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Thunderbird Lakes Golf and Resort
by Greg Barano
| Links Corner Course Database ID Number - 1689 |
Release Date |
CRZ Filesize |
Par |
Course Length |
| 2006-08-05 |
20,389,888 bytes |
72 |
8028 yards |
| Type |
Style |
CRZ Filename |
|
FICTIONAL |
PARKLAND |
Thunder.crz |
| Course ID |
Course Key |
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| COURSE NOTES |
| ThunderBird Lakes Golf and Resort is My fictional adaptation Of an area located in the northeast corner of Utah near the Wyoming/Colorado border. The golf course features long holes with rolling fairways and large, undulated, very difficult greens around several good sized lakes. The course measures an astounding 7800 yards with 2 reachable par 5's, provided playing conditions allow for and accuracy off the tee are met. The greens, while large also provide a challenge for accuracy in terms of being on the correct side of the pin with your approach shots. |
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LINKS CORNER REVIEW |
Reviewed by Mike Cropf (mwc0914}
Thunderbird Lakes is a fictional course that attempts to give you a feeling that you are at a mountain resort in the western US. It measures a ridiculously long 8028 yards from the tips. It features three par-5s over 630 yards and a 500 yard par 4. This is the first APCD course by Greg Barano.
As I started my round, the first hole looked interesting. It's a straight par-4 with an approach over a small lake. The designer had said in his documentation 'The greens, while large also provide a challenge for accuracy in terms of being on the correct side of the pin with your approach shots'. He wasn't lying. I was expecting something perhaps akin to Augusta, which is known for have to place the ball in the right spot on the green. However, as I was to find out, this is no Augusta. The greens at Thunderbird Lakes have severe undulations, but they are more like a ride on a roller coaster than putting at Augusta.
As I proceeded on throughout my round, I soon found out that even if you did not hit the right part of some fairways, your ball would wickedly carom off into the rough. This just did not make for a fair and challenging round of golf. Soon, I was wondering which way is the ball going to bounce this time, and it became almost impossible to hit the ball close to the pin.
There were however a few interesting and challenging aspects to this course. The 8th hole is a par-3 with an island tee as opposed to an island green . The 15th hole is a pleasant hole with an approach to an island green, if you hit your drive long enough, else you can not hit at the green . The 17th features a 200 yard carry just to make it to the fairway. And the 18th features a unique island fairway to hit to for your second shot on this home par-5 . My favorite hole was the 3rd, a reachable par-5. You can attempt a blind second to the green, or lay up to a fairway over water for an easier approach to the green .
As for the APCD technique used on the course, I can only say the course looks more like a course that is about halfway completed rather than a finished product. Granted, with the releases of expert APCD courses, our community's expectations have been greatly raised. However, certain elements are perhaps now considered standard for all courses - like seam blending and non-repetition of planted objects. I looked, but I was unable to find any seam blending at all on the course, and there are several occurrences of repeated planted objects.
For me personally, if a course is a fictional course, then it should attempt to simulate what the course would look like if the course would actually exist. There are several elements on this course that would obviously not exist if the course were real. For instance, the tee box on 14 has a big dip in it . Also, objects are placed on the tee box, and objects are not properly sized in respect to each other.
The Final Word
While the course has some nicely laid out holes, the APCD technique is not up to par as we have come to expect, and in my opinion, the course is not a realistically true test of a person's Links ability. However, I do believe if the designer were to invest some time and effort to learn APCD better, and look some of the better courses for guidance, he could turn out a nice course for all to enjoy.
This review does not necessarily represent the views of Links Corner, its staff, or other members of the Links Corner community. It is just one man's opinion. |
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CLIPNOTES by Ben Bateson (ousgg) |
Description
Fictional, parkland course. |
Location
TBA |
Conditions
TBA |
Concept 3/10
This course is really convincing in parts, and exudes a parkland course at
altitude very nicely. Sadly, there are just too many deficiencies elsewhere,
not least a very forgettable series of holes just after the turn. The
trademark 670-yard 9th hole works surprisingly well, but to have two other
holes over 600 yards smacks of sadism. Plus the technical problems and
apparent lack of planning make for some serious gameplay issues. |
Appearance 2/10
Problematic in so many places. While the rough textures are blended well, there is a general absence of subtlety and a lot too much
surface contrast elsewhere. Clones crop up all too often, and indeed the planting is of a fairly low standard right across the course.
There's little to look at and any views that might approach the impressive are negated by the elevations or - too frequently - hidden
behind trees. |
Playability 3/10
It unlikely you'll preserve much patience with Thunderbird Lakes. It's frustratingly hard, not least on the greens, and the course length
is off-putting. Too much deep rough means a lot of escape shots, and the hazards don't really provoke fear due to some odd
placement. Worst, there is little call for strategy: most of the holes are simply straight-ahead. |
Challenge 3/10
Damn, damn hard. My birdie-free test round is testament to that. The length, the rough texture properties, and the call for perfect
placement off the tee are all contributing factors, but the worst by far is the awful greens. Completely Mod-inappropriate, they ramp up
wildly, and many pin positions are not just difficult but nearly impossible. It's a massive dampener because even if you do hit the
greens in regulation, there's little chance of birdie. |
Technical 2/10
With a scattergun approach to planting, misuse of elevations, some mesh folds and some clumsy 3D work, it's clear there's a lot to be
desired here. There are moderate pluses: a nice selection of offbeat objects and a good clubhouse among them, but it wasn't
necessary to tinker so much with the rough texture settings, or to use an over-worked stock panorama. Some of the texture work is
lovely, but this alone cannot hold up a course. |
| Overall |
Unfortunately lacking in many departments and looking frankly a bit amateurish. A
couple of stand-out moments do not maketh the course |
13/50 |
Please remember that Clipnote reviews are the opinion of one person and do not constitute an 'Official' Links Corner review of the course. |
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