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New York Memorial Golf Club
by William Kline
| Links Corner Course Database ID Number - 1487 |
Release Date |
CRZ Filesize |
Par |
Course Length |
| 2004-09-18 |
68,886,528 bytes |
72 |
6854 yards |
| Type |
Style |
CRZ Filename |
|
FICTIONAL |
PARKLAND |
NYMGC2003V2.crz |
| Course ID |
Course Key |
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LINKS CORNER REVIEW |
Reviewed by Chris Gormley
Background Info:
This is 7th course released by William Kline with the others being: Barkcamp Lake Resort, Belmont Hills, Salt Creek , Spring Valley Resort, Stone House Country Club, and New York Memorial Golf Club. This course is a 2003 update of the original which was a 2001 design. All of his previous designs have been pretty well received by the Links Community and I am really looking forward to reviewing New York Memorial Golf Club. Here is a little bit from the readme:
'Welcome to my update of New York Memorial Golf Club. I started out planning on just doing a simple update of changing textures and adding seam blends. Instead I did an entire makeover of the course including elevation work and a completely new planting.
HISTORY:
This course was supposed to be Annbriar a course just outside of St.Louis.
I was working on this course when 9-11 happened and decided to make it into a memorial. That is how the course came to be.
NOTES:
For the first time I have used textures that I created myself. I think they came out pretty good and hope you think so too. I created the fairway, fringe, green and light rough textures. The green and fairway textures were combined with templates that I downloaded from APCD-Courses to get the checkered and stripe look.
I decided against trying to do the bridges and clubhouse from the terrain as I'm not yet happy with the results I have achieved yet. I used the stock 3D objects.
THANKS:
I want to thank the following for they're help and contributions to the course.
Firehead - For the great New York Panorama. When he heard I was doing an update he made the new panorama without my even having to ask him. I think that says a lot about what type of person he is.
Wayne Hewitt - For allowing me use of his 2D objects from his courses and for the feedback he has given me.
Mike Jones - For use of his 2D objects and the tutorials he took the time to write for all of us.
Chris Perry - For some of the best textures I've seen.
DLunatic - For the help with the panorama and general APCD help he has given me along the way.
Rehit - For allowing me a copy of the new mod to test this course with it. I can always count on words of encouragement when I let the little things get to me.'
Overall Impressions:
I have played all of the courses that William has released and I must say that this is by far the best one that he has produced. The first thing that will jump out at you after you have this course loaded up will the be magnificent pano that is used. It adds so much to the course, it makes you feel as if this course really could exist in the city of New York. The course is also very open for the most part which allows the player some very nice views throughout the course, you can see many of the other holes through the trees. This may seem like a minor detail but it really does add to the realism of the course.
William shows throughout the course that he has a very good grasp on all of the techniques of the APCD. Everything from the bunkers to the tee boxes looks really good. There were no noticeable problems with the construction of the course from what I could tell during my 6 rounds at the course. Which is very refreshing, it shows that William has taken the time to have the course beta tested and has fixed any errors that the beta testers picked up along the way.
The fairways and greens are very well constructed with the right amount of terrain changes to make them feel very natural. For the most part the fairways are pretty open and although they allow a player to take a 'grip and rip it' mentality they are challenging enough to make a player be careful with their tee shots. The greens are not overly large but are quite generous in their size. They are undulated very well to allow both easy and tougher shots depending on how careful the player was with their approach shots.
The hazards throughout the course, although not always in play, do make a player think before making their shots. I especially like the use of the water hazard on hole #5. It shows William has taken the time to think through the course design. Although this is not one of the more difficult ones we have at our disposal there is just enough risk/reward to make every round played here very enjoyable.
William has also done a very nice job with the planting around the course. Everything from the trees to the various under plantings makes the course feel very natural. This course feels and plays like a real course, not a fictional one. William is to be commended for this as it is one of the tougher things to do when designing a fictional course IMHO.
The only negative (and it is really not a negative but more of a personal preference for the reviewer) that I could see throughout the course was the color of one of the textures, the rough does not match the other textures used. Everything seems to blend very nicely but on my computer the rough seemed to look slightly out of place. This is no reason though to not download and play the course, this is a pretty minor thing in my opinion.
Now let's walk through some holes on the course:
Hole 3: This is Par 4 hole on the course that measures in at 386 yards from the back tees. This is a pretty wide open hole that will allow a player to take the tee shot long down the fairway. The hole also has one of the most breathtaking views of the pano and how it fits with the course. The approach shot is into one of the smaller greens on the course but this should not pose much of a problem for players unless they loose control of their shot.
Hole 5: Hole #5 is a Par 5 that measures in around 514 yards. I really liked the nice use of the water hazard near the tee area. Although it is really not in play it adds so much realism to the course. There are numerous bunkers scattered throughout the fairway area to make a player think about their shots placement. With a good tee shot the player should be able to make a very easy approach shot to the green for an eagle if they are able to stick the ball close to the pin.
There are many other very fine holes on this golf course; these were just 2 of my favorites. Like I said earlier in the review there are many good views throughout the course, make sure you take the time to enjoy them all before you finish up your round.
Closing comments:
Although this course is not the most difficult it is one of the most enjoyable to play. William has done a very nice job putting the course together and has taken the time to make sure things are constructed correctly and that it challenges the player without being unfair. I highly recommend this course to all Links players no matter what your playing ability or swing preference.
"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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CLIPNOTES by Ben Bateson (ousgg) |
Description
Fictional, parkland course |
Location
New York, quite transparently. |
Conditions
The greens haven't aged well, and S*/S* is as fast as I'd take them. |
Concept 5/10
Solidly imbuing itself with the Central Park atmosphere and location, New York Memorial is a cleanly-clipped and competently laid out
course with some typical parkland holes - neither too threatening or memorable. While the landscaping is no doubt true-to-life, it
doesn't always make for stimulating golf, and the whole course is sadly a little forgettable. |
Appearance 5/10
The most immediately outstanding problem is the poor choice of textures, which come in a mixture of colours and pretty much clash
universally. The planting is lacking in resolution and attention to detail, and the bunkers are very oddly sculpted: certainly not in a style
that would suit this location or type of course. The cityscape panorama, though, is lovely and genuinely contributes to the feel and
atmosphere of the course. |
Playability 8/10
A refreshingly gimmick-free round certainly suits this flat parkland locale, and the designer has done well not to blow the designs into
improportionality or silliness. Some dated greens aside, there is a pleasant range of sights and sounds here in Central Park, and the
golf is peculiarly apt. |
Challenge 4/10
With an overly flat terrain, readable greens and some wide open and accommodating fairways, it's easy to shoot low here. The back
nine is stiffer than the first, but the overriding feel is that this is a public course rather than a club one: the positioning of hazards and
rough areas punishes the wayward rather than challenging the accuracy. |
Technical 6/10
A lot of good work has gone into the creation of custom objects and textures. One can't help but feel, though, that it's not nearly enough.
Too many sparse regions and too many flat fairways are crying out to have time lavished upon them. Quite a few bunkers look hastily
extruded and the lips haven't been carefully sculpted. The sound, too, could be a lot more immersive in a city environment. Luckily, there
are no technical flaws that impinge directly on play: this course's overriding strong suit. |
| Overall |
A modest layout for a tribute course, but there is very much a 'right' feeling here. |
28/50 |
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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