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Rams Hill
by Kent Perrins
| Links Corner Course Database ID Number - 1510 |
Release Date |
CRZ Filesize |
Par |
Course Length |
| 2004-08-11 |
118,378,496 bytes |
72 |
7100 yards |
| Type |
Style |
CRZ Filename |
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REAL |
DESERT |
Rams Hill 2003.crz |
| Course ID |
Course Key |
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LINKS CORNER REVIEW |
Designer: Even though this is Kent Perrins first course, it can be shown that if you spend enough time designing, you can certainly end up with a high quality course, and in this case, that is definitely true.
Course History: Designed by Ted Robinson and opened in 1983, Rams Hill is a desert course located in the southern part of California, and in recent years, has been a host to U.S. Open Qualifying. It combines strong winds with extreme temperatures, and with the course rising up 400 feet from the northern end to the southern end, golfers playing at the course will leave with a truly unique experience to remember. More information can be found at, http://www.ramshillgolf.com.
Course: Rams Hill on first impressions may look like a simplistic course to play, but with subtle elevation changes and slope in the fairways, it can play much harder than it looks. The Par 3's are much more than just target golf holes, and with hazards lying in wait on each of them, it's important to not get distracted by the scenery. With elevation changes and really distinctive hole designs, the Par 4's, even with similar distances, differ quite a lot. Laying up is often needed, as even though the Par 5's are reachable in two shots, with rough separating many fairways from the greens, playing short is the safest option, as if you are even slightly off with your distance, the courses many bunkers will swallow up your shots. The water isn't a direct threat, but without being careful, mistimed shots can often result in a watery grave, and as Rams Hill can vary a lot in its difficulty, it will always be a unique experience each time you play a round on the course.
Favourite Hole: The Par 4 Hole 18 was my favourite hole on the course, as with a combination of the breathtaking panorama, exceptional water area and very well done APCD work, it is certainly a grandstand finish to a wonderful round, and proof that you don't need a Par 5 and a clubhouse behind the green to have a great finishing hole.
Playability: If you play the course using the recommend conditions listed in the read-me, you will feel how truly challenging it can be, as with a good variance between the distances from tee to tee, the course playing experience can vary quite a lot. The greens have really good curve, slope and often tiers in them, and with good pin placements, you will often find yourself being challenged differently on each putt. Birdies will come if you play safe and attack at the right time, but eagles will be only available for those who wish to go for the green in two on the Par 5's, as with bunkers and even water protecting the greens, it certainly is a tough risk/reward situation for those who wish to shoot low scores. With three tees, and numerous different conditions one can play with, Rams Hill is a course that will offer up a new challenge each time you play it.
Technically: In terms of technical application, for a real course rendition, Rams Hill is exceptional, as considering the panorama is that of the mountains behind the course in real life, and that many of the plants and houses are taken from the course, the playing experience in Links is truly realistic. In comparison to the wallpapers included within the zip file, it seems that the cart path, planting and textures was spot on, while even though not every area of the course was seam blended, from looking around, it is evident that the course is clean and smooth throughout. The bunker texture was very nice, while the technique used for both the lower and higher bunkers was very good. With extrusions being found in real life, the Links version is no different, while with numerous sounds found around the course, the atmosphere is really good when playing a round on the course. The water areas are exceptionally well done with fountains, rocks, waterfalls and wonderful lips connecting with the land, while probably the most exceptional technical feature could be the clubhouse and surrounding areas, as it all appears exactly as it does in real life, even down to the window reflections. The outer desert areas added to the realism of the course, while on closer inspection, little added extras like drains seemed to top everything off, and for a first course, it certainly has been designed extremely well.
Other: With a cameo, handicaps, hole previews and splash screens, the course has the entire added extras one can expect with a quality course rendition. As the tees in the game are the same as in real life, there was no need to add custom tees, while additionally around the course you will find ball washers, bins and hole signs. Even though it is one of many U.S. Open Qualifying sites, it is still a relatively small and unheard of course, so the crowds and tournament options included reflect that. The 3D structures found around this course are amazing, so I'd recommend that in practice, you go and take a look at the clubhouse, and especially to the left of Hole 5, where you will find a structure with a soft drink vending machine, which is quite amazing. Even though the course and shadow files are large, rendering times are still very quick, so it certainly isn't anything that will affect the playing experience. The zip file is certainly one of the best download packages I've seen, with a course layout, read-me, recorded round, scorecard, splash screens and the course file being included.
Download Value: At 115mb, the course is one of the largest courses released, but considering that it is a unique real rendition of a desert course, with its beautiful scenery, challenging playability, and masterful APCD application, Rams Hill is a course you'll love to play numerous times. I'd recommend that even users with low speed internet download this, as even though it is a relatively unknown course, with numerous extras in the zip file, it is one of the best downloads one could get, and it is a course that will be staying on my hard drive permanently.
Information:
Course Statistics:
2003 - Real Desert - Par 72 - 3 Tees
7100yds (Back) - 5694yds (Forward)
Par 3's: 4 - Par 4's: 10 - Par 5's: 4
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CLIPNOTES by Ben Bateson (ousgg) |
Description
Real, desert course. |
Location
TBA |
Conditions
TBA |
Concept 8/10
An oasis of green amid starkly uncompromising desert, Rams Hill is one of
the better, more coherent desert courses out there. It's held together by
this loving re-creation (including course notes from a seasoned local!), and
course design that builds gradually to a water-packed golfing crescendo.
It's all very nicely done, and a satisfactory departure from the Links norm. |
Appearance 8/10
The vivid colour scheme hits you from the first tee and is strangely apt, if you're willing to believe the course is that well watered.
There's some great Easter Egg-like treats along the way around, so keeping your eyes open is a must. All the way, the washed-out
panorama reminds you that you're in a desert course. There are a couple of clones visible in the tree line, due to lack of selection from
stock, and perhaps a few hard edges and extrusion marks are all that lets the designer down. |
Playability 8/10
Rams Hill plays very nicely without being too threatening. It's a course to play moderately, and save your big guns for the Par 5 holes
(particularly near the end, which should afford eagle chances). Your sense of location is helped no end by the personal hole previews,
and this intimacy means you're quite happy to overlook the greenery in favour of good, relaxing golf. Precisely the sort of course we
need more of. |
Challenge 8/10
This is one of those odd courses which actually ease up towards the end. Yes, the last half-dozen holes are where the water hazards
come into play. But, if you play conservatively and sensibly, they shouldn't be a major problem. This means that, bizarrely, the opening
stretch is much tougher than the closing holes, which does feel somewhat topsy-turvy, if not a total let-down as you finish the round.
On the whole, though, we're talking a very adequate challenge: there's a lot of adequate bail-out, and the greens and pin positions are
tricky without being unfair. |
Technical 7/10
The colour scheme will equally draw groups of people who love it and hate it, and there's certainly something to be said for including
low level planting to hide the APCD's drawbacks, even on the type of course that wouldn't really welcome it in real life. Rams Hill has
been well put together without a great effort to look sparkling, and that is just enough. |
| Overall |
Barely a desert course, this is just about the best of that genre available. Expect
smooth and playable, but don't expect fireworks. |
39/50 |
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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