| Links Corner Course Database ID Number - 95 |
Release Date |
CRZ Filesize |
Par |
Course Length |
| 2001-04-19 |
34,092,048 bytes |
72 |
7369 yards |
| Type |
Style |
CRZ Filename |
|
FICTIONAL |
WOODLAND |
ElmerCreek.crz |
| Course ID |
Course Key |
| 62ac97973a0d489cb86ddba18f692279 |
544752aa0390f59cba76c7fc26743ef1 |
|
LINKS CORNER REVIEW |
Reviewed by Dave Campbell May 2001
Expectations: Wasn't sure what to expect from this course. Usually the name gives me some hint. Is there is some old guy with a fishing line dangling in the water. Perhaps a small man chasing a wabbit with a gun (sorry, couldn't resist)? I was intrigued though.
First Impressions: Elmer Creek is the third offering from Don Gooch, the first two being Eagles Bluff and Cedar Springs. This is the first time I've played one of Don's courses and it was my pleasure. It's a fictional woodland setting that is a par 72 measuring 7,369 from the 'big boys'. The course had a cameo and a very well done splash screen.
Before I even start let me say I don't know if this course will be well received by everybody. It is very colorful, maybe too much so. Every tee box is ringed with a wood plank texture that really looks good, and half or more are extruded nicely. There is a floral ring around each tee that varies in foliage from hole to hole. Let me say I thought this worked great. Once off the tee you start noticing the tree colors, particularly on the front nine. There are white, purple, red maple, yellow and all the fall color trees. Sometimes more than one (all?) on the same hole. This I had a problem with but it seemed to tone down as the round went on. The screenshot I posted is on purpose trying to capture all these things. I had several others I would have preferred but thought you all could benefit from this look and decide for yourselves.
This course has a lot going on aside from the colorful foliage. There are ball washers on every tee, sometimes on each side of the tee. Fences throughout the whole course, bridges, yardage stakes, a couple of islands, a boat and a windmill in back of the 14th hole. There were ducks in the pond fronting the 4th hole and Don used a low hill with housing panorama that fit quite well. Let me elaborate on the fencing. It's done all through the course and really adds to the character. Not many courses have done fences and none to the extent of Elmer Creek. Behind the fence was OB and densely planted with trees, underbrush and mulch. Probably just as well it's OB.
I loved the layout and it was a great course to play. Like most good courses when I played in breezy conditions it got much tougher. Most of the time I could use the driver, all par 5's could be reached in two with good shots and were definite birdie opportunities.
The bunkers were all done well and had a stonewall texture on the extruded sidewall. Don't know how realistic that is but it looked good. There were plenty to go around too, fairway, greenside of all shapes and sizes. The par 5 9th had no less than eight bunkers surrounding the green.
Some real tough holes here as well. For example, the par 4 10th is 472 yards. The fairway has a huge bunker right in the middle with about 15 yards to spare on either side. Even clubbing down to a 5W will still get you to the bunker. On the left is the dreaded fence OB and on the right is a lake. To top it off you're hitting a long approach into an island green. A stern test to be sure. The 16th and 17th are two par 4's that both play around 475 yards and we're not talking straight. I would not say fantasy holes by any means but as tough as they come.
Greens played fair and were a good test. Can't say that anything stuck out as a problem. I will mention that the green fringe texture was exceptionally vibrant. Don't know if this is a custom texture but it looked good.
Water has a definite presence on this course and comes in to play strongly on several holes. In general it is done very well and really adds to the courses beauty.
Drawbacks: Topcam shows shadows from green fringe extrusions. Know this has been beat to death, just mentioning it. There was a bad mesh shadow in the topcam in front of the pond on the 4th hole. Without the topcam I'm not sure I would have noticed. Some trees were not visible in the topcam. I've seen this talked about in the designer's forum too. Not a big deal but I aimed one shot via the topcam and hit right into a tree.
On the 15th tee in pano view I noticed a tree on the right that look like it was floating ever so slightly off the ground. On the same tee a red line was apparent on the edge of the wood plank texture border.
As I mentioned previously some of the tree colors were overpowering. Planting in general was wonderful. At first I thought ground planting was lacking but I soon learned that the dense planting is behind the fence.
Also mentioned previously was the 10th hole. May be a bit to penalizing, at least for powerstrokers. Believe it or not I birdied the hole so it sound like nit picking but I was lucky enough to hit my drive in the miniscule landing area.
Just curious Don, why not extrude all the tee boxes. This is one of the strong points of the course and I paid particular attention to each one. All of a sudden on the back nine I noticed many were flat. Still had the wooden planks and the floral ring but no extrusion. Maybe they just looked flat and I missed it. If it was planned not big deal, they still looked nice.
Best Hole: My screenshot is from the 12th tee but my favorite hole is the par 5 9th. Could be feast or famine on this bad boy. Could be an eagle, could be a bogie. Eight bunkers surrounding the green, enough said.
Comparable courses: Magnolia Lane by Andrew Jones, Yarra Yarra by Stuart Kahle
Overall: I really like this course. The layout is great and plays well and I think it is very pretty visually, even with the bright trees. Hopefully the screenshot provides you with a glimpse of what I talked about. It is a large download at 38+ meg but in my opinion it's worth it. If anyone else has played this course and can comment in the review forum please do. I think it's great Don, thanks for all the time and effort. Download recommended for high-speed users no questions asked, for slower users maybe there will be some feedback in the forums to strengthen my point of view.
Filesize 38MB
Course Info :
Splash Screen? Yes
Cameo Screen? Yes
Text file? Yes
Hole Previews? Yes |
This course is available as a FREE download.
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