| Links Corner Course Database ID Number - 409 |
Release Date |
CRZ Filesize |
Par |
Course Length |
| 2001-05-22 |
35,420,940 bytes |
72 |
7329 yards |
| Type |
Style |
CRZ Filename |
|
FICTIONAL |
WOODLAND |
Cedar Creek.crz |
| Course ID |
Course Key |
| 1a838604eb011d5a8560010b5069d1b |
88a2a6f446c7c274de0f9c45affbc142 |
|
LINKS CORNER REVIEW |
Reviewed by Dave Campbell
July 2001
Expectations: This is a revised edition of a course released in February of this year by the same name. I played the original and remember having a negative response. I hope the revisions have made it a bit easier for the powerstroker.
First Impressions: Cedar Creek ver.2 is a joint design from the brothers Bausch and is par 72 measuring 7,329 yards from the back tees. It is the only course I could find designed by both. I did find a very early design by Tim Bausch called Twin Lakes Mountain Resort. Cedar Creek is a rework of an earlier design that was very difficult, requiring many forced hooks and fades that a new PS'er like myself could not handle. Well maybe I'm just a better PS'er now or the redesign was successful but this is a very enjoyable and playable course. There is still the occasional tree in your desired shot path but all in all I could always try for the green in regulation and with one exception, drive the fairways with a straight shot. It is a fictional woodland design with fairly dense plantings bordering the fairway, so stay on the short stuff and for the most part you'll be fine.
Playability: The layout gives you about every look you can have on a golf course, doglegs left and right, straight holes, split fairways, water carries, several risk/reward choices with decent planting and some very scenic views. Even though this course has been opened up a bit from the original there are still many tree-influenced shots, both from the tee and on the green approaches. There is a premium on good snap and shot placement or you can get in trouble fast. As mentioned the planting starts getting thick if you stray too far off the fairway, and fairway bunkers can almost always come into play on your drive. Tee boxes have been extruded since the original and all look good and realistic. There are some awesome par 3 views from the back tees.
You'll be hitting to well-done and subtly elevated fairways with no 1st cut. Most offer a fair chance of landing in the short grass with many different types (split fairway, water carries, doglegs). If you place your tee shots in reasonable locations you'll normally get a nice approach look. Many green approaches are blind, mostly by stands of trees. All approaches I had could be hit straight up with no hook or fade needed. Sometimes I had to aim more toward the center of the green rather than right at the pin, but in PS I do that quite often anyway. Clickers would have the option to shape their shots and go for the flags.
The greens were very nice, with slight elevations on most and a distinctive fringe texture. I had a pretty good test round sinking several long putts for birdie or par saves, plus I had a 25 yard downhill birdie chip on the par 5 4th hole out of the rough. The 18th green looked particularly nice with a two-tier look with the difficult pin placement on the small upper tier. Nice finishing hole.
The bunkers are unique in that all the fairway traps are a beige texture and all the greenside variety are white. They are not spectacular in construction but looked and played realistically, I hit from them many times during my test rounds.
Plantings are decent with appropriate trees and foliage, and a bit of an autumn theme. Great stuff around the water and I really liked all the boulders lying about. The course is uncluttered and I only noticed some ball washers and custom flags. I did play in tournament settings and the objects were planted nicely and gave you the 'tourney' feel.
Drawbacks: I saw a red line around the lip of a greenside bunker from the top cam on the 1st hole. The bunkers are done nicely and play realistically but had a sharp angled look, not bad but noticeable. I don't mean sharpness settings in the APCD but the actual edge of the bunker was not a smooth curve.
There are a few water reflections that didn't look right, namely the approach shot over water to the 9th green. I saw it both in the top cam of my drive and the screen render right after. Most of the water looked good. I think it was more apparent looking with a reviewer's eye.
Best Hole: Many are worthy of this honor. The par 5 9th is a great hole with a gorgeous approach over water to the green. The par 5 18th is as good a finishing hole as I've seen. My choice is the par 3 17th. A great looking tee box surrounded by OB stakes and fences that look fantastic. The green is well done and the difficult pin placement is perfect. My screenshot is a panoramic look from this tee.
Test round stats: -4 64% FIR 44% GIR 22 putts. I played against Tim's recorded round supplied with the zip file, which was a nice touch. This is a straight up round played in the above conditions. I had no bogies.
Comparable courses: Gallup Municipal by Chris Carpenter, Cooper Chapel G.C. by Paul Nicholson
Overall: After initially playing this course last February I never thought I would score it this high. The truth be told I scored higher in my test round on this course than any other I've reviewed recently. It is very fun, realistic looking design that will keep you on your toes the whole round. If trees in your shot path and blind shots aren't your cup of tea then this course may not be for you, probably a course you need to play with the top cam opened. I shot -4 and didn't need to shape one shot. Well done on the rework Tim and Steve, I'll be awaiting your next release.
Filesize 32MB
Course Info :
Splash Screen? Yes
Cameo Screen? Yes
Text file? Yes
Hole Previews? No
This review will be based on playability, aesthetics and originality. Please keep in mind that this is only my opinion following my play-testing of the completed course.
I fully understand the hard work and immense skill that is involved in the designing of these courses and my comments will try to be constructive and without bias.
Tested on Power Stroke swing - Champ level - from the back tees - N/M/M Mod
PIII 667 / 256 meg memory / 32 meg GeForce2 MX video card / Hardware Rendering |
This course is available as a FREE download.
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