| Links Corner Course Database ID Number - 64 |
Release Date |
CRZ Filesize |
Par |
Course Length |
| 2001-03-01 |
31,683,915 bytes |
72 |
7122 yards |
| Type |
Style |
CRZ Filename |
|
REAL |
PARKLAND |
Commonwealth.crz |
| Course ID |
Course Key |
| 4b8af0b6b7cb427c9cde93c474083eaa |
b213fbe60dd0ad175c63807271ca11ee |
|
LINKS CORNER REVIEW |
Commonwealth Golf Course - Designed by Stuart Kahle
Reviewed by James Wood March 2001
Course History:
Commonwealth Golf Course is an actual course located in South Oakleigh, Melbourne, Australia. Stuart Kahle who also recreated Victoria and Royal Melbourne East has recreated it for Links. Commonwealth's origins can be traced back to 1915 when the first six holes were laid out at Flatman's Paddock at Carnegie. Since that time the course has gone through many revisions with the latest taking place in 1992. The Australian Open was held here in 1967, which is the only time the club has hosted the tournament. The trees that line Commonwealth's fairways are considered to be among the finest on any of Australia's courses. According to the information I have available par at Commonwealth is currently 73. This recreation has reduced the Par 5 485 yards 13th to a Par 4 measuring 487 yards. The only other significant change made by the designer from the real course is the position of the 17th hole. On the actual course the 17th is more straight away and the 17th's green is fairly close to the 2nd green. I'm in the dark as to why these changes were made. It's possible that this was done to make the holes fit better into the program or it could be that my information is incorrect.
First Impressions:
This is a very nice looking layout. The golf course is very flat, as you would probably expect. It has been well planted with a mixture of different trees, bushes used in the under growth, occasional flowers, and animals. The raised tee boxes are not really very appealing. They have a rock or brick texture applied and this texture has not been mapped. The bunkers and water look good but there are occasional shadows. They aren't really of the highest quality but you can certainly tell that Mr. Kahle has been making great strides over his previous efforts. I would have liked to see a rough texture of some type around the bunkers instead of fairway. This course would also have looked nice with a 1st cut of rough on the fairways. This may all seem like a lot of criticism but it is really an attempt to point out to the designer some things that I thought needed improvement. The golf course is really very well done and I don't want to mislead anyone.
Strategy:
The course plays fairly short but there are a few holes where you must pay attention to where you place your tee shot. The par 5 2nd hole has a narrow fairway and the green is reachable in 2. The remaining par 5 on the front 9 is not reachable. The 10th hole is a difficult tee shot with another narrow fairway. The strategy here though is to play it safe because the green cannot be reached in 2 shots anyway. The 17th hole mentioned above because it seems almost out of place here, is a severe dogleg left. I hit a 2 iron into the center of the fairway that left a PW to the green. Putting is mixed here with some fairly flat greens mixed in with some greens that are contoured or sloped. None seemed to be unfair though.
Favorite Hole:
Nothing really stands out here over all the others but if I had to pick one it would be the par 3 15th.
Overall:
Excellent effort and should be in everyone's course library as a permanent addition.
As a side note: If I say that a course should be a permanent addition to your collection I mean exactly that. I'm not just being kind to the designer nor am I paying anyone lip service. I keep very few courses. If I recommend you keep it then it means I've kept it.
Lacy Gearheart's thoughts...
A very nice course from a country not known for its golf courses. The new revision adds so much to an already above average course. It has now become a very good course and well worth the download. It is about time we get more Aussie courses.
Filesize 30MB
Course Info :
Cameo Screen? Yes
Splash Screen? Yes
Panorama Used? Yes |
|
CLIPNOTES by Ben Bateson (ousgg) |
Description
Real, woodland course. |
Location
TBC |
Conditions
TBC |
Concept 5/10
One of the most austere of Australian clubs, Commonwealth carries echoes of America's Riviera Club and Britain's Sunningdale in its opulence. Unusually enclosed and claustrophobic for a Southern Hemisphere course, it plays strongly on the positioning of bunkers - particularly alongside the fairway - to catch out the player. Sadly, I rather feel that the course has been done short shrift by this version, which doesn't really communicate some of the stand-out features of the real-life club. |
Appearance 3/10
I can't say I was enamoured with the stock landscapes, cloned planting or the hastily-extruded bunkers. There really was an absence of much to look at on this course - which is a pity when much could have been made of the clubhouse and its surrounds. |
Playability 3/10
The lack of stand-out signature holes made Commonwealth feel very routine. It has held its place in online tour rotations by the simple expedients of being Australian and remaining unthreatening in the years since its release. It's not the worst thing I've played, but it's difficult to find a reason to go back. |
Challenge 6/10
Hitting the sand remains a major challenge, particularly with the unpleasant elevations to be found in many bunkers. It's unfortunate, if hardly surprising, to find some problematic putting conditions on a course of this age too. There will be sufficient compensation in the lack of underplanting and some eminently escapable trees. You probably will score close to par, but there is a big question mark over whether this is the course's influence rather than the player's. |
Technical 3/10
There's little to commend this - the designer has made a big thing of inventiveness on his fictional courses, and it's a shame that the same flair wasn't applied here. |
| Overall |
Mediocre fare, not exactly helped by a routine dullness to the construction which is atypical of this designer |
20/50 |
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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