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Prairie Valley Golf Course
by Stephen Wood
| Links Corner Course Database ID Number - 957 |
Release Date |
CRZ Filesize |
Par |
Course Length |
| 2002-07-06 |
36,408,632 bytes |
72 |
7382 yards |
| Type |
Style |
CRZ Filename |
|
FICTIONAL |
PARKLAND |
prairievalley.crz |
| Course ID |
Course Key |
| dc6f1000905e11d69f5200485487240e |
6da97564aab182eeca15e28ab2dce8d3 |
|
LINKS CORNER REVIEW |
Reviewed by
Joe Turner `Loner'
July 2002
A portion of the readme:
"The course features a yellow, dry grass, prairie setting that is crossed by a lush creek valley. The majority of the holes play partly or totally in the valley and have the creek come into play as a hazard. The course also features many elevation changes from tee to fairway."
I can see this as a fictional course with a bit of fantasy thrown in. The tee boxes, mowed fairways, no first cut, roughs and greens with fringe were all nicely blended together. Along with his mixture of deep grass, wild grass, mud around the stream that wound it's way throughout the course and a very interesting choice of trees and sounds he succeeded in making this course have the look and the feel of a wide open prairie, which was his primary goal. This I found to be a very different look and one that I liked from the start. Unfortunately he chose to 'flower it up' at the tee boxes, a groundskeepers nightmare. It is both impractical and not that attractive. He used quite a few different objects to liven up the course a bit and they fit in quite nicely because he didn't overuse them. The fairways I would call medium to narrow at many non-key points but at times they seemed to be well guarded by bunkers and occasionally the stream, but if your shots were well planed you had a safe out. The greens were medium to medium-small, which would have been all right if they didn't have that back slope to them. Most of them wouldn't hold the ball and I would roll to the nearby fringe for what turned out to be more than a few chip shots. The greens were also nicely guarded but they too were easily avoidable. The evidence of a fairly new designer were very obvious when you saw many sharp edges on the tee boxes, roughs, greens and fringe. They were extremely noticeable on the concrete paths and other uses of concrete, trees growing out of solid concrete without any surrounding soil?
He used elevation changes on many holes and the caddie had to be good and it was very good. I must say his 'imaginative' shapes of some of the holes bordered on the bizarre but they were playable but a bit fanciful for a fictional course (hole # 8). On hole # 9 par 5 the second shot became a lay-up and the third to a very elevated green rolled to the fringe, with the greens a little more level it would have been a fair fight, but I must admit the putting wasn't that difficult, uphill but not difficult. On holes # 12 and # 14 you had your choice of two fairways, no waiting two count them two. One completely open and the other fraught with dangerous bunkers and very narrow. After conferring with Arnie the ani we chose the cowards way out and had a few mamu drives.
What do I think of this course, well I kind of like it, poor English, it's a bit unusual in its looks, which I liked. It plays well even if some of the holes are have a bit of an odd shape to them. The fairways could be hit and the greens could be putted. Chipping is my favorite pastime and I had a number of chances to practice it here. He had some nice sounds of water rushing and birds singing. I was more than a bit disappointed that there wasn't a cameo and a little disappointed that there wasn't a custom flag. These are questions that have been asked and answered in the designer's corner, a few minutes searching and he could have had a more completed look to his course.
Its playable, enjoyable, a bit challenging, different looking and a small download. I would suggest trying it for a change of pace.
Reviewer Note:
I am a player not a designer and therefore rate a course as a player for other players.
Summary :
Included: readme, splash, ball washers, cart path, buildings and many other assorted objects.
Not Included: cameo, hole preview, signs, or numbers, custom flag, custom tees or a recorded round.
Statistical Information: par 72, 7382y, 3 sets of tees, 4-3 pars, 10-4 pars, 4-5 pars. |
This course is available as a FREE download.
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