| Links Corner Course Database ID Number - 1463 |
Release Date |
CRZ Filesize |
Par |
Course Length |
| 2004-07-04 |
24,272,896 bytes |
70 |
6993 yards |
| Type |
Style |
CRZ Filename |
|
FICTIONAL |
MOUNTAIN |
sussex_hills.crz |
| Course ID |
Course Key |
| |
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LINKS CORNER REVIEW |
Reviewed by Chris Gormley
Background Info:
This is the first course designed by Tim Spurr. It is a fictional mountain design that should be very interesting to play and review. Here is a little bit from the readme:
[quote]'Sussex Hills is a fictional mountain course, probably situated somewhere in Canada, with many elevated tees and some tricky par 3's. I know a couple of the greens are a little small, but that was my intention. I think all the elevated tees are in because I find that in real golf a short par four , with an elevated tee and a wide fairway even I can sometimes come away with a six on my card ! And also I was inspired by the par 3, 16th on Mike Jones' ShadowLands course, when I first played it.
The course should play under par with little or no wind blowing, but turn that up and add in fast greens and I think par is a good score, well for us amateurs anyway !
I've only used standard textures, but will now spend some time trying to develop some of my own.'[/quote]
Overall Impressions:
From the very first tee you can see that this is going to be a very green and lush course. Although stock textures have been used them seem to blend together nicely therefore not degrading the course at all. To this reviewer a quality course does not have to have custom textures as long as what is used makes sense and helps make the course look as real and life-like as possible.
The course has some very nice elevation changes that make for some great golfing. Nothing is done to an extreme though so things still look natural. A little more 'smoothing out' of these changes would help in a couple of spots but for the most part the terrain looks very natural. Because of some of the elevation changes there are a few 'shadows' that occur in the top cam but these do not take away anything from the course.
There is some seam-blending going on here, and I commend Mr. Spurr for working this feature into the design. A lot of the blends look really good but there are a couple of spots, especially around bunkers, that need a little more work. This is one of those techniques that will only get better with practice and I am sure Mr. Spurr will get better as he designs more courses.
The fairways are for the most part open and pretty straightforward to play. There is not a lot of risk/reward on this part of the course. They are contoured well to make a player think about where to land their first shot but most are not overly difficult. There are a couple of doglegs but these are constructed so as to make the player decide on what kind of shot to play and whether to take the risk of doing so. Hole #2 is an example of this. A player could lay up short leaving them selves with a 100y shot to the hole, or they can try to use a draw to knock this distance down to around 40y's.
The greens and the approach shots to the greens are where most of the risk/reward lies on this course. Some of the greens are pretty small(the designer even said that was the case in the readme) therefore making an approach to these greens rather difficult. Some of these greens are also pretty undulating therefore making those putts even tougher than some of the approach shots. This is one area that this course could have used some beta testing. If a player uses FF conditions a couple of the greens become really unfair. Also it should be mentioned that a couple of the pins are located on the edge of the greens therefore making it all the more difficult for a player to land their shot close. I don't want the above to sound like the course is terrible because of the greens, it is not by any means. Just difficult, this is what I believe the designer was aiming for when the course was designed.
The planting of the course is another area in which a beta test would have helped greatly. The undergrowth planting, while it looks nice and natural, does get to be a bit repetitive in spots. There are also quite a few repetitive trees and shrubs throughout the course. This is another area where I don't want this review to sound like the planting has ruined a design, it has not. I merely point these things out for the designers benefit so that on future designs this area can receive a little more attention. The planting is very good in some spots and then in others needs some work nothing though to warrant not downloading this course. For a first design the planting is above average compared to other 1st designs.
Now let's walk through some holes on the course:
Hole 5: This is a long par 3 that measures in at almost 211 yards. The green is 28 ft below your tee so some sort of shot adjustment will be necessary to land close to the pin. The green is protected on the left side by a water hazard and on the right and rear sides by trees. Very well designed par 3 that will challenge a player in all conditions.
Hole 7: This is a long and wide open Par 4 that measures in at 455 yards. There is a water hazard(stream) near the landing zone of the tee shot to trouble players, but this should be easily avoided by either laying up or going long. The green is guarded by 2 rather large bunkers on the front and with trees on all other sides. The green is for the most part flat with slight undulations but if the pin is cut to the right side it will be a more difficult shot as this part of the green is a little tougher than the other parts.
Hole 9: This is a long par 4 that has a challenging dogleg to the left to make a player decide whether to go for a big shot and challenge the hole or lay up and play it safe. This hole has an elevated tee to help the player and it should be used otherwise things could get ugly as it is a long hole. The green is protected by a solitary bunker on the left side which should not really come into play unless the player lets the approach shot get away from them. The green is rather flat and should not cause any problems.
These are only a couple of the well planned holes on this course. There are quite a few others for the player to enjoy.
Closing comments:
Overall this is a pretty well constructed course. It is not perfect, and the designer hints at this in the readme, which is fine. There are some areas that need more refining (seam blends, planting, green structure) but these do not make the course unplayable, just more difficult. I like the overall design as there are some really nice things going on throughout the course that cause a player to think before shooting. This is something that is usually lacking in a first design, but Mr. Spurr has a good grasp on this already. I hope to see more designs from Mr. Spurr in the future and I am sure they will build upon the skills he has already has a good grasp with.
"I am writing this review from the viewpoint of not only a player but as a Tour Director. Although I am not a designer I understand the work that goes into a design as I have beta tested many courses and look at every course that is released. M review is simply how I as a player/Tour Director would view this course after a couple of rounds."
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