| Links Corner Course Database ID Number - 463 |
Release Date |
CRZ Filesize |
Par |
Course Length |
| 2001-06-28 |
9,618,596 bytes |
72 |
7193 yards |
| Type |
Style |
CRZ Filename |
|
FICTIONAL |
WOODLAND |
TG17c.crz |
| Course ID |
Course Key |
| a03cf44051d911d58bfc907c60c10700 |
bd8dbccdbdcef6d91b25b1d428fb3052 |
|
LINKS CORNER REVIEW |
Reviewed byChris Gormley
July 2001
Bay Heights
Designed by Tom Goodrick
Initial Impressions: Bay Heights is a woodland course that is very open and spacious. Trees line the fairways and the greens are relatively unprotected from vegetation. There does seem to be quite a few rough edges and shadows that don't normally appear in one of Tom's courses. Most of these spots are around the greens, but others appear in other areas. Some of the land shapes do not appear as natural as they could be. A little smoothing out of the shapes would help this out tremendously. There are quite a few elevation changes throughout the course, but they tend to be choppy and not natural looking.
Greens: All of the greens are shaped nicely but quite a few contain some very nasty looking shadows in the top view cam. A couple or the greens are sloped pretty severely and would pose a real challenge to hold a green with Fast/Firm conditions. Most of the greens are just tilted on one side to create the slopes. This is fine for a couple of holes but can become monotonous after a while. If the greens were given a little more attention it would make the overall experience much more enjoyable.
Fairways: The fairways are pretty open and free from obstruction. No real narrow spots that need to be watched for. Some are designed in such a way as to pick the club for the player. Once again a nice effect once in a while, but if used to many times the player does not have to think for themselves and thus looses interest very quickly. There are also many sharp turns(90 degree turns) that occur on a couple of fairways that just do not look natural to me. These 'twists' in the fairway almost always occur in a landing zone and thus dictate to a player where they are to hit. If the twists were not so severe in spots it would allow the player a little more freedom to decide for themselves where to put the ball. Also as mentioned above some of the elevation changes are pretty chunky looking thus giving the course an 'unnatural' feeling at times.
Tee Boxes: Done pretty well. There are also 5 tees on this course which is a refreshing site.
Bunkers and Water Hazards: Bunkers were well placed throughout the course with only a couple creating shadows due to their design. This is the biggest area I think that Tom has improved over his early designs. His bunker design is getting better and more natural looking. There are a still a couple of rough spots but they look pretty good for the most part. All were well placed to help challenge a player.
Planting: The planting on this course basically guides you through the course, almost acting like bookends for the fairways. Trees never really come into play on this course, unless you really miss a shot. This style just is not very interesting and the course could be livened up quite a bit if the planting were a little more original.
Fairness: A pretty fair course. A player could post some very low scores on this course as besides the bunkers and the occasional water hazard to get in a players way. Almost too easy, cannot believe I am saying that, but I found scoring to be very easy on this course during my rounds.
Best Hole: I liked #17 it has a very nice design. On the tee a player has to decide whether to hit the driver and risk putting it in the water or laying up short and hoping for a good second shot. More thought is needed on this hole than the rest of the course. Great hole.
Overall: Bay Heights has a lot of potential to be a great course, but there are a few things like planting, fairway design, green slopes that need to be addressed. When reviewing a course I look at things from a players standpoint and this course just could not keep my attention like others I have played. Things were to ordinary and nothing really jumped out to me while I was playing. I was never really challenged mentally, except for #17, while I played my rounds on this course. Almost became a chore to finish the rounds. The overall construction is not terrible but defiantly not Tom's best compared to his other courses. I hope Tom takes Bay Heights and refines a couple of things as it really does have potential.
Filesize 8MB
Course Info :
Course Text File - No
Hole Handicapping - No
Course Yardage - 7193 yds.
Par - 72
When I review a course I do so as a player and as a Tour Coordinator. I look at things like playability, aesthetics, design, originality and construction. Since I have not created a course with the APCD I am not an expert on the in's and out's of the program, but do understand the amount of work that goes into a course. I will try to make any comments helpful to the designer from a players stand point and not from a designers standpoint.
Tested using Classic Swing with Pro Ability from the back tees. Played twice using the standard stroke mop with No Wind, Moderate, Medium and Windy, Firm, Fast conditions as well as numerous walkthroughs in practice mode. |
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