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Royal Kurland G.C.
by Dominique Bois
| Links Corner Course Database ID Number - 1511 |
Release Date |
CRZ Filesize |
Par |
Course Length |
| 2004-11-13 |
48,193,536 bytes |
72 |
7155 yards |
| Type |
Style |
CRZ Filename |
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FICTIONAL |
LINKS |
RK_2003.crz |
| Course ID |
Course Key |
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LINKS CORNER REVIEW |
Reviewed by Chris Gormley
Background Info:
This is the 5th course released by Dominique Bois with the others being: Bethpage Black(2001 & 2003 versions), Broken Arrow Championship Course, Golf Club des Volcans, and The Plantation. All of Dominique's previous designs were very well accepted by the Links Community and I am sure that tradition will continue with this design as well. Here is a little bit from the readme that is included with the course:
[quote]'This course comes again( as Golf Club des Volcans or The Planatation) from a former Jack Nicklaus design that I released years ago. The initial idea was to create a course on the chalk cliffs of the north of France. The design and panorama lead me to relocate the course on an imaginary island in the North Sea near the real Feroë islands. The challenge then was to design a course with no trees and still difficult enough to play. As you may know, JN6 was a one hole course designer and it was really frustrating to use all the gimmicks to render correctly the adjacent holes. So, I always dreamt of using a full landplot designer to render this course as I always wanted. That is done with Links 2003 and I'm pretty satisfied of the result. The course really looks like it was in my mind...
For those who played the JN6 version, the course routing is pretty the same, except for the 13th where i pushed the back tee over the 12th green to make it play a lot longer and spectacular
Some words about Kurland :
The 'Kurland' name comes from a serial I watched at T.V. when I was a child. I believed it was an imaginary name. In fact the real dukedom of Curland is a part of the Baltic states.
Nerver mind, my Kurland lies in the North Sea and has the look of the islands of that part of the world. The 'Royal' title of the course comes from the fact that the Duke of Kurland was somewhere a parent of the United Kingdom royal family and the King gave this honour title to the course built for his far cousin.
For this release, I tried to find some local language and writing. I chose the Tengwar/Sindarin from Tolkie's books to name the holes. JRRT specialists will forgive me the poor use of this language. I used a program called 'Dragon Flame' to get the Tengwar scripting.
Some other words about the 'Kurland problem' :
You will see that no statistics are available and despite a huge testing, some cups may disappear some times. This is due to the fact that I awkwardly chose the 'non regulation fairways' option while beginning the design. This is the cause of some silly things and I discovered the whole story when the design was too far advanced to come back. I was next to give up, but I continued for me first, and I found it was not too much a handicap for a release. I hope you will forgive me those annoying points and that they do not deprive you of the pleasure to play the course.
A useful tip : when you're facing a vanishing cup, just rotate your view for 5 to 10 degrees and the cup will appear again.
Local rules :
There are some special 'out of bounds' on the course. First, the road and the other side of the road are out of bounds for the roadside holes i.e. 2nd, 3rd, 10th,11th an 17th. Second, some fairways of adjacent holes are out of bounds to avoid the cut of the dog-legs on the 10th (11th fairway) and 17th (18th fairway) and, last, any ball right on the fence on the 12th is out of bounds (it is strictly forbidden to go beyond the fence on that very dangerous cliff)'[/quote]
Overall Impressions:
Royal Kurland G.C. is your typical Links Style course that is anything but typical. The course is set on an island in the North Sea and after looking at the terrain in Links I think Dominique has captured this feeling completely. The course from its textures to the planting looks exactly how a rugged countryside would look on an island that is constantly dealing with the weather in that part of the world. Some of the views from the tees are absolutely breathtaking. You can see just about all parts of the courses as well as the rugged, rocky shoreline of the island it is constructed on. (With Holes #10 and #16 having some of the most spectacular views.)
This course features many elevation changes which are rendered in Links very well. Things are smooth and follow a logical progression just like they would in nature. I especially like the stone walls that can be seen throughout the course, they really add to the 'feel' of the course. There is plenty of risk/reward throughout the course which is not only created by the use of the bunkers but by the design of the holes as well, and as usual the APCD work is done very well by Dominique. Now lets look at some of the different areas of the course's design.
The Fairways throughout the course are designed and laid out very well. They are very rugged looking and weave through the terrain nicely. As would be expected they are not very flat but that is fine as they are not extreme in anyway and although they will challenge a player they should not be perceived as unfair at all. One cannot talk about the fairways without including the bunkers as well. The bunkers are done very well and compliment the ruggedness of the terrain. I especially like the texture that was used for the sand as it looks very weathered and like it has seen some very ferocious storms. The bunkers are placed all through the design to harass a player. The regular bunkers should not be too much trouble to get out of if you end of there but the pot bunkers that are located nearer the greens will cause some real headaches.
The greens throughout the course will be a real challenge for players. They are done very well and with the pin placements having shown some thought before they were put into the terrain it makes for some very interesting putts. The greens are not unfair in anyway although they will reward players who can get close to the pins and penalize those who are not accurate with their approach shots. The greens can be tamed under Firm/Fast settings but it will take some very good approach shots to accomplish this feat.
The planting throughout the course is done very well and like the other areas just compliments the terrain and the feel of the course that Dominique was going for. The grassy areas of the course look very natural and like they could really exist in nature. The textures also have been done pretty well and compliment the other design features of the course. They blend well together and give the course that natural look and feel that I always look for when reviewing a course.
Now let's walk through some holes on the course:
Hole 1: This is a medium par 4 that measures in at around 441 yards. There are numerous bunkers near the green wit the biggest challenge for the player being the cliffs and water to the left side of the hole. The view is spectacular and only wets a players appetite for what is to come later in the design. The bunkers that protect the green can really make a players life rough if they end up in one of them by accident. Make sure the approach shot to the green is long enough to avoid most of the bunkers.
Hole 10: This is a long par 5 hole that measures in at roughly 573 yards but it will feel much longer because of the way the fairways meanders between bunkers and sandy rough. There are some bunkers guarding the landing areas of the fairway but the real test comes when you make your approach shot to the green. There are both regular style bunkers and pot bunkers protecting the green. As if the bunkers and the length of the hole did not make things stressful enough for the player the green is one of the more undulated on the course. Get your shot as close to the pin as possible otherwise you will have a long go of it here.
Hole 12: This is a shorter par 4 on the course. This hole showcases the cliffs that are seen throughout the course. The player needs to be really careful to not put any errant shots to the right or else you will see these cliffs close up and that will not be good for your score. Because of the layout of the hole the player is almost forced to lay up short and make a 2nd shot approach to the hole, but if the wind is blowing in the right direction it may be possible to carry the inlet from the cliffs. But I would not recommend this as I tried it a couple of times and never did make it although I did only miss doing so by a little bit. The green is rather small and is only protected by 1 bunker. If you can get close to the pin you should have no trouble holing out on your next shot.
Every hole on this course offers the player something. Whether it be to challenge their play or to just provide an awesome visual experience. I have only covered a couple of holes in this review but you will want to experience all 18 to get the full effect this course can provide you.
Closing comments:
This is a very well done course and there is not much more I can say about it except that everyone needs to download and experience Royal Kurland for themselves. Every aspect of the design has been done very well and it ranks right up there with some of the other top Links Style courses. Dominique has captured the feel of an area of the world that we may not normally see a course set in, my congratulations for the effort and I look forward to the next design to leave Dominique's computer.
Please make sure to read the entire readme as there is a problem that Dominique refers to as the 'Kurland Problem' it has to do with disappearing holes and how to fix them when you get them. I did not have this problem during my testing but I have heard of others who have. I personally don't think it would take away from the course as there are so many other positive things about this design, I only mention it as a public service announcement for people who have downloaded the course and not read the readme.
"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 look at every course that is released. My review is simply how I as a player/Tour Director would view this course after a couple of rounds."
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CLIPNOTES by Ben Bateson (ousgg) |
Description
Fictional, links course |
Location
TBA |
Conditions
TBA |
Concept 10/10
A brilliantly realised design which combines the best of wild, rolling links
courses with exciting ocean-side play, Royal Kurland makes the most of its
fictional North Sea setting. Criss-crossed with stone walls, and littered with
OB and sod-walled bunkers, it draws a perfect line between wild links and
modern target golf, preserving some of the shapes and distinctions of the
latter. The location and setting is marvellous, too: you really can believe
you're alongside Baltic mountains and fjords. |
Appearance 9/10
Utterly impressive, for the large part, with panorama and foreground melding perfectly to make a completely absorbing locale. The
texture use is novel and inspiring, and has clearly warranted very close attention. On closer inspection, you might see some hard
edges among the terrain sculptures and especially in the bunkers, but there are so many genuinely impressive and stunning views it's
very hard to complain. |
Playability 9/10
Utterly brilliant. Even some over-penal OB placement and some irritating hidden hazards can't get in the way of the fact that this is a
finely planned and addictive golf course. It's likely that it'll take upwards of three or four rounds in order to find the best route round,
and the course is still never without a surprise to throw back at you. |
Challenge 9/10
Given that the wild grass areas are surprisingly easy to escape and that the greenside bunkers rarely come into play, you might expect
a pushover. But there are always surprises that keep the score down, whether they're hidden creeks or sudden elevations that send
your approach a-kilter. The Par 5s are generally a good opportunity to strike back and should yield birdies to the careful player. |
Technical 7/10
The more you poke Royal Kurland, the worse it gets, which is a shame. Before too long you're noticing poor texture transitions and
hard elevation changes all over the place, and the walls and fences look somewhat ropey close-to. The fact that the course doesn't
yield statistics is a frustration for those obsessed with such things. While the ocean-sides are sculpted impeccably and there's any
number of spectacular views on offer, there's no escaping that the technical prowess is this course's weak link. |
| Overall |
A superb and immersive course, let down only by a few technical imperfections. Still
paradise for most people, though. |
44/50 |
Please remember that Clipnote reviews are the opinion of one person and do not constitute an 'Official' Links Corner review of the course. |
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