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St Christophers Bay
by Kristoffer Selberg
| Links Corner Course Database ID Number - 1473 |
Release Date |
CRZ Filesize |
Par |
Course Length |
| 2004-07-17 |
80,224,256 bytes |
72 |
7034 yards |
| Type |
Style |
CRZ Filename |
|
FICTIONAL |
LINKS |
stchritophersbay.crz |
| Course ID |
Course Key |
| be67283f610d400999ceb69ac67d5bde |
e9a467da2bacc07a23c14fec71d38ad4 |
|
LINKS CORNER REVIEW |
Designer: Having received seven Links Corner Recommendations, Kristoffer Selberg is one of the most accomplished designs in the community, with numerous solo and co-designs to his credit, and course design styles including Links, Tropical and Woodland. With Index Ratings varying from 0.89 to 1.09, and courses ranging in size from 10mb to 91mb, playing one of the designer's courses is certainly a unique experience.
Course: St Christophers Bay is a true Links style design, combining difficult hole designs with numerous bunkers, alongside a beautiful ocean side setting, that can sometime distract the golfer during their round considering how nice the beach, ocean and surrounding cliffs are too look at. The course though is not just about the dreaded bunkers that no player wishes to hit in to, as each hole really does differ in it's design and distance, and it is hard to appreciate the design for what it's worth unless you play the course a few times. One of the best things about this course is that it is true to nature, as with all the fairway undulations and planting found around the course, you don't get the feeling of anything being man made. I'd recommend varying your round using different conditions from any of the three tees, as anyone who does so will soon see that St Christophers Bay is a true gem.
Favourite Hole: My favourite hole on the course would have to be the drivable Par 4 on Hole 2, as even though it is reachable off the tee, making it on to the green can be quite difficult with bunkers lying in wait. The hole is visually stunning with a great ocean backdrop, and even though setting up an eagle opportunity is possible, unless your drive is accurately placed, it is quite hard to actually accomplish.
Playability: The great thing about this course is that it truly does vary in its difficulty depending on the conditions you use, as with low wind, easy greens and using good course management, you can shoot a good score, but with high winds and hard greens, breaking par can be extremely hard to do. With bunkers scattered all over the course, accuracy is certainly key to a good round, as considering the greens are realistic in their curve and slope, putts for birdie and even eagle are not that hard to sink if your close enough to the pin. One of the crucial parts to playing this course is to analyse how the wind will blow your ball on the Par 3's, as with hazards waiting to swallow up any mistimed shot, greens in regulation are very important to a successful round. The Par 5's do offer eagle opportunities for those who wish to seize the day with their second shots, however, if you find yourself in one of the courses many bunkers, a possible eagle could turn into a bogey or worse quite easily.
AI Performance: The AI Golfer 'Simon' shot a -2 (70), with 76% Fairways and 55% Greens in Regulation, with a total of 26 putts.
Difficulty Index: 0.89
Technically: The designer has excelled with this latest design, as it includes all the advanced APCD techniques one comes to expect with a P2P course, with amazing custom textures, seam blending, great planting, very good elevation work and fantastic fairway undulations. The sounds were not repetitive and really added to the atmosphere, while the work on the outer cliffs really added to the visual scenery of the playing experience. The bunkers were done very well, as not only did they vary in shape, size and height, but they also blended in with the surrounding textures, with the bunker walls looking extraordinarily good. The panorama used was a great choice, with added extras such as ball washers, benches and bins adding to the overall playing experience, and even though the houses around Hole 18 were 2D, they still looked quite good. Unfortunately though, the course did also contain some minor errors. On the scorecard, the junior and ladies tees, even though not in use, were listed as being longer than two other tees, while some of the textures on the course were not named properly, or even at all, listed as 'none'.
Other: In terms of extras, the course has it all, with a cameo, custom flag and tees, handicaps, hole previews and splash screens. It seemed though that the background of the hole previews were actually of a different course, while the splash screens had the course name spelt differently, but considering the exceptional quality of both, they are only minor flaws in the scheme of things. The read-me contained some grammatical and spelling errors, but more importantly, it did not include any descriptions of the holes, which one would have expected considering there weren't any on the hole previews. It was unfortunate to actually see that the course file was not actually spelt right, as considering all the hours spent on the design, it is regrettable to see such mistakes upon completion, especially with this being a P2P course.
Download Value: At just over 80mb, the course is not a small download, but considering the exceptional quality of APCD techniques included, it is not only a joy to play, but also a wonderful course to look at. If you are a fan or the designers other works or Links style courses, you are sure to like this design, as with numerous extras included in the zip file such as a read-me, recorded round and splash screens, this course will be staying on my hard drive, as it is sure to offer a new experience each time you play it.
Information:
Course Statistics:
2003 - Fictional Links - Par 72 - 3 Tees
7034yds (Back) - 6153yds (Forward)
Par 3's: 5 - Par 4's: 8 - Par 5's: 5
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CLIPNOTES by Ben Bateson (ousgg) |
Description
Fictional, links course |
Location
TBA |
Conditions
TBA |
Concept 10/10
Fictional, links course |
Appearance 9/10
The attention to detail on the inland background is stunning: the buildings are naturally grouped, and even the old favourite windmill
looks totally in place. The ocean on the other side is just as impressive, until the 18th, where it looks a little rushed. Best of all, though,
were the glorious grass textures and the dirt-lipped bunkers which presented a different and convincing view. |
Playability 8/10
You'll have to be a links golf fan. The rough is a very potent and punishing part of this course, and the fairway more of a prize, as
should be the case on this style of course. The lumpiness of the course certainly doesn't make lining up your approaches a cinch, and
the roar of the ocean constantly in your ears doesn't always help. It's gloriously realistic, but that doesn't mean it's easy to enjoy. |
Challenge 10/10
As perfect as it could get. Every hole makes you work for Par - and you'll breath a sigh of relief every time you hit it. Birdies are to be
treasured; bogies loathed. You certainly get the impression that this is why par scores were invented in the first place. |
Technical 9/10
St Christopher's Bay is by far the most realistic and concrete thing we have seen from this designer, who has fully justified a
commercial release with some outstanding customisation. There is a tiny flaw or two: the stock windmill, the unhelpful hole previews,
some hurriedness around the coastline; that does virtually nothing to diminish the hard work that has otherwise been put in. |
| Overall |
A tremendous and authentic setting for a natural links course. Plays exactly how
links golf should. |
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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