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Atana Hills
by Larry Dale
| Links Corner Course Database ID Number - 1404 |
Release Date |
CRZ Filesize |
Par |
Course Length |
| 2004-02-21 |
47,219,776 bytes |
72 |
7022 yards |
| Type |
Style |
CRZ Filename |
|
FICTIONAL |
PARKLAND |
Atana Hills.crz |
| Course ID |
Course Key |
| b86436b9a3634f9b958cc4f76c0f35af |
c14d227b624b2604f87a5619da1bb0df |
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LINKS CORNER REVIEW |
3/4/03
Reviewed by: Chuck Clark
Background: This is the first and only course released to Links Corner by Mr. Dale; so the only background information we have is the read-me. Here is what it says: 'Designed in 2002, before/during the time Links 2003 was released. Updated to 2003, but course was too far along to seem blend and change objects. Though not 100% completed, pretty close. My third course, first public release. I'll wait for the next edition of Links before starting on another. Atana Hills was designed to make you think about club distance a little more within a hilly setting. Hope you enjoy playing it as much as I did in designing.'
Overall Impression: One of the reasons I enjoy being a reviewer with Links Corner is the opportunity to occasionally come across a hidden gem that I might have otherwise missed. Atana Hills is just such a course. It's not perfect, there are a few rough edges here and there; but all in all it's a really fun and pretty golf course that few people seem to have noticed. Atana Hills has an interesting look and feel to it. It is built on a very hilly plot on the edge of an open plain. There is an interesting combination of heavy forests and open meadows; hilly knobs and flat fields. I really liked the variety of looks and feels. Too often these days our forested courses seem to all look the same. Atana definitely doesn't look like anything else. Some of the holes and greens occasionally push over the border into a fantasy type course, but generally they are interesting but fair.
Playability/Shot Values: This course is generally fair and playable. As mentioned above, there are a few shots and places which are a bit fantasy-like. The 7th green was shaped like an hour glass; with deep grassy hollows placed in the squeezed in sides. Chipping on this green is not out of the question. Some of the greens have unnatural looking humps and bumps and there were a few bad pins. The 14th hole is a dog-leg right par 3, which is a cardinal no-no in the golf design business. There were also a number of blind shots and many of the fairways were very island like. This is a course you play from station to station. You really have to watch out for the bunkers scattered around in the fairways too. I really liked the drivable par 4 first; it really gets you going either good or bad right out of the gate.
Visuals: A very pretty golf course with an unusual look. As mentioned above the combination of fields and hills; and forests and open plain was very refreshing. The tree planting was especially good; I liked the variety and placement. I also liked the use of split rail fences here and there and the use of planted fields. The underplanting left a bit to be desired however. The designer seemed to use the same yellow bush just about everywhere. I would like to have seen some grassy type objects and a little bit better variety. The textures didn't look very good to me either. Maybe it was just my computer but most of the textures looked a bit blurry (2001 textures?). The course was not seam blended either; which doesn't really bother me too much. One nice touch was the extruded tee boxes and cart paths. They were sharp type extrusions though so a bad bounce could result.
Technique: Pretty decent technique here, especially for a first time course. I didn't see any major errors; just some small nit picking type items here and there. The texture names were left as 'Beta Fair-3' and 'Beta Green' as just two examples. These should have been renamed to Fairway and Green before release. Some of the elevations were a bit rough looking; especially some of the humps and bumps in the greens. They just didn't seem to flow through the greens and into the surrounds. It just looked like someone buried an elephant under a couple of spots. As mentioned previously the textures looked a bit blurry and the undergrowth needed a bit of work. I also noticed that the scorecard didn't have any handicaps assigned to the holes.
Favorite Hole: I liked the 7th hole quite a bit. This hole has an elevated tee, so the hole is completely spread out below you. You must fit your drive into a tight area between some bunkers and the rough. The unusually shaped green is protected by a lake on the left. There are some deep hollows around the green; which is nicely sloped and contoured. A fun but challenging golf hole!
Summary: A fun and interesting golf course; with an unusual look and feel. This course is flying under the radar here at LC right now, but I think it deserves to be noticed a bit more. I recommend you give it a try; I don't think you'll be disappointed!
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CLIPNOTES by Ben Bateson (ousgg) |
Description
Fictional, farmland course |
Location
Hard to place this one, but I’d say NE England if pressed. |
Conditions
Despite some very moderate greens, one or two poor choices mean you should stick to S*/S* |
Concept 6/10
One of those easily-overlooked creations, Atana is a course that has clearly occupied someone's mind for some time and has been carefully realised with the APCD. Some errors are immediately obvious, but to those who aren't looking to nitpick, they should find - at heart - a well-wishing round of golf, perhaps with a slightly over-large error margin in terms of player ability. Individual hole design is cunning without being outwardly challenging, with much of the emphasis on club selection when playing against gradients. |
Appearance 6/10
Sadly, for a 'Hills' course, the plot has been managed quite poorly; the sharply-gradiated hills contrast badly with the acres of flatness that are a trademark of APCD inexperience. But the planting has been worked carefully, with some apparent effort to avoid clones and create a thick, yellowing undergrowth that is really quite credible. My favourite touches are the strips of fenced farmland that add character and realism at stages throughout. |
Playability 6/10
With the explicit conceit behind the course, it's not surprising that you'll grow quickly tired of blind, uphill approaches, and many of the tee shots are also to unseen fairways. But, this niggle aside, there are a variety of interesting little situations and shotmaking challenges around Atana Hill, and there's an underlying strategical challenge that should appeal to many. |
Challenge 3/10
The Par 3s here, though pretty, are generally pushovers, and birdies can be frustratingly easy to pick up with the pins in the right place. A handful of driveable Par 4s, and a few completely unprotected greens, don't help matters, and the overall conclusion can only be that this is a rather easy course. |
Technical 5/10
It's good to witness a designer thinking closely about location and golf, but for all that there are a fair few rough edges at Atana Hills, not least some very poor plot handling, and rather nondescript and featureless textures. Given its age, it's almost as good as can be expected, but these days we do tend to expect so much more. |
| Overall |
Interesting strategy on the face of things, but all a bit too pat and easy once you dive in. |
26/50 |
Please remember that Clipnote reviews are the opinion of one person and do not constitute an 'Official' Links Corner review of the course. |
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