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Le Versant
by Lloyd Henchey
| Links Corner Course Database ID Number - 936 |
Release Date |
CRZ Filesize |
Par |
Course Length |
| 2002-06-06 |
17,198,912 bytes |
72 |
7131 yards |
| Type |
Style |
CRZ Filename |
|
REAL |
WOODLAND |
Le Versant.crz |
| Course ID |
Course Key |
| 1e657981782811d684a30050da7b0c22 |
355cf5352e3929227926f91a60741805 |
|
LINKS CORNER REVIEW |
Reviewed by
Chuck Clark
July 2002
Background: This is the first golf course released to Links Corner by Mr. Henchey. He originally released this course as a beta back in February, with the final coming in June. Obviously, he spent a good amount of time making this course and it shows. This is a real golf course rendition, based on a course in Quebec, Canada. Mr. Henchey includes a link to the real course web site in his read-me. Based on what I can see (I can't read or speak French) he has done a faithful job of recreation here.
Overall Impression: This is a beautiful woodsy golf course that appears to be just what it is; a golf course set in the Canadian woods. You almost never see the pano, it is so hidden by the trees; but this makes perfect sense. When you play a real course in a forest like this, you generally don't see much of the surrounding hills, etc. Mr. Henchey has also used many flowers and nicely appointed planting to make this course come alive. The textures used are custom ones, and they were quite interesting. I generally liked them very much. There were lots of other things to look at here, including tee signs, numerous water hazards and lots of ball washers. It is generally a very fun and interesting golf course.
Playability: This is a very fun and interesting test for pro level players. Champ level players had better be hitting the snap, or they are going to be in the woods a lot here. There is lots of water, sand and trees. The greens have lots of slope in them. I did find one of two bad pins (on too severe a slope), but they were mostly very good. The greens were also on the smallish size, so again champ level guys watch out.
Shot Values: This course has lots of interesting shots. There were a number of dog-legs, some shots that had to be worked around trees and a few hilly lies. Most of the course was fairly level though so you didn't really have to plan for much yardage compensations.
Visuals: This is a very pretty and colorful golf course. It has a nice woodsy feel to it and really seems like you are out in the Canadian woods when you are playing. As mentioned above, there are lots of tall pine trees, lots of flowers, well done water hazards (including creeks) and fascinating textures. It is a good course to look at. My one small beef was the use of all those ball washers. There were four of them on most tees. Now if this is the way the real course is, then the designer's hands were tied. They were a little too much for my taste though.
Technique: The course is very well done technically speaking. The bunkers, greens and planting were all very well done. I liked the textures used and the detail work around the greens. There were a couple of small things that I didn't care for though. The course was crowded right up to the edge of the plot in a couple of places. Now you didn't notice this when viewing the course from the main camera, but if you had the top cam open you certainly would. This always bugs me because this is so easy to fix. I also noticed in the top cam that there was absolutely no planting between holes. Many of these areas were completely bare. Again, you would probably never notice this from the main game camera, but you would certainly notice it if you hit a really wild drive on some holes. I am sure that these areas have lots of planting (or something) in real life. The one other small thing I noticed was the transition between the running water texture and the reflective lake texture. Now this is not really the designers fault since no one can really make this transition look good; but what most people do is to mask this transition with planting or rocks. I thought this should have been done here.
Summary: This is an outstanding golf course. It is beautiful to look at and interesting to play. For a real course it play pretty tough though; especially for champ level players. This course must really kick some ass in real life. I would probably lose lots of balls here. As mentioned above, there were one or two small things that I didn't really care for, but generally I really liked this course. It is a surprisingly small download though, so I would recommend it to everyone. Go take a look; you will most certainly enjoy the experience.
I am both a player and a designer. I review courses primarily from the standpoint of fun and playability. I appreciate courses that are beautiful to look at, but first and foremost I want a fun experience. I have spent many hours designing courses myself, so I understand the blood, sweat and tears that go into the design process. Any critical comments made here are meant to be constructive and helpful.
Included/Not Included:
Cameo: Yes
Splash Screen: Yes
Hole Previews: Yes
Tee Signs: Yes
Custom Tee Markers: No
Custom Flags: Yes
Read-Me: Yes
Handicaps: Yes
Custom or added Sounds: Yes? |
|
CLIPNOTES by Ben Bateson (ousgg) |
Description
Real, woodland course. |
Location
TBA |
Conditions
TBA |
Concept 8/10
Very European in style, despite being Canadian, due to its idiosyncratic
flowerbeds and use of greenside traps, Le Versant is an enclosed but
excellent mixture of straight woodland play and careful shotmaking. For a
real course, the hole design is impressive and ambitious and the tight but
fair holes will test many a player. The closing stretch must be considered
to be among the hardest of any real course, anywhere. |
Appearance 6/10
Good use - on the whole - of custom textures and some excellent elevations for such a flat course. The old design is showing through
a little in the lack of texture blends and the rather primitive way in which the hazards are constructed, but the planting is reasonably
well-cared-for, and Le Versant affords some excellent views, given its nature. |
Playability 8/10
Le Versant has that indefinable draw to it which incites players to push on out of curiosity and enthrallment. Perhaps it's because of the
excellent variation in hole length and design, or perhaps because of the draw of some makeable Par 5s and achievably low scores, but
this course could teach some other Real conversions an awful lot. |
Challenge 5/10
The woodlands strike the right line between impenetrability and penalty, and the placement of most of the hazards is a deterrent rather
than a trap. But the smooth fairways allow just too many easy approaches and the flat greensides often mean a chip-in is a likelihood.
Some greens are eminently readable and even Elite players should break par by a stroke or two. |
Technical 7/10
There has clearly been a lot of time lavished on this course, and it shows in the fidelity and lifelike appearance. There's a clone or two
on view, the flowerbeds look a little garish, and perhaps one or two unfair pin positions, but the understated passion of the designer
shows through on every hole. |
| Overall |
A great round of golf which shows off one of Canada's best courses in a good light. |
34/50 |
Please remember that Clipnote reviews are the opinion of one person and do not constitute an 'Official' Links Corner review of the course. |
This course is available as a FREE download.
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