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TAD River East (The Dunes Course)
by Scott Gavenlock
| Links Corner Course Database ID Number - 1542 |
Release Date |
CRZ Filesize |
Par |
Course Length |
| 2005-01-19 |
54,013,952 bytes |
72 |
6966 yards |
| Type |
Style |
CRZ Filename |
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IMAGINARY |
WOODLAND |
TADEast_FINAL.crz |
| Course ID |
Course Key |
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LINKS CORNER REVIEW |
Reviewed by: Chuck Clark
Background: This is the fourth Links course released to Links Corner by Mr. Gavenlock. The previous two Tad River courses have been discontinued; I don't know why. His other previous course, The Bay of Islands, was a very nice course which I had the pleasure to review. Tad River East (Dunes) is another very beautiful and unusual course. As an aside there isn't any river's on this course that I could see; which is interesting considering Bay of Islands. As I remember it there really weren't any islands (in play) and only one or two bays on that course.
Overall Impression: This course has a very fresh and different look to it. It slightly resembles some of the great sand based courses of Australia; such as Royal Melbourne. The colors and textures used are quite interesting and different looking. The seam blending is very evident with gentle alphas used throughout. The off-fairway areas blend gradually into sand beds and dunes. This makes the course look very soft and dreamy; distinctive and refreshing to say the least. The course itself is interesting and varied; it's a fun and exciting golf experience. I had one or two small problems with some things, but nothing major. There are a number of blind tee shots, the fairways are generally very narrow and much too often (in my opinion) there were too many bunkers bunched in the landing areas. This course is pretty tough on your fairways hit stat to say the least.
Playability/Shot Values: This is the main feature of this course that I had a problem with. As I mentioned above the driving was a bit too tricky for my taste. Now I will admit that there generally isn't too much of a penalty for missing the fairways; but it was way too easy to do on too many holes. The greens were nicely sloped and there was a good variety in size and shape. Trees came into play at times; but generally they formed a beautiful backdrop. There was a bit of water; especially on the par 3's, but again it wasn't prevalent. The primary guard to scoring on this course is the bunkers, the large sand/waste areas and the narrow fairways. I would guess that it's a great course for pro clickers.
Favorite Hole: My favorite hole at Tad River is the 16th. This is a short-ish par 5 with an open drive and a green that is set in a tall grove of trees. It reminds me of a hole I used to play a lot when I was growing up. It isn't enough to just hit the fairway; you need to position it correctly to fit your approach shot between the trees to get it close to the hole. The green is relatively small and protected in front by some very attractive sand pits. Laying up really isn't a very good option; so hitting the fairway off the tee is essential. It's a very well designed hole with a great strategic concept. I love it; it's now one of my favorite all time Links holes!
Visuals: Tad River is a very unusual and interesting looking golf course. The colors used throughout are not something we have really seen before. It's worth taking a spin on this course just to see what it looks like. As mentioned above the gradual seam blends give the course a very soft look. There isn't a sharp texture transition anywhere in site. It may not be highly realistic (I don't ever remember seeing a real course that looked quite like this) but it is quite striking to look at in Links. The planting is also very well done. The combination of open sandy waste areas (with low bushes and grasses) and groves of trees is very striking. The planting is not quite up to the lofty status of a certain Mr. Jones; but it's pretty darn good.
Technique: Very good technique is generally used. The elevations are smooth and diverse. The planting is well done and the look and feel is quite unique. There were one or two small problems but nothing that should discourage you from giving this course a try. I did find one glaring rogue (sharp) edge that caused a dark mesh shadow (see screen shot) and there one or two holes which crowded the edge of the plot. But generally the apcd technique is very well done. You can tell just from looking at Tad River that Scott really knows how to use the program.
Summary: A beautiful and unusual looking golf course. Tad River is a big departure from the norm and should not be missed. I didn't like the narrow fairways or blind tee shot's; but that shouldn't discourage you from downloading this baby. The unusual look may not be for everybody (I wasn't in love with the gray rough), but I'm sure a lot of people will really love it. I think this is the type of course that some people will really like and some people really won't. I'm very torn about it, but probably don't like it quite as much as some. Obviously I must be in the minority though; considering it won the Players Choice Award. But regardless of my opinion I definitely think you should download and play this course. If for no other reason you should get it just to take a look at the atypical appearance. I have included a large number of screen shots though so please don't listen to me; make up your own mind!
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CLIPNOTES by Ben Bateson (ousgg) |
Description
Imaginary, dunes course |
Location
The readme hints at the California Dunes. |
Conditions
Some dodgy pin positions hint that S*/M* should be your limit. |
Concept 6/10
Highly unusual in appearance, often to a slightly bizarre and fantastical extent, the TAD River East course has heavy reliance on the
bleached, almost white dunes that surround it. The fact that this is ostensibly set among coastal dunes makes the presence of casual
water, and the complete absence of ocean, something of a puzzle, and the whole thing is somewhat difficult to believe in, putting it firmly
into the 'imaginary' bracket. However, the hole design from the 10th onwards is a veritable rollercoaster of fun and the course is worthy on
that basis alone. |
Appearance 7/10
The grey colours of the dunes are very much an acquired taste, and planting that once looked flashy now looks low-res and cluttered.
There are notable mesh folds from time to time, too. But for all that, there's a lovely soft touch to the textures and the bunkers are sculpted
with care and suitably lipped. It's difficult to assess on an overall basis because it's so unlike anything else, but generally speaking there's
enough here to impress. |
Playability 7/10
TAD River definitely is a course of two halves: a reasonably conservative opening nine, marked by tight, twisty fairways and plenty of
semi-rough around the dunes' base. This is subsumed by a much more daring and risk-reward second half. Unfortunately, it's not
really pitched at the correct level and you find yourself cruising a little bit in Act II. But there are compensations in the form of good
informative hole previews and subtle ambient sound. |
Challenge 5/10
With unfairly narrow fairways opening the round, you end up being somewhat grateful for the escapability of the semi-dune rough. And
then it all gets turned on its had later: ostensible risk-reward instead being very much a case of playing tight irons to the fairways. The
Par 5s, as a rule, are not genuine 3-shotters, and the greens provide too stiff a test for the Mod player. Unbalanced and chaotic is the
net impression. |
Technical 8/10
Oddly, the sum of these somewhat misfit parts is more than the course's whole. Good texturing and blends have been backed up by
sound planting and - at the heart of it - good hole design. If you accept the premise that the course is really a bit too odd to be
fictional, it looks all the better in that respect. |
| Overall |
A very unusual creation and perhaps one which didn't have the re-visit element that
it initially promised. |
33/50 |
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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