LINKS CORNER REVIEW

Background: This is the sixth golf course released to Links Corner by the Bausch brothers. Steve and Tim are familiar contributors to the Links community; with two of their previous efforts garnering LC Recommended awards (Chesapeake Valley Golf Club and Shadow's Run Par 3). According to the read-me River Creek is the 'home course of the Superior Shores Golf Association'. Now I'm not really sure what this means; but it sounds like a pretty neat honor. The designers go on to describe the course a bit more in the read-me:

' River Creek is a fictional course with a setting in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains in the Virginia/North Carolina region. There are 5 tees and 9 pin positions. It plays at 7,332 yards from the Gold (back tees). We think you'll find the front nine plays fairly easy, but the back nine can be a real bear, so beware.'

Overall Impression: This is a very clean and well done golf course; with many nice features. It is a lush woodland/parkland type golf course set in a hilly setting. It has a lot of water and bunkers in play. Many of the longer holes twist and turn; sometimes dog-legging both ways. At first the fairways seem to be generous and forgiving. However, as you go along they seem to get tighter and quirkier. There are many holes with semi-blind and tightly protected dog-legs. If you're not careful here you'll be driving thru the dog-legs on a number of holes. I would suggest you never just step up to the tee, pull out your driver and bang away. You'll have a long and taxing round with that type of strategy. The construction of the course is well done; but not overly ground breaking. There is no seam blending or anything else which really makes you go wow! To summarize in a few words this is a very nice course; but not a great one.

Playability/Shot Values: This course will probably not be very playable for you the first time around. Until you learn how each hole twists and turns you will have lots of trouble off the tee. As you get to know River Creek Estates however; I think you'll be able to score a lot better. There were a few fairways on the back nine which I think were a bit too tight and/or a bit too quirky. There was one hole where you actually couldn't see the fairway from the tee, had to use an iron and play over/around a grove of trees. The greens were generally nice and fairly sloped; I didn't notice many questionable pins. There was however one hole (15th) which had a strange playability issue. There is a swampy area in front of the green which was marked and plays as Out of Bounds. I'm not sure I've ever seen a forced carry over an interior OB. Strange to say the least; this should have been marked as a normal hazard that you could take a drop from.

Visuals: A very pretty golf course with nice textures, nice planting, nice elevations, nice technique, nice fence work and nice extras and added objects. However, there was never any eye opening moments for me at River Creek. I never stopped when playing and said 'wow that really looks great'. Maybe I'm getting too jaded from seeing so many courses; but there wasn't anything here that made me want to come back and play it again and again.

Technique: The technique used here is very good. The elevation work is smooth and consistently nice. The planting is generally well done and good looking. Extra objects are used to good effect and add to the environment nicely. However, there was one TV (tower) type tournament object which was not set as such (like it was probably supposed to be). I usually don't play with crowds or tourney objects turned on; so this object really stood out. The major beef I have with the technique however is the lack of seam blending. This course just screams for blending; it would look exponentially better. River Creek could be one of the best ever with seam blending; but without it it's just another pea in the pod, another tree in the forest, another drop in the ocean, another..well you get the idea.

I would like to mention that the Hole Previews and Tee Signs were very well done. These are always a very nice addition and are greatly appreciated by many. I also enjoyed the sounds of nature planted here and there. They added to the feeling of playing at this type of course.

Favorite Hole: My favorite holes on River Creek Estates are the par 3's. Each of them is very attractive and distinctive in their own way. If I had to choose just one however, it would be the 3rd. The third hole is played with a middle iron over a nicely planted lake to a smallish and devilishly sloping green. There are two distinct levels on this green; so getting your approach close to the cup is a real test. Par is a very good score here!

Summary: This is a nice course; which could be so much better. It's nicely built and generally attractive. It can be a bit quirky to play; with numerous dog-legs to contend with, but should be quite playable after you get to know it. If it was seam blended I would be talking about this course for awards; alas, it is not! If you're a fan of Steve and Tim's then I'm sure you won't be disappointed. It doesn't quite measure up to the top of the line type courses we get to see these days; but it's still pretty good. Give it a try; you may like it a lot!

CLIPNOTES by Ben Bateson (ousgg)

Download course

Please support Links Corner