|
Apple Tree
by Jack Hartt
| Links Corner Course Database ID Number - 522 |
Release Date |
CRZ Filesize |
Par |
Course Length |
| 2001-08-13 |
16,310,944 bytes |
72 |
6917 yards |
| Type |
Style |
CRZ Filename |
|
REAL |
PARKLAND |
Apple Tree.crz |
| Course ID |
Course Key |
| c946c820904511d588fb9efde621b458 |
fc0aea597efe298ca3475cb76509488e |
|
LINKS CORNER REVIEW |
Reviewed by Mick Lenton
Thoughts from the 1st: Well, this is Apple Tree. I feel I almost know the course without playing it due to Jacks very good notes. I don't suppose I really need to tell you much about the course, as the notes are so good. I will though as I love playing it. So, what do we see from the first. Ah! Apple trees.
The Course: Apple trees. Yup!! The course is full of them, and very nice they look too. This Par 72 is a real course in Yakima, Washington and has been lovingly created by Jack. Very well created too!!. The first thing that you notice about this course, other than the apple trees, is the profusion of sounds, birds especially. The course is very nicely put together using a mixture of custom and stock textures. There are some extrusions. All seemed to be done well and I had no bad bounces anywhere. The 'Appletee's' sit extruded straight in the deep green rough and all 5 are there. The fairways have a nice stripeless texture with a slightly darker 1st cut. Looks good. The 'Applegreens' sit within an 'Applefringe' with a tiny extruded edge. The green has faint crosshatch mow lines. The green is much lighter than the fringe. The white sand bunkers are very simply and well made. A nice smooth extrusion with a very thin line of topsoil. Planting is done on several textures, and is very well done. There is a little underplanting, but not much. The pano is a custom, Desert type. I have to apologise about my lack of knowledge of pano's, but it is something I have never really got in to and I do not know if this is one that has been used before.
Playability: Ok, so here we go.
The 1st is a slight dogleg to the left, not too long. I good drive gets you round the corner, possibly over the bunker, if you are long enough. I was left with a short iron to the quite large green. Bunkers left and right. It is very easy to run through to the rough on the drive, as the fairway is quite narrow.
The 2nd is the first par 3. A long iron will get you to the very narrow, long green. Sand down the left.
The 3rd is a very narrow par 5 and if you are not straight you will be picking apples. A good drive past the bunker on the right will leave a very difficult 1 iron or fairway wood to reach the well protected green. So you can either go for it and be prepared for a probable sand or rough shot, or lay up and pitch on to the medium sized, pear shaped green. Noisy hole this, with the mower or whatever on the tee and that annoying bloke sneezing just as you prepare to putt!!!
4 is a quite long par 4 and as it is quite long you feel you must try for a long drive, to give an easier one to the awkward green that is protected at the front by a stream and the sides by sand. The problem is, that the landing area for a drive is tiny, sloping and also protected right by sand and left by apples. Trouble is a lay up short of the trouble does leave a long one. A good drive will leave a mid iron to the quite slopey green. Difficult hole.
5 is another narrow par 4 with a slight kink at drive point. Bunkers close both sides. I took a 1 iron just short of the kink which left me a longish 5 iron to the water protected, longish green. Luckily I hit it. Nice wood edging to the water.
The 6th is a difficult par 3. Not long, but the l shaped green is protected by a bunker front left and a series of connected ponds front and side right. Just hit towards the green and hope for the best. The green is not big!! A cracking short sand shot gave me the par.
Number 7 gives us a very difficult drive towards a lake. The very narrow green sits the other side. The closest water is at about 270 yards so out came the trusty 1 iron again. A shot well short of the water and away from the sand on the right, left me a nice little short iron to the VERY narrow green. Water all down the front, very close and trees very close to the back. Another very tight hole.
The 8th is a drive out of a short avenue of trees to a, yes, narrow fairway. Sand right and left. A stream in the trees on the left, all the way. You are left with a quite long iron to the figure 8 shaped green, water left and behind and trees close right.
The last on the back 9 is a waterbound par 4. I played a long iron towards the narrow gap between a bunker and water. The more accurate of you may want to try a longer shot over a bit more water. You will probably be left with a wet ball or a mid iron. I had a long iron, having missed the drink, to the very long double green with the small round bunker separating the two. Quite a difficult green.
A few stiff drinks and I am ready for the back 9!!!
The 10th is a short par 4 that narrows tremendously at drive distance, with sand on the right. A 2 iron left me a nice mid to short iron to the medium sized green. Any further would have either had me in sand, or on a steep slope towards trees and water. The green has water front left and sand back left.
11 is another short par 4 narrowing sharply at around 240-250 with sand left and trees right. A gentle 1 iron, favoring the left to avoid the trees left me a short iron to the smallish green. That damn mower was back again on the second shot though.
I cant believe it. A short par 5. Narrow though. Try to drive it clear of the very narrow spot with sand and a bulge of trees. You are then left with a long iron over a very large tree, so you don't want to be TOO long. Again, quite a small green.
13 is a medium length par three to a fairly long green at an angle to the tee. Water close left, bunker right. Not too difficult. If you hit the green.
The 14th is a narrow par 5. Quite long too. Narrows a lot at around 280 with sand left and a bulge of trees right. A gentle drive, followed by another 2 wood left me with the mower again and a wedge to the comparatively large green.
15. This par 4 has the luxury of a slightly wider landing area over a bunker and quite a large tree. You are left with a short iron to the quite small green. Sand left and the trees are close.
The 16th is a par 4 with a nice flowerbed on the right of the tee. Maybe this is to try to take your mind away from all the sand down this hole. There are 3 big bunkers down the left to catch the pull and a sweet little one on the right, surrounded by trees, if you happen to push a bit. All this on a slight bend to the right. So either an accurate drive between the trouble, or a very long one over the corner, leaves a wedge or short iron from a possibly sloping lie, to the smallish green which has more bunkers, back and front left.
The 17th is the signature hole. The island apple green. It is a lovely sight, looking down over the tees to the lake, with the apple in the middle and the pretty bridge leading to it. A 7 iron got me to the centre of the green, leaving me with a 40 foot putt with a 21" drop, which I promptly missed. Got the par though.
The last hole is a cracking par 5. There is an easy way, but who wants that!!! You drive over a lake to a little promontory. After emptying my ball bag, my partner's, and begging a few from the groups we let through, I managed to hit dry land. I can hear people who have never used PS Champ saying 'What is he talking about. It is a simple drive'. You try swinging a mouse with sweaty, shaking hands, KNOWING, just knowing you were not going to get your ball back. As I have said. There is an easy way, which does not involve going over water. You will have a very long 2nd though and may not be able to reach the green. I, on the other hand, had a very easy 27th, or thereabouts. A simple, full tilt 1 iron the the other half of the double green we talked about earlier. I was home. Just 2 putts for a birdie. Ok ok, around 30, plus any penalties for borrowing, and losing equipment. (Balls, sob!) It is a cracking hole though.
This is a difficult course, particularly for the Ps'er. You can play around conservatively if you want to. But who wants to. Take PLENTY of balls. And a runner to fetch more.
Good Points: Just a superb, well designed and constructed, beautiful course
Bad Points: Not a lot really, just those narrow fairways.
Favourite Hole: I suppose it has to be the signature 17th, Above. With the 18th coming a close 2nd.
Least Favourite Hole: All those nasty little narrow ones. No not really!!!
Final thoughts: I think I can safely say, without much fear of contradiction, that this is not an easy course for the PS'er. I will be very interested to read the reviews of a clicker, to hear what they have to say. It is however a great course and WELL worth the download. A definite keeper.
Course Info :
Cameo Screen? Yes
Splash Screen? Yes
Text file? Yes
Hole Previews? No
15mb
Reviewed July 2001 |
This course is available as a FREE download.
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