| Date |
CRZ Size |
Par |
Length |
| 2004-02-21 |
47219776 |
72 |
7022 |
| Type |
Style |
Ver 1.02/1.05
Difficulty Index |
Ver 1.06
Difficulty Index |
|
FICTIONAL |
PARKLAND |
1.01 |
0.00 |
| CRZ Filename |
| Atana Hills.crz |
| Course ID |
Course Key |
| b86436b9a3634f9b958cc4f76c0f35af |
c14d227b624b2604f87a5619da1bb0df |
Download Size: 43512 KB
Download by clicking the image or link below |
|
Preferred download source.
http://www.fileplanet.com/dl.aspx?/sportplanet/links/courses/apcd/atana_hills_2003.zip |
|
LINKS CORNER REVIEW |
Atana Hills
Designed by: Larry Dale
3/4/03
Reviewed by: Chuck Clark
Background: This is the first and only course released to Links Corner by Mr. Dale; so the only background information we have is the read-me. Here is what it says: “Designed in 2002, before/during the time Links 2003 was released. Updated to 2003, but course was too far along to seem blend and change objects. Though not 100% completed, pretty close. My third course, first public release. I'll wait for the next edition of Links before starting on another. Atana Hills was designed to make you think about club distance a little more within a hilly setting. Hope you enjoy playing it as much as I did in designing.”
Overall Impression: One of the reasons I enjoy being a reviewer with Links Corner is the opportunity to occasionally come across a hidden gem that I might have otherwise missed. Atana Hills is just such a course. It’s not perfect, there are a few rough edges here and there; but all in all it’s a really fun and pretty golf course that few people seem to have noticed. Atana Hills has an interesting look and feel to it. It is built on a very hilly plot on the edge of an open plain. There is an interesting combination of heavy forests and open meadows; hilly knobs and flat fields. I really liked the variety of looks and feels. Too often these days our forested courses seem to all look the same. Atana definitely doesn’t look like anything else. Some of the holes and greens occasionally push over the border into a fantasy type course, but generally they are interesting but fair.
Playability/Shot Values: This course is generally fair and playable. As mentioned above, there are a few shots and places which are a bit fantasy-like. The 7th green was shaped like an hour glass; with deep grassy hollows placed in the squeezed in sides. Chipping on this green is not out of the question. Some of the greens have unnatural looking humps and bumps and there were a few bad pins. The 14th hole is a dog-leg right par 3, which is a cardinal no-no in the golf design business. There were also a number of blind shots and many of the fairways were very island like. This is a course you play from station to station. You really have to watch out for the bunkers scattered around in the fairways too. I really liked the drivable par 4 first; it really gets you going either good or bad right out of the gate.
Visuals: A very pretty golf course with an unusual look. As mentioned above the combination of fields and hills; and forests and open plain was very refreshing. The tree planting was especially good; I liked the variety and placement. I also liked the use of split rail fences here and there and the use of planted fields. The underplanting left a bit to be desired however. The designer seemed to use the same yellow bush just about everywhere. I would like to have seen some grassy type objects and a little bit better variety. The textures didn’t look very good to me either. Maybe it was just my computer but most of the textures looked a bit blurry (2001 textures?). The course was not seam blended either; which doesn’t really bother me too much. One nice touch was the extruded tee boxes and cart paths. They were sharp type extrusions though so a bad bounce could result.
Technique: Pretty decent technique here, especially for a first time course. I didn’t see any major errors; just some small nit picking type items here and there. The texture names were left as “Beta Fair-3” and “Beta Green” as just two examples. These should have been renamed to Fairway and Green before release. Some of the elevations were a bit rough looking; especially some of the humps and bumps in the greens. They just didn’t seem to flow through the greens and into the surrounds. It just looked like someone buried an elephant under a couple of spots. As mentioned previously the textures looked a bit blurry and the undergrowth needed a bit of work. I also noticed that the scorecard didn’t have any handicaps assigned to the holes.
Favorite Hole: I liked the 7th hole quite a bit. This hole has an elevated tee, so the hole is completely spread out below you. You must fit your drive into a tight area between some bunkers and the rough. The unusually shaped green is protected by a lake on the left. There are some deep hollows around the green; which is nicely sloped and contoured. A fun but challenging golf hole!
Summary: A fun and interesting golf course; with an unusual look and feel. This course is flying under the radar here at LC right now, but I think it deserves to be noticed a bit more. I recommend you give it a try; I don’t think you’ll be disappointed!
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