| Links Corner Course Database ID Number - 1483 |
Release Date |
CRZ Filesize |
Par |
Course Length |
| 2004-08-13 |
32,894,976 bytes |
72 |
7297 yards |
| Type |
Style |
CRZ Filename |
|
FICTIONAL |
PARKLAND |
~WildGrass2~.CRZ.crz |
| Course ID |
Course Key |
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LINKS CORNER REVIEW |
Reviewed by Chris Gormley
Background Info:
This is the 5th course released by Ryan with the others being: Journey Divine Club, Pines Lake, The Legends National Club, and The National Club. All of his previous releases were 2001 courses with this being his first 2003 course release. Here is a little bit from the readme:
'The WildGrass Course
This course was made for the enjoyment of others and not to be a harsh test.I had to redo the whole back nine because of some APCD problems.All I can basically say is to enjoy this course and hope you shoot well.'
Overall Impressions:
Wild Grass from the very beginning is an open golf course that should allow a player to have a very enjoyable round of golf. The fairways are very open for the most part and leave a player with ample room to work the hole from many different directions, only in a couple of spots do things tighten up to challenge a golfer. Most of the terrain is also flat without any blind spots caused by elevation changes; everything is very subtle and looks pretty good. The greens are also very large and very well contoured to force a player to think before making that approach shot to the pin. I think the greens were one of the best parts of this course as they were large and unforgiving but were also contoured in such a way as to challenge a player without being unfair.
The planting is satisfactory although there were quite a few spots where the repeated trees and the under planting do not compliment the design. I do want to commend Ryan on not falling into the typical designer trap of 'overplanting.' That is not the case on this course; I just would have like to see a little more variety and a little more natural/realistic planting done, especially with the undergrowth planting. The open areas were done pretty well but there really needs to be some sort of planting done around the water hazards to give a course that natural look and feel. I am sure Ryan as he does more courses will refine his skills in this area.
Ryan made good use of the water hazards and bunkers throughout the course. Most are placed in such a way as to challenge the player. It is obvious that Ryan has taken time to think things out and plan when creating the course. The technical side of creating the hazards needs a little more refining though. There were some sharp edges on these in particular throughout the course, with some shapes not looking as natural looking as they could. A little more time needed to be spent on this part of the course and I am sure Ryan will refine his techniques more as he designs more. Nest to planting I think making a good bunker is the hardest thing in the APCD.
Although this is a 2003 version course, none of the advanced techniques of course design were utilized in this course. There were no seam blends, hole previews, or hole handicaps in this design. There were also only one set of tees, while this is not really a negative it would give a player more variety if there were multiple tees to choose from while playing the course.
Various Hole by Hole comments:
Hole 1: This is a Par 4 hole that measures in at 429 yards. The fairway is guarded by 2 bunkers on the left and water on the right to force a player to land their first shot carefully. The green is guarded by not only water but also from some trees on the front side of the green that will come into play if a player is not careful.
Hole 4: This is a Par 5 hole that measures 575 yards. The fairway is guarded by 3 bunkers while the green is protected by water and 2 greenside bunkers. Be careful to leave your drive on the left side of the fairway as then you have a shot at getting it close to the pin on your approach shot. Anything to the right will bring the trees into play and block your approach to the green.
Hole 5: This is a shorter Par 5 hole that comes in at 517 yards. There is water and bunkers to worry a player on their drive from the tee but it is the second shot that is more troubling as there are many bunkers to worry a player. If you can keep your drive on the left side of the fairway and not hit the water you should be able to get to the green without having to worry about the bunkers.
Closing comments:
This is a good design that could have been made a lot better with some more refining of various APCD techniques as well as a little more beta testing. There were a lot of good ideas through out the course and there is evidence that Ryan took the time to plan things out but the course does lack a lot of the extras that the Links Community considers as standard on courses now. I am sure that Ryan will continue to refine his skills as time goes along and will produce many quality courses in the future. I look forward to his next design.
"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 my review is simply how I as a player/Tour Director would view this course."
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