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Pine Forest Hills
by Werner Erasmus
| Links Corner Course Database ID Number - 1509 |
Release Date |
CRZ Filesize |
Par |
Course Length |
| 2004-11-02 |
19,259,392 bytes |
72 |
8501 yards |
| Type |
Style |
CRZ Filename |
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FICTIONAL |
PARKLAND |
pine_forest_hills_locked.crz |
| Course ID |
Course Key |
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| COURSE NOTES |
Welcome and thank you for downloading Pine Forest Hills!
The fictional course, Pine Forest Hills, is my first course design. It is place in a very hilly location in the middle of a pine forest.
It took me 10 months to complete and I hope you enjoy it.
Werner Erasmus |
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LINKS CORNER REVIEW |
Designer: This is the designer's first release to the community, but with a promising first design, hopefully the designer will release many more courses in the future.
Course: This course is certainly very creative, with each hole having an assortment of bunker designs, elevations and undulations, resulting in a very unique playing experience. The Par 3's are challenging and scenic, while each of the Par 5's are a mammoth test due to the distance off each tee. Some of the hole designs were quite ridiculous though, and not just because of their length, while it seemed that many of the Par 4's were very similar in the style of design. The course would have been just as challenging if it was shorter, but more importantly, it would have also allowed a greater number of players to truly enjoy the creativity of the design.
Favourite Hole: Even though it is extreme in both its playability and visuals, the Par 3 on Hole 9 is one of the most difficult, but best looking fictional hole designs I've seen, and certainly was my favourite hole on the course.
Playability: At over 8500 yards in length, the course is very long, and will truly test every player's game to the absolute limits. Even though each hole is challenging in its own right, once on the green, the pin placements are surprisingly fair, with putting being challenging, but not difficult. With the holes containing numerous bunkers and having extreme elevation changes, the course is difficult in the calmest of conditions, so if you wish to break par, I'd recommend not playing in high winds.
AI Performance: The AI Golfer 'Simon' shot a +9 (81), with 61% Fairways and 33% Greens in Regulation, with a total of 26 putts.
Difficulty Index: 1.21
Technically: For a first release, it's good to see some high quality APCD techniques were used, with the course being clean and smoother very well throughout. The planting both small and tall was spot on, with the greens also being contoured very well, while the panorama really added another dimension to the design. It was evident that the same lip technique was not used throughout, with some of the bunkers varying in how they were made, while overall the course seemed to look very similar to that of a stock course in terms of APCD work.
Other: The course contains a cameo, handicaps, hole previews and an exceptionally good splash screen. As this was a very good first design, all I would recommend to the designer is too not put a lot of emphasis into making a course extreme in its distance, as holes don't need to be long to be challenging.
Download Value: Being just under 18mb, the course is an easy download for most users, but due to the difficulty of the design, it won't suit everyone. With only a small read-me in the zip file, I could only recommend this course to people who really want a test at breaking par, as even though it is an enjoyable course to play, it won't be staying on my hard drive.
Information:
Course Statistics:
2003 - Fictional Parkland - Par 72 - 5 Tees
8501yds (Back) - 7975yds (Forward)
Par 3's: 4 - Par 4's: 10 - Par 5's: 4
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CLIPNOTES by Ben Bateson (ousgg) |
Description
Imaginary, forest course |
Location
I’m going to have a stab at Austria |
Conditions
S*/S* might be the only way you will make it around. |
Concept 8/10
Oh boy. Pine Forest Hills turns the golf course back at you. A mammoth, daunting course, it's a riot of massive elevations, spectacular
views and bizarre demands on your game. The designer manages to pull this ambitious conceit off with no little panache; the variety of
hole designs just keep on coming, and actually the sheer silliness of the course is becoming something of a cult classic. There's
surprisingly good continuity between holes too: a strong - if fantastical - location and strong elevations make it easy to keep your
bearing if you wander off the beaten track. |
Appearance 6/10
There are quite a few impressive moments, but the treeline is full of clones and fuzziness, and there are quite a few sharp edges
visible at ground level. The extreme handling of the elevations is just about within the realms of credibility, but also instigates a doubletake
or two because it's not always easy to believe WHAT you're facing! |
Playability 3/10
The massive length and the unclear objective on many holes makes playing this course a serious drag, and it's a good guess that
many players won't get past the first six. The long rendering times are an additional frustration, and nearly every shot is blind - a
completely unacceptable practice that is not only gimmicky, but will quickly deter most serious players. There's a little appeal in
tackling this monster of a course, but it quickly becomes hard work, to say the least. |
Challenge 0/10
Even if I hadn't taken 16 on one hole of my practice round (don't ask), then I still would have scored well into the 80s. It's virtually
impossible to get close to par here, such is the difficulty from tee and fairway. Many pin positions are close to ridiculous, being close to
the edge of the green or mid-slope. Completely unacceptable. |
Technical 5/10
There are no APCD weaknesses here: the designer clearly has a good grasp of the software and has used it to make a striking and
original visual plot which most certainly has stuck in the memory! The problem derives from the judgement of the course, the layout that
strays away from the realistic and the lack of appreciation of the needs of the player. |
| Overall |
Traditionally a perennial contender for Links' hardest course. Clearly a labour of
love from the designer's point of view, but too much of a labour for the player. |
22/50 |
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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