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Pacific Ridge Golf Club SE
by Greg Stout
| Links Corner Course Database ID Number - 955 |
Release Date |
CRZ Filesize |
Par |
Course Length |
| 2002-06-30 |
24,757,610 bytes |
72 |
7076 yards |
| Type |
Style |
CRZ Filename |
|
FICTIONAL |
MOUNTAIN |
PacificRidgeGolfClubSE.crz |
| Course ID |
Course Key |
| afe3b9818c6911d6a6ae00609710c19d |
c98a4a6a83ee587030cc9ceaa3ab2351 |
|
LINKS CORNER REVIEW |
Reviewed by
Joe Turner `Loner'
September 2002
I would like to include portions of his readme:
"Pacific Ridge Golf Club is a fictional course based in the Evergreen covered Cascade foothills of Washington State. I hope you find it fun to play. The course plays very different from the back tees than it does from the front tees on many holes due to some drastically different tee positions and distances."
"This course is a second release. This version should allow for some better scores than the original. The first release was in the "Armchair Architect" contest in 2001 and took third place behind Crouching Beast and Prestige."
The tee box is a checkerboard pattern with a fringe and very 'cool' looking custom tee markers, a patterned fairway with a first cut that blends smoothly into a rich looking rough ending with a patterned green with a fringe that also blends well into the fairway and rough. A beautiful start to a beautiful course. Very well made bunkers with brown sand that fit the overall look of this course with its outcropping and at times giant rock formations. To top it off he used tall pines that sit in a combination of pine needles, tall grass and brush, a most attractive combination for an undergrowth. The water hazards have wild grass, low bushes and brush to give it the proper look for this mountainous course with the rolling hills in the background. The fairways are mostly medium in size and have enough twists that he was able to fit a bunker here and a tree there to act as natural hazards. The fairways besides having the slight twists to them also had enough elevation changes to give you nice rolls, which put you into positions that made for interesting second shots. The greens with their slopes and many breaks will challenge you fairly at every turn.
The elevations varied often and the caddie seemed to hand me the right club each time, my use of it may be in doubt but it worked. The greens were not overly large by any standard and will be a joy to a good putter and an interesting challenge to a poor putter like me. You can play and get around the course without using any fades or draws but there are times you will be in a better position if you do use them. If you shy away from them your score may suffer a few strokes, nothing major but it was to my benefit and pleasure to use them, hole # 10 is a perfect example. Both hole # 5, par 4, 353y and hole # 6, par 4, 429y are perfect examples of risk/reward holes. It's my belief that a risk/reward hole can be one of the most enjoyable challenges that we can find on a course. His bunker placement for both the fairways and especially for the greens were excellent and made for fun play.
This was not only a beautiful looking course but it was a challenging course from the tee, the fairways and on the greens. We continually hear about a few courses and the name of this course seldom if ever comes up yet it was a very well received course from the member ratings and received an excellent response at the time. This is definitely one course that should not be overlooked because it isn't a recreation of a 'real' course. It has a challenge and should have a following of its own. For what you get on this course it's an unbelievably small download, good things do come in small packages. I wholeheartedly recommend the download of this course, I feel that you will be playing it under random conditions and finding that it's a new course each time. I enjoyed it and I know you will.
Reviewer Note:
I am a player not a designer and therefore rate a course as a player for other players.
Summary :
Included: readme, cameo, splash, ball washers, custom flag, custom tees, hole previews, signs and numbers, bridges, cart path, crowds and tournament objects.
Not Included: recorded round.
Statistical Information: par 72, 7076y, 3 sets of tees, 4-3 pars, 10-4 pars, 4-5 pars. |
|
CLIPNOTES by Ben Bateson (ousgg) |
Description
Fictional, woodland course |
Location
TBA |
Conditions
TBA |
Concept 6/10
Not the ocean course that you might expect from the name, Pacific Hills
is buried in the woodlands of Washington state. The course is
trademarked by the large monoliths that play a part in some holes, but
are thankfully not over-used. Hole design is very apt, with a little effort
to provide some originality, which was not unappreciated. While the
course has its flaws and one or two absurdities, the overall impression
is of a coherent and thought-through design. |
Appearance 5/10
The textures make an odd mix - the deep sand of the bunkers doesn't really feel at home, and the minty grass textures sit uneasily
with the rougher areas. The big rocks are smoothly done, though, and the clones in the planting are disguised well enough. There are
a few sharp edges in the texture shapes, but it's a decent enough visual impression. |
Playability 4/10
Some courses, for reasons it's so hard to place your finger upon, find it difficult to grab your attention. Pacific Ridge, sadly, falls into
that category. It's amiable but ultimately disinteresting golf, and the only focus it garners is on the slightly ridiculous holes which have
been thrown in along the inward stretch. |
Challenge 9/10
A very finely-tuned set of holes, if my practice scores were anything to go by. Par is ultimately a very fair number indeed at Pacific
Ridge, although two or three pretty extreme greens won't endear the course to anyone addicted to the faster conditions. But, then
again, the aforementioned absurdities might prevent a seriously competitive round in any case. |
Technical 5/10
There's good signs of environment creation here, and the planting and landscaping work has played together very effectively. Of
course management, it might be fair to say there is a bit less finesse. The course has been touched up in its time, but maybe it could
use a complete overhaul of the closing holes to be at its most effective. |
| Overall |
For an 'only design', an impressive and occasionally well-crafted landscape.
Unfortunately, it's holding an inconsistent and occasionally tedious golf course. |
29/50 |
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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