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Royal County Kilderry
by Mike Jones
| Links Corner Course Database ID Number - 972 |
Release Date |
CRZ Filesize |
Par |
Course Length |
| 2002-07-07 |
44,076,153 bytes |
70 |
6702 yards |
| Type |
Style |
CRZ Filename |
|
FICTIONAL |
LINKS |
RoyalCountyKilderry1.1.crz |
| Course ID |
Course Key |
| 006ae0c1919411d69c20444553546170 |
bdeb34b8820bf272bc80acfbc2237f20 |
|
LINKS CORNER REVIEW |
Reviewed by
Chuck Clark
April 2002
Review Update 3rd August for version 1.1
This is just an update to my earlier review. First off lets here what Mike Jones has to say about this update. This first paragraph is from the read-me:
'Royal County Kilderry is a fictional links style course made for the game "Links 2001"
you must have Links 2001 in order to play this course. This file is the updated 1.1 version with a few bug fixes that slipped through the beta testing. I have also continued to update the course for my own personal use and many of these improvements are found in the new version. It can be distinguished from the first file by the ver 1.1 logo on the loading screen.'
This next bit of information is from a post by Mike at Links Corner. It gives a little more detail about what is new with this version:
'* New hole previews with better information for the "no top cam" players.
* New textures which are hopefully even better than the first set.
* The sounds have been redone from scratch with a new swirling wind sound that really puts you onto the course fighting the elements.
* Some small changes have been made to a few of the holes to enhance the design.
* New splash/loading screens.'
Well, RCK was almost perfect before! I reread my earlier review (boy I write well!) and I don't think I found fault with anything about the earlier version of this course. There is no need for me to completely re-write that review, so I will just write a short update.
I loved RCK before and nothing has changed my opinion now. I know I know; hard to believe isn't it? I thoroughly enjoy playing this course and still do. Specifically, of the new changes, I really like the new hole previews. They are really useful and I suggest you play this course with just these as your guide. Don't' use the top cam; it is much more fun without them. I also loved the new sounds. Before there were one or two bird sounds which I thought were a bit much, but the new swirling wind sound on the sixteenth and seventeenth holes was fantastic. I almost pulled up the collars on my shirt and tried to play a low bump and run shot to keep it under the wind. This course really makes you feel like you are playing golf on an ancient links somewhere in Scotland, Ireland or England. Just fantastic ambience!
There were a couple of other things about this course that I would like to mention now. My favorite holes are the twelfth and sixteenth. Both have really interesting driving options and you need to think long and hard about where to aim and which club to hit. I also love the green complex at the eighteenth hole. Beautifully constructed and a joy to look at and play.
In conclusion, this is still one of the best APCD creations ever and the new changes have made it even better. If you have never played this course before (what the hell is wrong with you?) then run, don't walk, and download this course now. It is fabulous!
Rating unchanged
Original review below
Background: I believe that reviewers should approach each course without any preconceived notions or prejudice. We should be completely objective and rate each course based on its merits. What the designer has done in the past should not affect the score given. Well, that all sounds well and good, but you and I both know that rating a Mike Jones course is like trying to rate a Rembrandt or a van Gogh. You know its going to be a masterpiece, even before you open the course for the first time. Mike Jones is arguably the top APCD designer out there. His courses have garnered near universal approval from players and designers alike. As a designer myself, I consider him to be part man, part god at this point, so saying that I am doing this review completely unprejudiced is patently stupid. His ability to make an APCD course look and play realistically is beyond comprehension to me at times. I know "how" he does things, but I still can't seem to get to where he is. His previous courses are all fantastic to play and beautiful to look at. His last course, Pacific Breaks, is still one of the top courses available in my book. Mike's groundbreaking use of multiple ocean front textures to make the beach areas look real was way ahead of the curve.
On Royal County Kilderry Mike says he was trying to emulate the look and feel of the great and rugged links courses of the UK and Ireland. Now I have never been to the UK or Ireland, but I have certainly read and watched a lot about golf in those areas. I can't say for sure if Mike has achieved his goal, but I would be surprised if he hasn't. He also stated in his read-me that the textures used are custom ones based on pictures he has taken at Royal Birkdale, one of the Open Championship rota courses. Again, I couldn't tell you if these textures are just right, but they sure look good to me.
Overall Impression: My overall impression (to boil it down to one word) is "wow". From the first tee on, this course looks so good it is hard to believe you are playing a computer simulation. Everything about it is so real you almost want to jump right through the screen and walk down the first fairway. Mike has this uncanny ability to merge the golf course with the pano. On this course, the colors and textures work so seamlessly with the background, it is impossible to tell where one starts and the other stops. The pano for Kilderry shows a rolling, UK/Ireland like countryside, with farms and fields. The course itself has a rolling country like setting with farms and fields. They work really well together.
As for the course itself, it is beautiful to look at and a lot of fun to play. Mike's earlier (and highly acclaimed) links course Northern Dunes (Ayshire Dunes) is a very tough and demanding golf course. I have never been able to score very well there, especially when I have the guts to try it in tough conditions. Kilderry is much more playable and forgiving. You can recover from the rough and dunes a lot easier. The pot bunkers are still a quick way to bogie-land, but they can be avoided if you plan your shots carefully. The fairways are also much wider and easier to hit. There are still lots of pots to catch you, but it seemed easier to me to avoid them. The greens are generally smallish and have lots of interesting slopes and swales to them. If you hit your ball close to the pins you will have mostly easy putts, but if you are off on your approach shots, watch out. You will be left with all kinds of tough chips and putts. There is lots of slope on and around these greens, so learning where to miss is very important here.
The planting is superb, as you would expect. It is just the right combination and density of brush and small trees. There is a little bit of color thrown in for good measure, but nothing unexpected or obtrusive. All in all it is hard to find anything negative to say about this course!
Playability: As stated above, this course is a lot more playable than ND. I really enjoy playing Kilderry for a number of reasons. You can score reasonable well here, if you think about each shot and don't try to get too greedy. Sometimes an iron off the tee and aiming for the fat side of the green is best thing to do. If you try and challenge the bunkers here, you will start making bogies. If you do hit into one of the fairway bunkers, don't try to hit more than an 8-iron out. Sometimes it is just best to blast out with your sand wedge, just to make sure you get back on the fairway. As the saying goes, discretion is the better part of valor. This is very true at RCK.
Shot Values: This course succeeds on every level, and this one is no exception. You need to plan every shot to avoid the dunes and bunkers. Careful thinking is required for all the hilly lies, green-side contours and occasional dog-legs. As is true on lots of old links courses, there are some blind shots as well. Although Mike recommends playing this course "natural" with no top cams, grids or other aids, he also says you might want to take a quick look at the top cam on occasion to see where the pins are. This is a good idea for the blind shots as well, even though he has included an aiming marker or two.
Visuals: Well, as you probably have already figured out this is the most impressive thing about this course. I really don't need to elaborate any further, other than to say it is gorgeous! I would like to point out a few things I haven't talked about yet though. Mike has included some wood stairs going up to many of the tee boxes. He built these out of the terrain and they look fantastic. As someone who has messed around in the APCD trying to do something similar, I can tell you that these are really hard and time consuming to do. He seems to have dozens of them on this course and I am amazed by that. The other thing I would like to point out is the extrusions he has done on the paths. This is another arduous and tedious task. These two small but difficult additions have nothing to do with the playability of the course, but they add immeasurably to the look and feel of the course.
Technique: There are absolutely no technical errors on this course. None that I could find anyway. The only small quibble I had was the loud birds sounds in places. They actually made me jump out of my chair once. But on the other hand, the train line (and train sounds) on a couple of holes are perfectly natural for a course of this region.
Summary: Well, we have finally gotten to the bottom line. When rating a poorly done course, no one but the reviewer and the designer really cares. But on a Mike Jones course, everyone cares and they come armed with an opinion. You have probably already looked ahead and seen what I have rated this course, but I would like to discuss my logic anyway. My thinking on great courses like Kilderry is governed by the following things. How does the course stack up in comparison with the other top courses. How beautiful is this course to look at and how much fun is it to play. What kind of strategic decisions and variety of shots are we called upon to make. Is there some new and innovative techniques used and how well are they done. When it comes to a course this good, this is not an easy thing to do. No matter what rating I give this course, some people are not going to agree with it.
I believe that a course must be truly groundbreaking to get a score over (**). This is to me to the top score possible unless there is something extraordinary about the technique used. I have nothing but respect for Guenter Kujat, but it is my opinion that Gut Kaden should not have been rated higher than (**). Royal County Kilderry is as good as a course gets, but again there is nothing new and astounding about the techniques used. I also believe that Spyglass deserves it's rating (**) and should be the top rated course right now. Not only is it astounding in it's construction, but Eddie did an immaculate job of recreation. I have played Spyglass in real life, so I know. Kilderry is a fictional design, but it seems and plays like a real course. This may sound easy to do, but it is not. I believe that Kilderry deserves to be rated as high as both these courses, but not higher. If I could I would give it a (****) (right in between Spyglass and what I believe Gut Kaden should be) but I can't. So, in retrospect, I decided on (**). It is truly the most realistic looking golf course, I have ever seen in Links, so for this reason alone it deserves the one point bump over my self imposed (**) threshold.
In closing, all I can say is thank you Mike Jones! You are truly an artist and a legend. You have thousands of fans around the world and I am one of them. I know life sometimes takes us in different directions, but we all hope you continue to give us these glorious creations.
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: No
Custom Tee Markers: No
Custom Flags: Yes
Read-Me: Yes
Handicaps: Yes
Custom or added Sounds: Yes |
This course is available as a FREE download.
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