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Las Joyas
by Mike Jones
| Links Corner Course Database ID Number - 1517 |
Release Date |
CRZ Filesize |
Par |
Course Length |
| 2004-12-06 |
96,477,184 bytes |
72 |
7260 yards |
| Type |
Style |
CRZ Filename |
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FICTIONAL |
PARKLAND |
Las_Joyas.crz |
| Course ID |
Course Key |
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| COURSE NOTES |
A newer version of this course is available.
Here |
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LINKS CORNER REVIEW |
Reviewed by: Big Three
Designer Background: Unless this is your first day at Links Corner, I am sure you know of Mike Jones and his awesome APCD accomplishments. Las Joyas makes an even dozen courses released by Mike Jones. This is his 19th release overall, not counting demos and his work on Augusta National 2K5. He has earned an outstanding 11 Links Corner Recommended awards and 5 Player's Choice Awards for his designs.
Course Overview: Las Joyas is a Par 72 fictional parkland design that plays to a length of 7260 yards from the back tees. The course has the standard four Par 3, four Par 5 arrangement, with par for the front and back nine set at 35 and 37 respectively, owing to the front nine having three par 3's. The course is set near Gijon in northern Spain.
Layout/Playability: Las Joyas translates from Spanish to English as 'The Jewels', and each hole is named for a precious or semi-precious stone. This is a gem of a course. Although the course is listed as parkland, my personal opinion is that this is more akin to a woodland design. Las Joyas has heavily wooded areas closer to the fairways than in any other Mike Jones design. In his read-me, Mr. Jones describes the trees as 'aerial hazards' and the golfer will find that this is true. There are a few holes where moving the ball on the tee will be necessary to get the most from the tee shot or else flirt with smacking a branch on your drive. A poorly placed tee shot will occasionally find a tree to play over or around as well. The design also features numerous lakes, ponds and streams. By my count, seven of the first eleven holes have water in play and it is in mind on two others.
As always in a course designed by Mr. Jones, the playability of the course is top notch. His design philosophy always requires strategy and thought. It is not possible to long drive this course into a low score, but rather it requires careful club selection and shot location from the tee. I found that, while birdies can be made on any hole, my scores usually were within a few strokes on either side of even par because virtually every hole is capable of producing a double bogey if you get sloppy or do not play the hole smartly. A perfect example is the oft talked about 9th hole. A 448-yard Par 4 dogleg left, the 9th requires restraint from the tee. A large pond blankets the entire front of the green, requiring an all carry approach shot. The fairway extends out to about 290 yards where a stream intersects the fairway. The key to the hole is that there is a plateau that ends around the 240-yard mark and anything beyond that leaves you with a severe downhill lie, from which it is nearly impossible to carry the pond fronting the green. The choice here is a tee shot with a 2 to 4 iron, or a 4 or 5 wood to put the ball in the proper place for a safe approach shot. This plateau target for your tee shot also explains why the bunkering on the right hand side of the fairway is in the 210 to 260 yard range. That may normally seem like ones that you can easily blow over and ignore, but not on this hole. They are in perfect location to add difficulty to the smart tee shot. To some, the hole seems unfair; that is until you figure out how to play it. The 10th hole is a severe dogleg right, with a stream that cuts across the fairway around 215 yards out and then runs up along the right side of the fairway. A clump of trees to the right of the tee is clearly in play for anyone attempting to shave some yards from the hole. You can hit a driver here, but it will require moving to the left side of the tee and hitting a fade (hoping that you miss the trees), but that means the shot is diving toward the stream as it is finishing up. The safe/smart tee shot here is a straight 3 wood to a relatively safe landing area.
This kind of thinking is the key to playing a Mike Jones design. Think first, then shoot. Before playing this course in a tournament or for keeps, I would suggest playing several rounds of practice to learn the layout.
The fairways are of medium width with the texture design creating the appearance of a first cut edging of fairway. Light rough (that plays as rough) is next and then a nastier heavy rough further off the fairway. In most places the heavy rough can be found on the other side of the cart path and under or near the wooded areas. As expected, the fairways will give you a variety of lies, contributing further to the thinking round of golf when it comes to tee shot placement.
The greens at Las Joyas are not severe, and most pin locations are located in a fairly flat area as, according to the read-me, Mike designed this course with the v1.06 Mod in mind. This is not to say they are easy, but they are definitely fair.
My favorite hole is actually the series of three Par 3's on the front nine. These may be the most beautiful collection of Par 3's in the history of APCD design. The 2nd, 185 yards with a 55 foot drop, featuring a stream along the left hand side of the green; the 190 yard 5th, with a 30 foot drop over a beautiful rock outcropping topped with a growth of wildflowers and a stream that is in mind for a wild shot to the right; followed by the 7th. The 7th is one of my all time favorite Par 3's in APCD design. A 143 yard par 3, the tee shot must clear a pond and a couple of bunkers to a green that is set diagonally from the front left to the back right. The pond narrows to stream length and snuggles right up against the back right of the green. A back right pin location calls for a safe tee shot to the middle of the green or aim for the pin and put disaster in easy reach.
As usual, Mr. Jones has created a fictional design that could easily be a real design. This is one tough course, but par can be beaten if you take the time to learn the layout and play smart.
Planting/Textures: This course may have more views that can pass as real photos of a golf course than any I've seen. When we talk about the 'photo-realism' of Links we should just post screenshots of Las Joyas to explain what we mean. The textures are simply stunning, and the lush, heavy woods are beautifully, and most importantly, realistically planted. There is something that Mike does with textures (I think) to create a shadowing effect beyond that which is created by the game engine, such that the shadow display beautifully enhances the design. By now most of us know what to expect from Mr. Jones in terms of planting and textures, and Las Joyas may very well exceed your expectations.
There are two features here that I want to specifically mention. The first is probably the most dominant distinguishing feature of the course that you will notice. That is the yellow-brown 'dormant Bermuda' texture that surrounds the bunkers and is found along the edges of the streams and the banks of the lakes. Not only is it very well done, this technique does a wonderful job of highlighting, setting-off if you will, the bunkers as you look out over the terrain. It gives the course a very unique look. The second feature is the use of exposed rock faces and rock outcroppings, particularly in the middle holes of the back nine. Although this is not a new idea, it is excellently done and used with realistic restraint. The 4th, 13th and 14th holes feature the exposed rock face as backdrops to the green, creating a visual offset and defining the target. Several other holes feature the rock outcropping look, all done with a subtle expert touch.
I also want to mention the water planting, which gives the edges of the streams and ponds a perfectly natural look, and the great use of sounds. To me, sounds are one of those under-appreciated additions to a course. On Las Joyas they are just right, giving that added touch of realism without becoming a nuisance or too repetitive, and at just the right volumes. The cart path, with the darker area in the middle that shows the effect of wear on the concrete, is one of those extra touches that separates the merely great courses from the classic design.
APCD: Do I even need to comment here? With the exception of one tiny minor flaw that seems to have gotten through the extensive beta testing that Mike uses, everything here is top-of-the line quality. Look at the transitions from the 'dormant Bermuda', particularly around the water, to the greener textures. That will give you an idea of how well the APCD work is done here.
Extras: To start with, all of the extras are included: hole previews (which include gemstone names for each hole), crowds, custom flags, cameo etc. But I want to dedicate this section to the outstanding 3D work created by Pat Auge that is included on this course. Mike decided to 'hire' Pat for Las Joyas after seeing some of his work in posts and looking at the 3D work Pat has on a course that he is currently working on. I have yet to see Augusta 2K5 for comparison, but I had an early look at Pat's course and let me tell you, he has an outstanding talent and may be the best 3D designer out there. The first glimpse of Pat's 3D work is around the first tee, where you see poles with a metal rope looping through it. But it is on your approach to the ninth green where, off in the distance, you see the clubhouse for the first time. At this point, I hope you are in practice mode without enforcing normal round rules. If you are, put your clubs down and take a walk and explore the awesome work here. Check out the individual logs (with a separate log-end texture), the tables and chairs, the umbrellas with the Las Joyas logo on them, 'walk' up to the second floor balcony, put your ball on the roof and have a look at the wood shingles. There is even a 3D Pepsi vending machine in front of the clubhouse. And if you have just a few too many Pepsis, you will find custom-made 3D rest rooms for your comfort scattered throughout the course. Next to the 10th hole and behind the 12th green, you will find a 3D maintenance area, complete with a couple of corrugated metal structures, some oil drums, a stack of logs, and piles of sand, mulch and rock used for the upkeep of the course. There is also the parking area with examples of Pat's 3D prowess as well as the numerous bridges throughout the design. Pat's work is truly amazing and you owe it to yourself to walk around the course and just look around at what he, and Mike, have accomplished in this design.
Summary: From the links type courses (Burn's Old Links for example), to the seaside beauty of Atlantic Point or Pacific Breaks, to the untamed wildness of Rugged Dune, everyone has their favorite design or style of MJ course. The more I played this course the more I realized it was becoming my favorite Mike Jones design. Because of doing the review I have probably played this course more than any other MJ design, so maybe that is a factor. I think that a woodland design also allows a designer to visually 'show their stuff', if you will, more than a links design. But, notwithstanding my personal preference, this course is simply awesome. From the beauty of the visuals, to the 3D artistry, to the fantastic strategic design, there is nothing that is short of being top quality in Las Joyas. I would recommend this course in a heartbeat, without hesitation. Even if you do not generally purchase a P2P course, you would not go wrong nor be disappointed if you made this course your first purchase. This is definitely a course that is a must have as part of your Links course collection.
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CLIPNOTES by Ben Bateson (ousgg) |
Description
Fictional, lakeside course |
Location
TBA |
Conditions
TBA |
Concept 9/10
Something more brash and bold from the Mike Jones stable, with plenty of
appeal for the thinking golfer, Las Joyas is consistently entertaining with a
wide range of challenges - some being quite daunting when you see the
greens perched high above all manner of hazards. I still don't see it as
being entirely appropriate for the location - a fantasy course rather than a
fictional one - but the sheer flamboyance of the holes will draw in those
who want a hefty chunk of strategy with their golf. |
Appearance 10/10
An outstanding improvement on the original, Las Joyas boasts an amazing texture set and some terrific landscaping. Superb views are
legion, thanks to raised tees and greens, and the famed log-cabin clubhouse makes its renowned appearance to unsurprising acclaim.
The woodland regions convincingly hit the middle ground between dense woodland and newly planted and really put across the
middling age of this course. |
Playability 9/10
Regardless of how out-of-place the whole experience feels, there's no denying that this is an exhilarating experience. Thought is
required off every tee and there are very few straightforward approaches or greenside shots. The ambient sound has been trimmed a
little, which is something of a relief. There is still the nagging feeling that it's all a bit contrived, but there are so many positives that you
can sweep any doubts to one side quite easily. |
Challenge 9/10
The original Las Joyas was something of a devil. The greens were inaccessible and frequently very hard to hole putts upon.
Thankfully, some of these problems have been toned down, and the course remains playable if still rather tough - summit-mounted
greens and a legion of bunkers making for tough hazards. The Par 5 holes are still standout 3-shot holes, and a brief gentle stretch
along the back nine should at least allow for a few strokes to be picked up. |
Technical 10/10
It would be drawing unwarranted assumptions to state that Mike Jones courses are beyond criticism. Thankfully for us all, this one is. |
| Overall |
The bordering on fantasy is a weakness, but this is still a convincing and always
exciting round of golf. |
47/50 |
Please remember that Clipnote reviews are the opinion of one person and do not constitute an 'Official' Links Corner review of the course. |
The download of this course has been suspended.
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Please refer to the course notes above for more information. |
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