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Augusta National 2001 V2.0
by Andrew Jones
| Links Corner Course Database ID Number - 540 |
Release Date |
CRZ Filesize |
Par |
Course Length |
| 2001-08-21 |
46,203,876 bytes |
72 |
6985 yards |
| Type |
Style |
CRZ Filename |
|
REAL |
PARKLAND |
Augusta National 2001 v2.crz |
| Course ID |
Course Key |
| aa5d417a117348e8b143253f29d70427 |
48b859105e69b5a9bb7cd40088afc4a1 |
|
LINKS CORNER REVIEW |
Reviewed by Pete Dixon
This may be a little late in coming and the whole World will have downloaded this by now, but for those who haven't here is a review of one of the most famous golf courses out there.
I did the review of the first version (scroll to bottom of page) so if you use that as a base for this I will tell you what has changed and whether it has been improved or not.
The changes over the first version are as follows, and I have taken this from the read me file and edited/added:
1. The trees are fixed. No solid collisions. this involved a complete replanting.
2. The bunkers have been smoothed.
3. New fairway, green and fringe textures used.
4. More terrain work in the clubhouse area, added the restaurant built out of the terrain and added practice range magnolia lane etc etc. To use the practice facility just go into practice mode and drop on the tee behind the clubhouse.
5. Scoreboards.
7. Pin Positions. 9 pin positions have been added to all holes. Pin positions 1-4 remain the pins for 2001 masters Thursday through Sunday.
8. Sounds have been added
9. Hole Previews. Included from the official masters yardage guide. Include clear yardages to key hazards.
10. Rae's Creek on 13. Additional planting in the creek.
11. The 16th Green has been amended to make it a little fairer.
12. The 14th Green. Reshaped and contoured a little.
13. the Eisenhower tree has been redone.
14. The 18th Hole. this hole now plays a little easier.
15. the 9th green. Some shots hit short will now roll off the green and roll down the fairway a little.
The thing that seemed to get on most people's nerves was the trees and the bounce off them, well that has been rectified, the other main issues were the fairway textures which have been changed and do look better now, but I quite liked the original ones, the pin positions and the issue with the 2 greens outlined above, the 9th and the 16th.
I personally prefer the sounds as they were non-existent in the first version.
Best Hole: Still the 13th no change there.
Overall: I think the changes have improved the course slightly and I look forward to the 2002 version, I am sure you all have this course anyway and it is worth ditching the first for this if you haven't already done so.
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Original Review of Augusta National 2001 (1st version)
Well I've heard of Osmond-mania, Beatle-mania but I never thought I would ever see Augusta mania. Could the sane gentlefolk that play Links 2001 and grace this tranquil site throw off their cool, mature façade and turn into a baying, desperate mob ready to forgo sleep, food and the love of a good woman, or man all because of a little old golf course called Augusta, a few azaleas, manicured everything, greens from the slopes of hell and a green jacket??
Well I would have said not, but the reaction and anticipation that has greeted the release of this course has been quite staggering, the like of which has never been seen for the download of an APCD course since its inception.
So with so much to live up to, does the course which has been designed by a Brit who lives in the USA and who has already dabbled with the course in the early days under the name Magnolia Lane, come up to expectations and wooed the masses or has it nose dived and been a flop?
Andrew knows very well that by recreating such a much loved course, known by just about everyone in the Universe that he was going to be hailed King by some and picked up on by others, what I want to tell you is, quite simply, is whether this is a good, playable recreation or not.
I have only ever seen this course on TV, and most of the holes shown are from the 9th onwards so I cannot vouch for its accuracy, what I will say is Andrew has painstakingly researched the course with the help of others so I would guess it is pretty accurate.
When I first loaded up and viewed from the first tee I felt that this was going to be a pleasurable journey, the tee, fairway and rough were all custom as were some of the trees, plants etc even the pine needle bed under the fir trees. Everything looked manicured and perfect much as I would expect Augusta would be on the opening day of the Masters.
The fairway is very neat and has slightly visible cut marks running along it, there is no cut strip between the fairway and the first cut rough, which is how it must be, I have to say of all the textures used this was the one I was least sure about, I didn't think it looked 'real' enough, maybe a bit too cartoony.
It became apparent very early on that much care has been taken in this design and as I have played the course several times I was really impressed with the quality of the planting, it really has been beautifully done and captures the flavour of Augusta, especially where the use of strong colours is concerned as it would be easy to get too carried away and make it look tacky and garish, this has been avoided and the result is a credit as is the more understated areas of planting.
The textures used for the areas under the pine trees works really well as do the bunkers, they are well finished off and not too difficult to get out of but getting your ball close to the pin from a greenside one takes a good shot.
Augusta is about the greens, we have all seen putts, even tee shots or approaches appear to be perfect only to end up miles away from the hole, I have to say that this has been replicated excellently and you will be tearing your hair out at the unfairness of it all even though you may well be sporting a masochistic smile at the same time as your well judged shot sails by on what seems like slopes of ice. I will take this opportunity to state here that in my opinion the textures used for the greens are some of the best I have seen and are very believable.
There are leader-boards, buildings, a 3D clubhouse, plants, trees, bridges and cart paths all done especially for the course, you may even see some names you recognise on a certain leader-board around the course.
You have to remember that not all the holes are a picturesque as the ones made famous by watching on TV but the subtle nuances used make each hole interesting in its own right.
Best Hole: Fairly predictably the par 5 13th which has a wonderful view over the bridge and stream to the fairway where you have to be deadly accurate with your tee shot or take a 3 wood. The second should see you have an uphill second shot to a down-sloping green with a stream in front, a good shot hear will give an eagle chance, hit too long and end up in one of three bunkers surrounded by azaleas. Picture postcard.
Overall: This course is really on a hiding to nothing but I have to say I have fully enjoyed my rounds here and the excellent planting, attention to detail, wonderful greens and skilled use of the APCD together with some truly beautiful views and a playable and challenging course have led me to the conclusion that Andrew must have satisfied 99% of the masses although with the slightly uneasy fairway texture, poor use of sound and some odd bounces off trees there is still room for improvement.
If you haven't already downloaded it, and I don't suppose anyone hasn't then do so and enjoy the best version of Augusta yet and immerse yourself in the Masters experience.
Course Info :
Cameo Screen? Yes
Splash Screen? Yes
Text file? Yes
Hole Previews? Yes
47mb
Reviewed October 2001 |
This course is available as a FREE download.
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