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Dragon Crest Country Club
by Dean Remillard
| Links Corner Course Database ID Number - 778 |
Release Date |
CRZ Filesize |
Par |
Course Length |
| 2001-02-17 |
29,457,044 bytes |
72 |
7389 yards |
| Type |
Style |
CRZ Filename |
|
IMAGINARY |
PARKLAND |
dragcrest.crz |
| Course ID |
Course Key |
| d07ba4de81dd4a6488159e626dc09868 |
10c83e161d7ca71c130106dd844e9f94 |
|
LINKS CORNER REVIEW |
Reviewed by
Mike Nifong
March 2002
Course type: Dragon Crest is a parkland style course with a city pano (similar to what William Kline used in New York Memorial, although the courses themselves are quite different). In the accompanying read-me file, Dean Remillard describes the course as imaginary, although it seems to me that the only imaginary part is that a course like this could exist so close to a large city.
Historical perspective: When Dean introduced his first (and only previously released) course, West Banks Golf & Country Club, on July 22, 2001, it enjoyed the distinction, at 73.8MB, of having the largest file size of any APCD course ever released. Although the average course size has steadily crept upward since then, West Banks remains the largest course file in APCD history (yes, you could argue that Cascades by Glen Davis, at 53.6MB for only nine holes, holds that title, but I will stick with my statement). I remember thinking, as I was downloading it, that at that size it would need to be close to perfect. Alas, on the first hole it was already obvious that Dean had bitten off a little more than he could chew. West Banks lasted less than 24 hours on my hard drive, and it subsequently met with only modest success in the official LC review (62) and in the user reviews (two stars, or 60-69%, from 8 reviewers).
When Dragon Crest was released on February 17, 2002 (I know the site lists the date as 2001, but that was not when it was released to the Links Corner), the first thing I noticed about it (other than the date) was its very average file size - less than 40% as big as West Banks. I decided to download it, and I had already played it before it was assigned to me for review. You will have to read a little further to see what I thought of it, but I will tell you that it currently sits at three stars on very light voter turnout in the user review section.
For what it is worth, Dean also indicates in the read-me that Dragon Crest will be his last imaginary design, and that his next course will be a real one from Ontario.
What is included: In addition to the read-me file, there is a very nice cameo and an equally nice splash screen. There are, however, no hole previews.
First impressions: From the tee on hole #1, you look out onto an open landscape. Ridges of exposed rock jut out of the ground in the near distance, and in the background you see the buildings of what is obviously a large city. You will notice that the texture boundaries are heavily extruded; this looks okay (although a little heavier than I would prefer) in the main view, but does cause some bad shadowing in the top view. The underlying hexagonal grid is also quite evident in the top view, although it is not really noticeable in the main view. The planting is quite good, giving the course sort of a wild, northern California look. except for that pano.
A city pano can be, and has been, used to good effect. It is essential to the character of such magnificent imaginary courses as Midnight Golf Club and Piazza Metallica; although it is less effectively realized graphically in New York Memorial, the societal context in which that course was released made it appropriate, even treasurable. But here, it simply does not fit. This course could not really exist so close to what is depicted in the pano (yes, I know the course is imaginary, but the best courses in that style enable you to suspend disbelief, and I could not do that here). If this dissonance was intended, so be it, but it detracts from the overall experience. It would have worked better to have situated this course in a location where a real city separated from the course by a body of water could form part of the pano - for instance, place it across the bay from San Francisco (that should make for a spectacular fit).
What comes next: A very consistent eighteen holes that feel like they belong together and do not look at all generic. The detail work is not perfect - there are a few minor mesh shadows, and the extrusions of the border with the rough exhibit considerable angularity which is most pronounced in the dynamic cam but also visible in the main view from many fairway lies. On the other hand, it is not bad either. I would have to include myself in the group who would prefer to see the extrusions toned down a bit for appearance sake, but they caused no problems in terms of playability.
The bunkers are nicely finished, if nothing special, and the sand texture is very well chosen. Bunker location is also pretty good for collecting the slightly errant shots while not being too intrusive into the natural landing areas. Water edge treatments are also very consistent with the general feel of the course. You will note that the water texture is different on #18 - the old LinksLS style water instead of the reflective kind. I do not know why this was done, but it is not a distraction.
The open layout would seem to suggest that this venue would be suitable for powerstrokers and champ clickers. While that probably remains true, this openness is somewhat counterbalanced by the fact that all of the rough is assigned a deep grass texture; this can make for some tricky extractions, especially on those holes where the approach shot is over water.
The greens tend to be large and relatively flat, employing slopes applied to the whole surface rather than undulations and tiers. Since you can be on the green and still be a long way from the hole (even out of range of your putter), this design decision was a good one, but it does make the greens play a little on the easy side, even with difficult pins: if you can get your approach shot inside 20 feet, you should score well.
The hole layouts provide a satisfactory amount of variety without sacrificing coherence. The par-3's tend to be on the long side, but the par-4's and par-5's are all pretty reasonable. Three of the four par-5's (all but #13) are reachable from the back tees, and the course offers several good risk/reward opportunities.
The bottom line: A much better course than West Banks in every respect, including file size. With a different pano, the reworking of a few details, and some minor polishing, this could be a 5-star course. As it is, it is worth trying (and for me, worth keeping). Recommended.
Course Statistics :
Par 72; 5 sets of tees; 7389 yards from back tees; holes are not handicapped. |
This course is available as a FREE download.
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