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Golf-Club Odenwald
by Stefan Weinreich
| Links Corner Course Database ID Number - 951 |
Release Date |
CRZ Filesize |
Par |
Course Length |
| 2002-06-29 |
22,541,162 bytes |
71 |
6245 yards |
| Type |
Style |
CRZ Filename |
|
REAL |
PARKLAND |
Odenwald.crz |
| Course ID |
Course Key |
| 02cf288b8b9f11d69aff00e07dc085e8 |
42ce58c49dfd4f9ac50833dc76bfd100 |
|
LINKS CORNER REVIEW |
Reviewed by
Mike Nifong
July 2002
Course type: GolfClub Odenwald is a real course located in Hessen, Germany, which I would describe as a parkland-style course although it uses the Whistler mountain pano (not a bad fit, actually).
Historical perspective: Submitted to the Links Corner on June 29, 2002, GolfClub Odenwald is not only Stefan's first APCD design, but was apparently created within the first four weeks following his purchase of Links 2001. Unfortunately, that fact is apparent, although in truth his effort is not as bad as one might fear under the circumstances. User reviews have been sparse and unenthusiastic (a silver star based on 4 reviews).
What is included: About what you would expect in a 20.2MB file size: a brief read-me file, the obligatory cameo and splash screen (derived, it would appear, from course photos). There are no hole previews, no crowds or tournament objects. There is, however, a screen capture of the course plot.
Technical merit:
Stefan's lack of experience really shows up here. There are numerous large mesh shadows, sharp edges, and too-straight texture boundaries. The little bit of water on the course does not seem to reflect properly. In places, the course is built much too close to the edge of the plot (the fringe on the #12 green, for example, actually reaches the edge). The bunkers are like no others I have seen, some appearing as lumpy as poorly made beds, others looking like they were vacuum-formed out of plastic; many have an unusual scalloping to the edges.
The technical flaws will disqualify this course for most of you, and it is apparent that Stefan should spend some time studying the LC tutorials, but I have seen worse first efforts (worse subsequent ones, too).
Artistic achievement:
Some things do not work very well here. In addition to the previously mentioned bunkers, which are dreadful, the little stream on #2 resembles a blue ribbon, with no depth, nothing to suggest it is more than painted onto the terrain (some edge planting would have helped the appearance, but the real course may lack that as well). For some reason, there is no fringe around the greens on #1 and #2, although the subsequent greens do have fringes, so it strikes me as likely that this is an oversight. The scale on the fence behind the shrubs separating the tees on #4 seems grossly out of proportion. (All of these things, by the way, would have been easily found in beta testing.)
On the other hand, the planting is not too bad. Some of it is a little repetitive, although you may not notice it unless you are specifically looking for it, and initially the lack of underplanting makes the course seem a little bare, but the overall look seems quite consistent with the photos of the actual course. Textures, however, are a little bland, and the bunker sand seems much more orange than is the case in real life. Had I not visited the website of the actual course, I would have been tempted to assume that GolfClub Odenwald is just not especially picturesque, but the photos at that site suggest that more could have been made of this aspect, especially with respect to the choice of textures and colors.
Play value:
Frankly, there is not much to be excited about here. The course is very short, so you will not always need your driver even to reach the par-5's (three out of four of which are reachable), and you will probably use your 3W as often off the tee. #1 is a drivable par-4 - with a 3W, at that - and #3 can also be reached off the tee if the wind is right. Some of the fairways have some interesting slopes and elevations, although they occasionally seem a little unlikely - needless to say, I have no familiarity with the real course; perhaps they are really like this. Most of the greens are relatively flat, although they get a little more interesting in a few places; when they do slope, it is usually in a more-or-less constant plane. There is not a lot of risk/reward opportunity (and that is a charitable understatement). You will probably need the top view in the absence of hole previews, however, as the pins are often not visible from the tee and few of the holes play absolutely straight ahead.
The big problem is the course is too easy to challenge pro clickers and not interesting enough to entertain anyone else. The computer foursome (Garcia, Stadler, Clearwater and Weir) played it in a laughable -43 (-10 to -12) under b/m/m/m conditions, hitting 80% of the fairways and 84% of the greens; even under w/f/f/d conditions, they were -35 (-4 to -12), hitting 73% of the fairways and 68% of the greens. The combined total is seven strokes lower than that achieved on the next easiest course in my tests thus far. My best round, a -14 achieved under b/m/m/d conditions (I was -6 with two eagles after the first four holes), matches my best score ever in Links 2001.
The bottom line: 1) Most local municipal courses, however entertaining in real life, do not translate very favorably into Links, and 2) there are no instant successes in the APCD. While this course was not ready for release, and could have benefited greatly from beta testing, it does not constitute an altogether unpromising beginning. You will discover, Stefan, that this community is blessed with an abundance of talented individuals who are more than willing to provide assistance to a new designer. By enlisting their aid, you can make your next course a keeper.
Course statistics: Par 71; there are 2 sets of tees, but three distances (back, middle, and ladies; the middle tees are identical to the back tees except on #2; the ladies' tees play shorter on every hole but #2, where they play the same distance as the back tees - this is clearly a mistake); 6245 yards from back tees; holes are not handicapped (although #1 lists a handicap of 11, which is the handicap on the scorecard at the website of the actual course, so I wonder why Stefan did not list the rest of them). |
This course is available as a FREE download.
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