, the course is quite large, but considering the amount of high quality APCD techniques used and features included, this design is a valuable download, and a course that will be staying on my hard drive permanently.
Information:
Course Statistics:
2003 - Fictional Parkland - Par 74 - 3 Tees
7509yds (Back) - 6593yds (Forward)
Par 3's: 2 - Par 4's: 12 - Par 5's: 4
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CLIPNOTES by Ben Bateson (ousgg) |
Description
Fictional, parkland course. |
Location
TBA |
Conditions
TBA |
Concept 9/10
Another truly unique course from the stables of Mitch Sirk, Owelstery is a
large but wholly engaging Par 74 set among the rolling hills of Southern
England. The hole designs are terrific without being gimmicky: Par 5s use
hazards skilfully to make them genuine 3-shotters and the finishing hole
has the only genuine Eagle opportunity, adding some excitement to the
end of the round. Moreover, the sense of location and environment is
incredible. |
Appearance 10/10
Most impressive of many wonderful features is the way the foreground and the panorama merge; it is genuinely impossible to discern
the difference at any point in the round. Textures, needless to say, are perfectly chosen and the planting is brilliant, not only around
water but on the large scale: the two levels of planting brilliantly realising the appearance of a new course in the designer's intention. |
Playability 9/10
A brilliant variety of hole lengths and designs mean that - even with the unorthodox length - this course never even comes close to
being dull. Elevation changes are utilised very successfully and even the deepest rough and toughest path is playable. So many holes
have a subtle risk/reward option which might not be immediately apparent but is very, very deliberate. A great round. |
Challenge 8/10
Thanks to the challenges presented by water and craftily-placed bunkers, this course requires you to work for pars. It's helped
somewhat by some unthreatening greens, but hitting the flat stuff in first place is the real challenge. With the lack of Par 3 holes, it
plays most naturally into the hands of long hitters, and might put PS players at a disadvantage. All players, though, will be tested by
the elevation changes and the deep rough, which can make even a great swinger look quite foolish. |
Technical 10/10
As we would expect, this is completely flawless technically. Only Mike Jones has Mitch's genuine flair with the APCD and the ability to
make a completely realistic environment. |
| Overall |
Another stunning effort from Mitch Sirk. A premise that might have fallen somewhat
flat is brilliantly and impressively brought to life in his most lifelike re-creation yet. |
46/50 |
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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