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Le Golf National Version 2
by Max Deschamps
| Links Corner Course Database ID Number - 1409 |
Release Date |
CRZ Filesize |
Par |
Course Length |
| 2004-02-28 |
73,154,560 bytes |
72 |
7253 yards |
| Type |
Style |
CRZ Filename |
|
REAL |
PARKLAND |
Le Golf National Version 2_locke.crz |
| Course ID |
Course Key |
| b5cd27584f934f62b91141bfd7980760 |
37c7704002948a823c7ac7ea61057bd3 |
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LINKS CORNER REVIEW |
My day at the office
I come home after a long day at work and the first thing I want to do is sit and play Links. In a private message I find out that my new assignment is Le Golf National. A course I first downloaded about a year ago. I don't remember much about it due to my stupid HP laptop crashing and burning on me, but I look forward to the 2k3 version. As usual, I check the users forum for a little input. This way if a course is bad, I don't get surprised. The last thing I want to do is play a horribly designed golf course. The user reviews looked good, but then again, a few other courses I reviewed that weren't in the top 50 had good user reviews as well.
My Overall Impression
I am an avid golfer and have been for the last 7 years. I watch the European Tour on the Golf Channel on a regular basis and was delighted when I found out that Le Golf National had a 2nd version coming out. It was a quiet decision by Monsieur Deschamps, because I only knew about it when I read it in a post after it had been uploaded. I'll tell you one thing however, he should have consulted beta testers. The reason I say that is because the course in real life is such an underrated gem. Re-making the course with Microsoft stock textures really doesn't show me that this update was planned. The textures did not collaborate together at all. In some spots, it looked outright tacky. The only hole I sat there and looked at in awe was the 13th. The approach to that par 4 is a gorgeous one. Too bad it was the only really good view on this 18 hole layout. My next point bothered me not only as a player, but as a designer.
If you play this course, you notice that the fairway, green and other textures are not fundamentally sound. There are odd shapes instead of neat and tidy fairways and greens. You'll see what I mean when you view the screenshots on the bottom of this review. The course was very playable. Although I shot a decent 5 under par round, it could have been easily a sub 60 round if I hadn't missed a ton of putts short of the hole due to playing on slow greens. The planting on this course was decent, just enough to make the course look playable. However, there are spots where you see patches of grass that really shouldn't be there and are really only noticeable if you pay good attention to your dynamic camera view. Some of the small pot bunkers have sharp edges in them making them look ugly. I found this course to be really easy. No real trouble off the tees and the fairways. This is usually typical with realistic courses which is the reason some of the most highly praised designers such as Mike Jones steer clear of real course design. His work on the new Augusta National being the only exception.
As a player, I loved some of the shots that you had to play to hit the difficult hole locations. You might think you hit a perfect approach shot to the green and it somehow kicks off a slope and moves the other way. Fortunately for me, that only happened a few times. Once again, I thought the textures drained some of the beauty out of the course. The "seam blending" technique was original but really didn't show due to the textures not matching. There are some good textures here on Links Corner that you can download from the APCD area that would have fit this course nicely. I think if the designer released a 3rd version of this course with custom textures that my rating might be a little higher, but as is, this is just an average rate course.
My Recommendations
This course will be burnt to a CD, but won't see playing time on my hard drive very much. I would like to see some custom textures used on the course. Also, I would love to see some work on the planting and bunkering all around the course. Hole 13 was the only hole that I would say was the "perfect and complementary hole" of the course.
I would love to see a 3rd version of Le Golf National, just because I know this course can be one of the best if the designer goes back and does a little touch up work on the course. Some might disagree but that is the way I see it. This is a "tweener" course. Lots of potential if the time is put into it.
Techincally Speaking...
Not the prettiest course for the APCD, but it gets the job done.
Download Value
I had fun on the course, even if the textures did bother me. I would recommened it. There aren't many French courses out for Links and frankly, that is a shame. France is a golfing country that has plenty of great golf courses.
Other
Readme file
Nice splash screen
Hole Previews with yardages measured in meters.
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CLIPNOTES by Ben Bateson (ousgg) |
Description
Real, marshland course |
Location
TBA |
Conditions
TBA |
Concept 7/10
Take a look at the screenshot and tell me you wouldn't want to play this.
Golf National is clearly the work of some fertile golfing imagination, which
has taken some otherwise unremarkable spare land, and bulldozed it into
some unusual and definitely mould-breaking golf. It's most un-European in
the over-use of water, of the targeted landing zones, and of the do-or-die
greens. But then again, it's artificial in the way that only the likes of
Sawgrass can be, and that hurts something that could be a lot more
engaging. |
Appearance 4/10
While there are quite a few nice views to be had at Golf National, and some smart work has been done to primp up the water features,
there is a lot of niggling elsewhere. The textures are old hat, the blends grainy, and there are some painful-looking mesh folds and
extrusion marks. It's a bit more rough-looking than you might have right to believe. |
Playability 9/10
There's certainly a lot to entertain the golfer at Golf National. It's a little tricked up, sure, but the target golf and risk-reward afforded by
the multitude of hole styles and the water features is a constant incitement. After the initial blast of the first round, there is a lot of value
in going back time and again to perfect a shot or two. Despite the courses other flaws, this is a brilliant round. |
Challenge 6/10
It's not really feasible to strike a sensible balance with the proliferation of water, and some silly green moulding on the back nine don't
really do the player any favours. One can't help but cynically wonder if these are devices to help players approach a 'normal' score: if
so, they're undesirable and unwanted. Countering this are some almost ridiculously receptive green complexes, so a reasonable
balance is at least obtained, if not perhaps in the best way. |
Technical 5/10
This is the sort of course that APCD artists lap up, and the presentation is certainly lavish enough, but the whole thing is certainly
starting to show its age, not least in the incohesive planting and some worrying mesh errors. It's fine at times, but woefully inconsistent
at others. |
| Overall |
A rollicking rollercoaster of a course that plays a natural host to tournaments.
Somewhat dated in the presentation, but fundamentally enjoyable. |
31/50 |
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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