| Links Corner Course Database ID Number - 1477 |
Release Date |
CRZ Filesize |
Par |
Course Length |
| 2004-06-08 |
43,319,296 bytes |
69 |
6734 yards |
| Type |
Style |
CRZ Filename |
|
REAL |
PARKLAND |
thornhill2.crz |
| Course ID |
Course Key |
| |
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LINKS CORNER REVIEW |
Reviewed by: Chuck Clark
Background: This is the second edition of this course released by Mr. Parker. Thornhill is one of 7 real courses in Scotland that Mr. Parker has recreated. All of these course files are Links 2001 versions as is Thornhill 2. As the designer himself has stated in the past none of these courses are extraordinary in any way; and his renditions were not cutting edge too boot. Hopefully though the designer is learning and growing as he goes; so I expect to see quite a bit of improvement in this version.
Overall Impression: If you played the first version of this course then you probably know what to expect. Thornhill GC is a generally flat and mundane parkland golf course in the interior of Scotland. In real life it may be quite fun and interesting to play; but as a Links course it is pretty humdrum. Since this is a 2001 course the textures are uninspiring to say the least. The planting is ok; but nothing to write home about. There was no pano really visible most of the time and the construction was so-so. This version is definitely an improvement over the first one; but not by leaps and bounds.
Playability/Shot Values: Well, like most real course renditions this course is generally very playable and easy. This is not the fault of the designer; it's just the way courses play in Links. There is very little water in play; some trees and deep grass to avoid, and the occasional bunker guarding the fronts of the greens. The course isn't too long and there really isn't much trouble; so you can go low here if you're playing pretty well. There were one or two greens which seemed to be elevated a bit much; the 4th especially caught my eye.
Visuals: The old textures and lack of seam blending really drags down the appearance of this course. These textures tend to hide any elevation changes or bumps. The planting was done ok; but there were still a number of redundant trees and grasses. A good custom pano would have helped the appearance quite a bit; but the standard one used was non-visible from most holes. I also understand the use of the white bushes all over the place. I didn't see anything like these in the pictures from the course (that are used as the hole previews). Maybe they are there some other time of year; but they didn't quite seem right (to me at least). The course did look better than the first version but still has a long ways to go.
Technique: The technique is pretty standard. There were some sharp edges and redundant planting. This is definitely a Links 2001 course so don't expect to see any seam blending, high res. textures or other advanced techniques. One other thing I should mention is that opening the course in Links 2003 generates a huge shadow file. There must be a top view/shadow file associated with the grasses/bushes to generate this large a file (21 MB on my machine). Therefore this course takes a bit longer to load the first time up in Links 2003.
Favorite Hole: I really liked the 17th hole. It is a short downhill par 4 with a slight dog-leg to the left. A well struck drive could find the small green; but trees, deep grass and bunkers await a slight miss-hit.
Summary: An improvement over the original version; but not by an extraordinary amount. I can't really recommend it unless you are a fan of the real course and/or don't have Links 2003 yet (why not?). It's not the most exciting course to play but if you like to try out real courses then you may want to give it a spin.
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