| Links Corner Course Database ID Number - 1549 |
Release Date |
CRZ Filesize |
Par |
Course Length |
| 2005-02-23 |
65,636,822 bytes |
72 |
7230 yards |
| Type |
Style |
CRZ Filename |
|
FICTIONAL |
WOODLAND |
Eagle Owl Dome.crz |
| Course ID |
Course Key |
| |
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|
LINKS CORNER REVIEW |
Background Info:
This is the first course designed by Jacob Seersholm. According to the readme it has been through several beta test phases which is good especially for a new designer as there are a lot of things that can go wrong with a first design. I do need to mention though that a lot of people had trouble with this course crashing. Now I did not have this problem on my 5 practice rounds on the course but when I went back to grab my snapshots for the review I did get a couple of crashes. I have a feeling it was just my system being cranky but it did happen to others as well so I thought I better mention it here in the review. Here is a little bit from the readme:
Welcome to Eagle Owl Dome
This course layout is my first attempt to make a course in APCD. It has taken some time to get through it, but i'm finally satisfied with it. I hope this course will bring joy and challenge to the player.
First of all I'd like to thank Vivo for helping out with this and that. Without him this course would never be released. I also want to thank the people who beta-tested the course in two rounds. Lots of good advice has made this course even better.
After Beta round 1, I seam blended the entire course, planted Hole signs and clustered up most of the plantation. After Beta round 2 I've widened out several landing areas, planted low vegetation and grasses and planted ballwashers.
I'm aware of lots of cloned trees. I discovered many, but I'm sure there are still some left. Please forgive, but now I've played this course so many time, that i might get sick and tired of it.
I've experienced some trouble making the course. In the beginning I had lots of problems with Seam Blending the shapes. I think I got that figured out. Then i had trouble keeping the holes visible. Got that figured out too. Finally I ran into Links crashing for no obvious reason. Problem occurs on a few machines but certainly not all. Vivo hasn't had the problem and several other players who tested the course hasn't either. I haven't been able to solve the problem. I choose to release anyway.
Enjoy!
Overall Impressions:
Eagle Owl Dome is a Fictional Woodland course. For a first design it is very well done in some key areas and lacking in some other areas which I will mention later in this review. The overall APCD Technical work is done very well and I must say that I am impressed with this. Usually with a first design there are technical problems because the designer is still learning how to use the APCD but that is not the case with Jacob, he shows that he has a good grasp on the APCD and all of its tools.
The planting of the course is done pretty well IMHO. I have always believed that planting a course and making it look natural is one of the toughest things to do in course design and although there are some cloned trees(which Jacob admits to in the readme) it is pretty good for a first design. The cloned trees that I did see were not real noticeable to be honest and unless you were looking for them you probably would not have seen them. The undergrowth planting was done pretty well also. But to be honest I think next to the apcd work the planting is the best part of the design.
The hazards that are scattered throughout the course are placed in logical spots to challenge a player without being unfair. It shows that Jacob has taken the time to think things through on where hazards should be placed to challenge a player, although as I will explain further into the review I think maybe a little to much thought has been put into the layout of the course.
The textures that are used throughout the course are also pretty good although they are a little to olive in color for my taste but that is just my personal preference. Don't take that as a reason to not download the course though, just my personal preference.
Now to the only real negative I have with Eagle Owl Dome and that is how the course is laid out. This course is filled with a lot of doglegs, small greens, tight fairways, and long holes. When I look at a course the first question that goes through my head is: 'Can this course exist in real life?' and although this course probably could I don't think many players would have fun playing it IMHO. It almost seems like Jacob has put in 'to much thought' into the hole designs because a majority of the shots a player has to make are challenged in some way, and although this is not always a bad thing when it happens time and time again it does tend to wear on a player, and for me this does not make a course 'life-like' which is important to me when playing and reviewing courses.
The fairways, which from an APCD stand point are flawless, are very snake-like in their design in spots and tend to get narrow in the obvious landing zones for your shots. Not to mention some of these landing zones push a player's distance to the max, thus making the shots even tougher than they already were. Not all the fairways were like this but there were quite a few. The greens were another area where I felt the design could have been a little better. Some of the greens were very small and would require an almost perfect shot to get it close to the pin, especially if harder/faster conditions were used. A few of the greens also were very contoured and would probably be considered unfair by a lot of players if Firm, Fast were used.
Now I know it may seem like I am really dogging the course but I am not. There were some really well laid out and designed holes on the course, just not enough of them to suit my tastes. Depending on what you are looking for in a course will determine whether you like Eagle Owl Dome.
Closing comments:
This course has the potential to be really good, the APCD skills are certainly present but the layout(which is a major part of any design) is just lacking to much and does seem to bring down the rest of the course as a whole IMHO. Some people may like a course with this type of layout, therefore I am still recommending that everyone download and try it out for themselves to determine whether Eagle Owl Dome earns a space on their hard drive. I am sure if Jacob takes the time to view some of the other courses that have been done by the likes of Hewitt, Jones, Schmidt, or any of the other great designers we have in the community and take note of the course layouts they have used that Jacob will turn out some very good courses in the future as he has already done the hardest part of the process, getting a firm grip on the APCD and all its features. Looking forward to Jacob's next design as I am sure it will be a good one.
"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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