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Whistler Lake
by Tom Goodrick
| Links Corner Course Database ID Number - 320 |
Release Date |
CRZ Filesize |
Par |
Course Length |
| 2001-04-12 |
11,643,529 bytes |
72 |
7476 yards |
| Type |
Style |
CRZ Filename |
|
FICTIONAL |
MOUNTAIN |
TGcrs14D.crz |
| Course ID |
Course Key |
| 302134002f4c11d58bfb70fd77c1c566 |
8617b79048b7021b0e7d21c73886b174 |
|
LINKS CORNER REVIEW |
Reviewed by Pete Dixon on May 2001
Tom has designed several courses for Links 2001 and he is also a regular contributor to the site here.
Whistler lake is a fictional mountain course, although I have to say as soon as I played my first shot off the first tee I thought of Scotland and the Lochs and this continued throughout my round and, now I have played the course several times, I am convinced this is supposed to be set in the Scottish Highlands, which gives a fantastic setting.
This is also a course that was released, it appeared, as part of a trilogy, the others being Fair Meadows and Pine Ridge Island. When I say a trilogy, I don't mean in the same locations or type of course, as that is definitely not the case, but that they were all released for our enjoyment at the same time.
This must have been a very difficult course to put together as there are some serious elevation changes here that are in keeping with the layout and location and this must have caused a few headaches.
I really like this course but it is not without its faults and, as this is the first course of Tom's that I have reviewed, I am sure that it won't be long before these problems are ironed out and that he will be one of the top designers out there.
The water, lake, loch or whatever you want to call it looks magnificent and there are some visually stunning holes here. The custom textures used for the rough add to the Scottish feel and the undulating fairways also give this feel.
The planting around the loch is also handled with thought and originality, mossy grasses go out into the water and loose rocks scatter the shoreline.
There are some drawbacks, although the planting has been well thought out, there are times when the odd rock or sign on a tee doesn't sit properly, the tees themselves are okay but not finished off that well, they could be neater with a cut edge. The bunkers were disappointing to me; they lacked the finish around the lip and could definitely be improved. Because of the steep elevations there was some pulling and twisting around the edges of the fairways which again could be rectified and the panorama in places, where the fir trees met the shoreline looked as if they were in the water and could have done with a plot of land in front of them before the waters edge to tidy this up. The seams between the fairway and rough or semi rough could also have been smoother.
That sounds like quite a list, but there are certainly as many plus points than minus in this course.
Best Hole: There are many fine holes but I have chosen the par 4 16th which has a great view from the tee of the loch to your right, the fairway ahead and in the distance on the horizon the clubhouse. Your tee shot is to an elevated, small fairway with trouble on both sides your second is to the green below and once on the green you are treated to an amazing panorama/backdrop of the loch and the mountains.
Overall: This is a very, very nice course and one that is extremely pleasing to the eye in most cases, the layout is excellent and a lot of time and thought has obviously gone into this to get it to look like this. As I have said though, it isn't without its faults and I am sure Tom will rectify these in future designs, and I have to say that this course has to be re visited by him and re-worked, if the flaws are made good then this will be contender for Course of the month, as it stands the score reflects those errors.
I hope I get the chance to review the two other courses released at the same time by Tom and I look forward to seeing those and any future release he does.
This is only a small download and I do recommend it.
Filesize 9MB
This review will be based on playability, aesthetics and originality. Please keep in mind that this is only my opinion following my play-testing of the completed course.
I fully understand the hard work and immense skill that is involved in the designing of these courses and my comments will try to be constructive and without bias.
Tested on classic swing Pro level from the back tees |
|
CLIPNOTES by Ben Bateson (ousgg) |
Description
Imaginary, lakeside course. |
Location
TBA |
Conditions
TBA |
Concept 8/10
This is a course that might surprise you. From the first tee, it looks lacking
in elevational subtlety and texture choice, but over the course of a round -
although the course never becomes quite believable - you find it's more
moderate than at first appearance and actually presents a decent 18. The
course hugs close to the sides of a giant and well-tended lake and nearly
all holes bring the water into play. Hole design at times is very innovative
and, considering that there are seven Par 4s on the back nine, very varied.
It's by no means technically perfect, but the designer clearly has spent a lot of time thinking this course through. |
Appearance 3/10
While beautiful moments have their occurrences, there is a lot of slack work at Whistler Lake. The textures are from stock and look
poor. The panorama is from stock and admittedly looks OK. The elevations are largely crude and too far exaggerated. There are a lot
of clones in the planting. On the whole, the bad outweighs the good: it's not a pretty course and there are too many errors which Beta
testing could have cleaned up. |
Playability 6/10
The surprise lies here. With dog-leg fairways running across the tee, there is a constant question about how much to bite off. The
green areas are surprisingly restrained and playable. There are faults, of course: too many blocked views and having to deal with
some hasty extrusions of greens and bunkers, but the course design turns out to be an unexpected bonus. |
Challenge 7/10
This could have been a stinker of a course, but there are more surprises in store. Birdies are makeable, thanks to the receptive greens.
It's no picnic, given that you're constantly playing off elevations, and it would have been nice for the fairways to incorporate a sweet
spot in this respect. Drives often require a lot of carry and sadly the course probably isn't suitable for the users of advanced swing
types. The general challenge is manageable if gimmicky, though. |
Technical 2/10
With good polishing, this could really be a terrific course. Job one would be to replace the horrible stock textures. Job two would be to
level out some of the less believable elevation changes. Then perhaps some seam blends and some close attention to the bunkers
and planting would be in order. Despite some nice low-level planting in the lake, there's a lot required to bring the course up to
scratch, in short. |
| Overall |
Deceptive in appearance, there's a good chance that a round at Whistler Lake will
prove rewarding. You've got to be tolerant of the course's age and lack of technical
proficiency, though. |
26/50 |
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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