Should we do a 'Course of the Year'?

[Adelade]

I love celebrating great courses, and if my quick sloppy count was correct, this year has already just about beat out 2017 for most courses uploaded ever since 2004! Of course that is mostly thanks to Sage and John Brooks but a lot of people have helped out! What do you say folks, should we nominate courses and then put together a poll for best course of the year? Or is it a bad idea?

I feel like updated courses from ones that were released previous years shouldnt be eligible, not because those are any less important or enjoyable (I certainly dont think they are!), but because it should be more about the APCD work that is published in the year. Maybe if they are extremely significant updates exceptions could be made. Otherwise I would nominate Colonial, Glen Abbey and Wade Hampton, truly great ones, but a lot of the work that went into them was done on previous releases in previous years.

I have my list of courses I would nominate ready, but I'll hold onto it to give others a chance to highlight and celebrate courses first. if we're doing this that is.

P.S. This is the count for courses uploaded per year I got, I may very well have slipped up a little here or there since I counted somewhat hastily and mostly in bulk, and there is also the question of how many courses might have been removed from the course list throughout the years for various reasons. (The list includes Microsoft courses so its not only user created ones. Also - all uploads are counted, several versions and betas of same course etc.)

2020: 110 (as of Dec 11th)
2019: 66
2018: 91
2017: 109
2016: 26
2015: 25
2014: 50
2013: 50
2012: 68
2011: 68
2010: 45
2009: 65
2008: 53
2007: 87
2006: 74
2005: 99
2004: 140
2003: 155
2002: 310
2001: 508
2000: 83

[Adelade]

Oh and Im thinking the criteria should be simply what one's favourite course product is overall, as opposed to something like 'best display of APCD skill" or "best layout" or whatever.

[FOOOOORE!]

That would be a very difficult task, I think. How do you choose a favorite? Based on appearance, skill displayed of APCD design, playability, degree of challenge presented, how closely it looks like a real course (if it's based on a real course)? There are so many variables. Personally I never think in terms of a favorite, even if I happen to play one course more than others. But if I did, I would likely lean toward overall appearance, sort of like an objet d'art, because that's the first thing that gets my attention when I load a course for the first time. It has been a good year for new courses, and thanks to all the designers!

[Jimbo]

I've nit picked a few this year...but I'm going to have to take a pass...for a lot of reasons (most of them good! )

[Titus]

What do you think?
A best off course of all 2020 courses.

I think a course with 18 spectacular holes would be fantastic,
but it is certainly a very large amount of work to pack something into a new course.

But please not the 12th of Augusta ,
rather something like the 1th of "the Judge2k3"

Fly long and straight
Titus

[JimEvers37]

I'll chime in here, all of the courses uploaded for this almost 20 year old game could and should be considered award worthy, as I have not tried to create in the APCD but heartily applaud the many authors/designers/creators of the courses that have been made and continue to be made for this wonderful game. But to pick a Course of the Year would be about as easy as picking your favorite swimsuit model, Playboy playmate, rock song, etc. I just hope we keep getting the plethora of great courses to play on for many years to come!

Thanks you to anyone who has designed, tested, assisted, critiqued, and in any other way helped with the creation of any of the courses we currently have to play on Links 2003:



Jim Evers

[gene_golf]

What do you think?
A best off course of all 2020 courses.

I think a course with 18 spectacular holes would be fantastic,
but it is certainly a very large amount of work to pack something into a new course.

But please not the 12th of Augusta ,
rather something like the 1th of "the Judge2k3"

Fly long and straight
Titus

To my knowledge Augusta and Judge2k3 would not qualify as having courses or individual holes considered as neither were designed in 2020, nor had updates to either one. It is an interesting idea to try and compile the best 18 holes to play even if it were just from one designer this year, take Sage for instance. It would seem that each hole really plays a role in making up a course of 18 holes and really do not see great holes standing out as one time used to being viewed over time and hole had to fit hole number was on actual course. Nicklaus did a few 18 hole compilations where he decided not to have holes fit number as were on course. One of these was The Greatest Championship Holes in Major Golf released about 1990 and remember Mean 18 out about this time as original golf games I played on computer. I believe Dan Jenkins put out best 18 holes in USA for Golf Digest in 1966 and everyone wonders about hole #17 then Quail Creek in Oklahoma being on list.

https://www.golfdigest.com/story/jenkins_gd0002

It is interesting to see newer holes that might be considered to possibly replace ones on initial list and some of these are as unknown as one at Quail Creek.

There was a list of the best course in each year that ended around 5 years ago by a poster named Crusader. He also had according to his opinion the best 20 real and fictional courses that had been created in Links as well as ranking Microsoft's original courses. Is there someone that might have saved a copy of these from Crusader?

Another interesting thing I see is hole #9 on Dan Jenkins list being at one of the 2 courses at Champions in Houston. Orville Moody won the US Open there in 1969. The women are playing their US Open there this week.

[loner]

He's still doing it.

http://crusadersgames.co.uk/category/links-2003/

[gene_golf]

He's still doing it.

http://crusadersgames.co.uk/category/links-2003/

Thanks for link. Looks as if 2015 was last time a new course of the year was chosen by Crusader. http://crusadersgames.co.uk/links-cours ... -the-year/
He noted in 2015 to choosing Bull Run then that was changed from being a pay2play course having previously being released earlier back in 2004.

[Adelade]

I do remember Crusader's course lists including the Course-Of-The-Year from seeing it a couple years ago, I guess thats where I got the idea from.

I admit being rather disappointed that no one else seems interested in celebrating individual courses when given a good chance, yes I get that it can be hard to pick them, and yes every single course indeed deserves praise, but to use that as an argument to not single out individual ones - just because it will be impossible to mention all courses - is just all kinds of backwards to me. But thats ok, Im not going to let it deter my positivity when I think about the great courses of the year! So Im going to go ahead and celebrate my favourites alone even if no one else will Great job in 2020 everyone who uploaded a course at all, will be a challenge to beat in 2021 I think, but lets try!

My favourites as per my definition in my earlier post (i.e. overall enjoyment, and non-updates) in no particular order:
The National-Old Course by Sage Vanni
Wakonda by Dan DeShaney
The Links at Teton Peaks by Sodbuster aka John Dudis
Coomealla by AJ Allen
Lambton by LeWAW aka Francois Cristallo
East Lake by Glenn Braden (both versions)
Close House by Steven Sullivan
Peachtree by Ian Wells
Atlanta by Glenn Braden
Blue Waters by Sage Vanni

to all the above. I recommend checking them all out if not having done so already!

Honourable mention to Kankakee Elks by Bob Kraft, which, even if it wasnt really my type of course, I think was a really neat creation.

I would also like to slip in a brief mention of the excellent updates of the year, which imo are no less important whatsoever, my favourite among which were:
Glen Abbey (both versions) by Glenn Braden
Colonial by Eric Dorsey, aided by Dan DeShaney
Wade Hampton by Ian Wells
Crouching Beast by Lez Marwick

Excellent updates

And my personal Course Of The Year 2020 award goes to......... Close House! Closely followed by Atlanta

Thank you so much for all the excellent additions this year everyone, there were many others that will stay in my course folder beyond these ones