|
Alta Vista C.C.
by Dave Newman
| Links Corner Course Database ID Number - 15 |
Release Date |
CRZ Filesize |
Par |
Course Length |
| 2001-05-03 |
45,389,090 bytes |
72 |
7394 yards |
| Type |
Style |
CRZ Filename |
|
FICTIONAL |
MOUNTAIN |
Alta Vista C.C.crz |
| Course ID |
Course Key |
| 52f54cc1401b11d5a9fd84168d9b4e61 |
c409cb3884bc07874bb796be996917cf |
|
LINKS CORNER REVIEW |
Reviewed by Dave Campbell
Expectations: Nothing jumped to mind with this name. Went in with no preconceived notions.
First Impressions: This is one of four course designs by Dave but I'm a bit confused as to its order. It was posted as his third by date of release but the readme included says it is one of his first. His others are Green County C.C., Deer Track Golf Resort and The Pit. This course is a fictional (fantasy?) woodland/mountain design that is a par 72 playing to 7,394 yards from the back tees. I mention fantasy because Dave says it is in his readme file. I think fantasy is a stretch because it looks pretty standard but the greens may fall into that category. Also included in the zip file is a nice splash screen, some TGA files of the custom flag and course logo, and of course the readme.
The layout is a nicely done mountain course with the ever-present Whistler panorama. The course has rolling elevations throughout with fairly unreal elevations at times on the greens and I posted a four putt to prove it. The tee boxes have an extruded fringe ring and some very nicely planted areas within view. There appears to be a good mix of trees and they all seem to be indigenous to the mountain setting.
The fairways are rolling like I mentioned and for the most part offer a nice landing zone. Bordering the fairways are very well done forest areas, if not slighted a bit in under planting.
The bunkers come in many different shapes and have the white sand texture used. There are a few with the brown sand texture and some wild planting within that look good.
The water is done well and you have some very nice reflections in all (if one Whistler's mountain isn't enough, how about two!). The 14th hole is a good risk/reward approach involving water and the par 3 15th brings water into play on your drive. There are also some real nice looking creeks complete with mud banks.
The greens are massive on this course and some are extremely elevated. One of the greens I was on had to be 80 yard wide or more. I mentioned my four putt, can't remember what hole it was but the green slope must have been at a 60 degree angle. If these are the moderate pins I can't imagine what the difficult placements look like.
Some of the objects placed about are ball washers, yardage and hazard stakes, boulders, cart paths, bathrooms and nice custom pin flags.
Drawbacks: If I tried to use my driver I couldn't clear a tree placed in front of the tee on the par 4 2nd hole. Some of the bunkers early on the course seemed very flat, although were looking very good by the end of the round. If this is an early course like Dave mentions then that isn't unexpected.
On several tee boxes on the back nine I got the impression that Dave was experimenting a bit. You'd see a Green brush texture around the tees on one hole, then wild grass around the next, and a bushes texture on the next. These didn't look bad it just stood out in my mind as something different.
Best Hole: I choose the par 3 11th because of its beauty on the tee . I really liked the shared split fairways for 17 and 18, very well done. The green on the par 4 13th appears to be built right into a rock cliff with the pin tucked behind a rock face, real pretty approach shot in the dynamic camera.
Comparable courses: Any of many forested mountain courses.
Overall: This is another of many forested, mountain type courses. Other than the holes mentioned above I can't say anything reached out and grabbed me, although it's very well done all the way around. So many have been released in this genre that something special has to be done to get raised above the rest. If a slight fantasy element is to your liking, particularly the greens, then this may be worth a download to you. It's large at 40 meg but solid in look and APCD technique. I have yet to play Dave's other courses but if this is his starter design then his others are probably good as well.
Course Info :
Splash Screen? Yes
Cameo Screen? Yes
Text file? Yes
Hole Previews? n/a
40mb
Reviewed May 2001 |
|
CLIPNOTES by Ben Bateson (ousgg) |
Description
Fictional, mountain course |
Location
TBA |
Conditions
TBA |
Concept 5/10
The makings of a decent foothill country club are evident here. Alta Vista
uses large fairways and greens to tempt the player into a false sense of
security, but has a trap or two waiting as well. The layout is excellent in
parts, particularly the 12th and 13th holes and the closing pair of Par 5s, but
also bereft of ideas in places on the first half and resultantly tending
towards the silly. |
Appearance 4/10
The stock textures range from the moderately successful to the downright ugly, and the hit-and-hope approach to planting has resulted
in quite a few clones. Rockworks are stretched and rushed, and there is a well-overused if pretty panorama in evidence. Thankfully,
the course elevations allow for scenic views of several holes and prop the course up sufficiently. |
Playability 5/10
Unfortunately, Alta Vista seems to encourage pretty lazy golf. There is only a little pretence at giving choice to the golfer, and for the
main part it's all too easy to just blast tee shots and take birdie chances as they are given to you. Things like flat greens and irrelevant
hazards help in the pursuit of simple, unthreatening golf. If you're in the mood to just turn your brain off, though, there are not many
better places to do it. |
Challenge 4/10
After the first couple of holes, there's not really too much by way of threats, and it's all too easy to clock up a rain of birdies from about the 7th hole onwards. |
Technical 2/10
It seems to me that many of this course's good points have been happened upon by accident. There are a lot of problems here, from
the unacceptable overuse of stock, to the artificially flattened greens, and quite a few holes that are shoe-horned tight up against the
plot. The whole thing cries out that there has been a lack of focus and planning on the part of the designer. |
| Overall |
Certainly not the designer's best-looking course, but one with some surprising
appeal in parts. |
20/50 |
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.
|
|
Download course
|
Please support Links Corner
|
|
|
