| Links Corner Course Database ID Number - 1504 |
Release Date |
CRZ Filesize |
Par |
Course Length |
| 2004-11-11 |
39,518,208 bytes |
72 |
7559 yards |
| Type |
Style |
CRZ Filename |
|
FICTIONAL |
WOODLAND |
Tillee Lakes GCC_locked.crz |
| Course ID |
Course Key |
| |
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|
LINKS CORNER REVIEW |
Reviewed by Chris Gormley
Background Info:
This is the 1st course released by Mr. Hurst and it is a 2003 design. For a first design this course is pleasantly well put together. Robert has not fallen into any of the dreaded '1st design blunders' like other designers. Here is a little excerpt from the Tilly Lakes readme:
[quote]'This is my first successful attempt at designing a golf course on the APCD.
I have tried many times but gave up, mainly due to my lack of understanding of the, APCD
but its at this point I would like to thank my good friend, Brian Jameson for helping
me understand it better and to persevere and not give up.
The course took me approximately 6 months to complete and i enjoyed doing it immensely
and found that I improved in certain areas as i progressed, so some holes went back to
the drawing board...so to speak. I have still to learn seam blending but hopefully that
will have sunk in to my, old grey matter by the time i do my next course or one after that,
any help from fellow designers would be appreciated on this feature lol. The course is
purely fictional and consists of woodlands and lakes, i have tried to keep the course
fair and not too difficult.
Hit em straight
R A Hurst......aka stunner'[/quote]
Overall Impressions:
Although this is a first design for Mr. Hurst you would not know this from looking at the course. It is very well done. The technical APCD work has been done pretty well with only a few areas needing some more attention. There were a couple of shapes that could have used a little more smoothing out along the edges but if you were not looking for them you probably would not even notice them. The course is pretty well contoured and has some really nice and natural looking elevation changes that will challenge a player's shot making abilities.
Tilly lakes also gives the player some really nice views around the holes as there are parts where you can see adjacent holes though the trees. There were a couple of spots where the surrounding trees 'fenced' you in a bit but for the most part the course has an open feel to it. The design of the holes was also done pretty well and showed that some thought went into their creation. A couple of times the design of the hole would take your driver out of your hand on the tee but these were few and far between.
The fairways for the most part are very well designed with only a couple of tight spots(#12 and #14). The fairways although roomy will challenge a player to place their drive in the correct spot or risk being penalized for not using good course management. The fairways are contoured really well and there are a couple of places where if you can catch the hills just right you can extend your drive a couple of more yards because of the roll.
There is great variety when it comes to Tilly Lakes greens. There is a good balance of flat and contoured greens, with none of them venturing into the realm of being unfair. They will challenge a player if fast and firm settings are being used. There were a couple that were a little small(#8) but for the most part they are roomy and allow the player to make a good approach shot to the pin.
The hazards that are used throughout the course challenge a player more than any other aspect of the design. Each hole has some sort of hazard to make a player think. Both bunkers and water hazards are present throughout the course and sometimes both are employed on the same hole to harass the player. The bunkers are constructed pretty well for the most part although there are a couple that get pretty deep. The water hazards are also constructed pretty well but there were a few where the shapes needed to be smoothed out a little to make the object look more natural looking. I really like hole #5 where the water guards the green. It just shows that Mr. Hurst had things planned out in his head before putting them into the design.
The planting and the textures work well together to create the atmosphere of the course. The planting does get a little busy at the beginning of the course but gets much better as you progress though the holes. The textures blend well together and give the course a very natural look and feel.
This course does not have any hole previews though. This will make it hard on players who don't use the top cam but really should not deter someone from downloading this course and giving it a spin.
Now let's walk through some holes on the course:
Hole 6: This is a relatively short par 3 hole that makes good use of just about everything there is to love about golf. There is water, there is sand, there are trees all of which protect the green which is located a mere 157 yards from the tee. The green slopes from back to front(with bunkers behind it) thus making this a very challenging hole to get the ball close to the pin on your tee shot. The greenside bunkers are deep and if you find yourself in one you need to be careful to not over shoot your target as there is a lot of water on the other side of the green.
Hole 11: This is a Par 4 hole of medium length that is protected on the right by a large water hazard and also by a large bunker that stretches along the fairway. There are trees to the left to also harass the player. The tee shot is not overly difficult but if you are not careful you will either end up in the trees if you shoot to far or end up playing around in the sand if you are to short with your drive. The green is protected by 3 bunkers(2 to the left, and 1 in front) with the water still protecting the right side of the green complex. The green is well contoured and you will want to get as close to the pin as you can with your approach as putting from great distances will be a challenge on this hole.
Hole 17: This is another Par 4 hole that measures in at around 460 yards from back tees to green. This is a very straightforward hole with bunkers lining the fairway. The trees will really not be in play on this hole unless of course your drive gets away from you. The landing area is very large and if you can catch the hill at the end of the fairway just right you can get a couple of extra yards from the roll. The green is protected by 2 rather large bunkers. The green is contoured so that if you land anywhere but near the pin you could have a very long day on this green. It is quite contoured(although not unfairly) to make for some very interesting putting.
There were a lot of great holes on this golf course. These were only a couple of the better ones.
Closing comments:
Overall this course is very well done for a first design. The course has some really outstanding hole designs, which show that some thought has been put into them before they were constructed within the APCD. I hope that Mr. Hurst keeps working with the APCD and spends some time learning and mastering the more advanced features that the APCD has to offer. He already has a good handle on the basic parts of the APCD which shows in Tilly Lakes. I look forward to see more of his work in the future.
"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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