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Cripple Creek Country Club
by Warren Wilson
| Links Corner Course Database ID Number - 764 |
Release Date |
CRZ Filesize |
Par |
Course Length |
| 2002-02-02 |
38,873,896 bytes |
72 |
7086 yards |
| Type |
Style |
CRZ Filename |
|
FICTIONAL |
PARKLAND |
cripplecreek.crz |
| Course ID |
Course Key |
| 0042bbe0181d11d6a0670050baa75708 |
706f965479c288ed24995ebe1d2f6de4 |
|
LINKS CORNER REVIEW |
Reviewed by
Mike Nifong
February 2002
Course type: Cripple Creek is a fictional course located in a parkland setting, the most prominent feature of which is Cripple Creek itself, which meanders through every hole, often crossing the fairway three or even four times in the process. (Actually, the behavior of the creek pushes this course almost to the boundary of the fantasy/imaginary genre, but otherwise the fictional tag fits adequately.)
Historical perspective: Cripple Creek is Warren Wilson's fifth course, following the now-discontinued Amblesyde, Duckhook Wetlands, and the two Loon Lake Lodge courses (Lakeside and Hillside). With the exception of Amblesyde, all of Warren's courses have spent some time on my hard drive, although only Duckhook Wetlands of the earlier courses remains. That also seems to have been the most popular of his courses in the user review section, having garnered a 3-star rating (70-79%) there, which matches up with its LC official review score of 74. Neither of the Loon Lake courses fared particularly well with the users (or, for that matter, with me), both achieving 1-star ratings, although Lakeside did get an official review score of 85 (the Hillside review is pending as of this writing)
What is included: Somewhat surprisingly, there is no read-me; since this is a course that has a few features whose purposes are not immediately apparent (like the alkali pit between #17 and #18), this would seem to be a missed opportunity. There are the usual cameo and splash screen(s) (one of the latter being quite dramatic in a Caddyshack sort of way). There are hole previews, which are quite attractive, but since they contain no yardage information they are less informative than they might have been. They are nevertheless useful in planning your play, however, as the lines they suggest are invariably optimal in terms of strategy.
First impressions: The first thing you will likely notice is Cripple Creek itself. You will not actually see it, since it runs along at a level somewhat below the course proper. But you will most certainly hear it, and at a volume that seems someone unlikely given its size and distance from the tee. Get used to that sound, because it will be a more or less constant companion over the first third of this course. In terms of appearance, the view is open, with an undulating fairway lined on both sides by smallish trees. As is often the case on this course, you will not be able to see the pin, so use of the top camera and the hole previews to position your aiming marker is somewhere between recommended and necessary.
What comes next: Before we go any farther, let me just say that the ubiquitous Cripple Creek often comes close to ruining this course for me. As geologically unlikely as its flow patterns may be, I can at least appreciate how its use gives the course its character - this is about as far from grip-it-and-rip-it as it gets, thanks to the way the fairways are broken into small islands by the meanders. But any creek that turns back on itself to this extent would have to flow very slowly; otherwise, it would have long since cut through the horseshoes and taken the straighter path of least resistance. So why does it spend so much time sounding like white-water rapids? In fairness, it does quiet down to reasonable levels from #7 until you reach the green on #11, but this is a creek that should never speak in a voice much above a whisper, and its unnatural volume detracts substantially from the immersiveness of the gaming experience. And while we are on the subject, Cripple Creek is a considerable disappointment visually as well, essentially a ditch of fairly constant width, with no planting along the edges or rocks to burble over (so where does the sound come from?). At least it is sunk to an elevation that keeps it from being a constant visual nuisance, but that is certainly faint praise.
Otherwise, there is not too much to complain about visually: a few small mesh shadows visible mainly in the top view, the occasional sharp edge where an elevation change coincides with a texture boundary, and fairway mow lines that extend all the way into the bunkers (not very realistic - a collar of rough would be so much more convincing). The course has a generally smooth and manicured appearance, and the planting is good if nothing special.
While Cripple Creek's appearance may be nothing to write home about, however, the play will certainly get your attention - one way or the other. At this point, I must confess that I initially found it mostly frustrating. The fairways, as has already been mentioned, are carved into little pieces by the creek, and there is often not much safe ground at normal driving distance (either a fairway pocked with bunkers whose sides are sloped to suck in any ball that comes near, or no fairway at all). Of course, I stubbornly tried to use my driver off the tee anyway, with predictable results. But then I discovered that the smarter I played, the better I did (who would have thought?). The fact is, the driver is rarely the club of choice off the tee. I used it occasionally, but you can probably play just as well leaving it at home, and the vast majority of my tee shots were taken with a 3W, 5W or 3I. And to return to the subject of hole previews, I found that I had my best success when I used the top camera to position my aiming marker as suggested by the previews and then selected my club based on that distance.
My first impression of this course was that it would not be a good choice for anyone other than pro clickers, due to the small landing areas and the placement of trees close to the fairways. But the fact that this is basically a fairway wood/long iron course may make those considerations less problematic. You should also note that the extensive areas of dry grass are not at all punitive - the texture seems to play about like light rough. As a consequence, sometimes a badly missed snap will leave you a better second shot than a slightly missed snap, since you can play over the relatively short trees from the dry grass more easily than you can play from the rough if you are behind them.
The greens are challenging in a good way - they sometimes resemble Prairie Dunes on a smaller scale. And when you hit one of those multi-breaking mid-length putts, it feels especially satisfying. They are often on the smallish side, which makes them hard to hold, especially since your approach shot will often be with a long iron or fairway wood. This means that, although all the par-5's except #13 are reachable (#13, ironically, is the shortest, but its layout dictates an iron off the tee), you will often be better off clubbing down and leaving yourself just short of the green.
The bottom line: In some ways, it seems to me that Warren's courses have not progressed too far since Duckhook Wetlands, some eleven months ago. While I certainly like Cripple Creek more than either of the Loon Lake courses, I am not sure that I really prefer it to Duckhook. There is no denying that both fall short of the current state of the art visually, but that is of more consequence to some people than it is to others. My suspicion is that for most people this will be a love-it-or-hate-it kind of course, and I can only hope that my comments help you decide on which side of that line you will fall.
Course Statistics :
Par 72; 5 sets of tees; 7086 yards from back tees; holes are handicapped. |
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