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International Golf des Bordes
by Jeremy Plumejeau
| Links Corner Course Database ID Number - 1580 |
Release Date |
CRZ Filesize |
Par |
Course Length |
| 2005-01-13 |
12,177,408 bytes |
72 |
7050 yards |
| Type |
Style |
CRZ Filename |
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REAL |
WOODLAND |
Les Bordes.crz |
| Course ID |
Course Key |
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LINKS CORNER REVIEW |
Designer: Even though the designer has released a beta version of another design, this is his first finished course release.
Course History: Designed by Robert von Haage, Les Bordes opened in 1986 and has in recent years been voted as one of the best courses in Europe, including the 2001 Travel Oscar for Best European Golf Course from Golf Journal. Set within the Loire Valley, the course is an hour and half from Paris, while with the course record being held by Jean Van de Velde at one under par, the course will definitely test players of all skill levels, especially with 12 holes featuring water in their design. More information can be found at, http://www.lesbordes.com.
Course: When recreating a real course, it is important to match the course as it exists in real life as closely as possible with the virtual design, but from looking at the course on the official website, it seems that the Links version of the course is not an exact replica, with many features missing from the course in real life. Even so, Les Bordes will provide a good challenge, as bunkers and water are lying in wait on every hole, and if your drives are slightly off line, they'll more than likely land in a hazard. Staying within regulation is easy enough, but be prepared for a watery grave if your slightly offline when water is around, as Les Bordes is a tough challenge not be taken lightly.
Favourite Hole: The Par 5 on Hole 7 is my favourite hole on the course, as it combines great visuals with a solid risk, as player's will have to decide if they wish to play safe or attack the green in two shots over a vast amount of water for a possible eagle opportunity.
Playability: The greens on Les Bordes are relatively large, but even so, aren't difficult enough to be an issue, but depending on how you hit into the green, some poorly placed pins may become a problem when it comes to sinking important putts. The Par 3's are quite challenging, with Hole 13 for example seeing the player having to hit from a high position down to an island green. As water is featured on 12 of the courses 18 holes, it is always wise to play short where possible, especially on the Par 5's, which are all reachable, but contain a high amount of risk, such as Hole 14 which has an island green surrounded by water. The Par 4 on Hole 11 is reachable, but as it is a lengthy shot over water, only the truly gifted players should consider going for the green in one shot, as an eagle opportunity may quickly turn into a double bogie if you make the wrong decision.
Technically: As it is a 2001 design, the level of APCD work obviously can't compare to that of a 2003 design, but even so, the course could have been much better technically. The bunkers didn't have lips, the water was poorly edged with the land, while repetitive planting was evident throughout the design. The course was generally clean in it's look, but with poor texture joins in many areas, the course could have looked much better if more time was spent on particular areas of the APCD work.
Other: The course includes no extras, not even a cameo or splash screen, which is a pity, as after checking the course out on it's official website, it would have been great to have a cameo, hole previews and a splash screen showing how beautiful the course actually is.
Download Value: At just over 11mb, the course is a quick download, but as it is a small file, don't expect any extras in the design or zip, as there aren't any. Considering it's a 2001 design, and even then, not a completely accurate version of the real course, I could only recommend this course to people who enjoy European courses or like to check out first time designs, as it won't be a course I will be burning to CD.
Information:
Course Statistics:
2001 - Real Woodland - Par 71 - 1 Tee
7050yds (Back)
Par 3's: 4 - Par 4's: 10 - Par 5's: 4
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