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Forest Akers - West
by Brian Kangas
| Links Corner Course Database ID Number - 1124 |
Release Date |
CRZ Filesize |
Par |
Course Length |
| 2002-11-04 |
23,408,581 bytes |
72 |
7004 yards |
| Type |
Style |
CRZ Filename |
|
REAL |
WOODLAND |
F_akers-West.crz |
| Course ID |
Course Key |
| ef1eca30368845bb92d9ac74a52a067f |
9e1d7a606731b8d11da5fff7c23429fd |
|
LINKS CORNER REVIEW |
Reviewed by Robert Rundel
November 2002
Forest Akers—West is a real woodland course in East Lansing, Michigan and is owned and run by Michigan State University. I tried my best to get it as accurate as possible using photos and as much of my memory as I could. I did take some liberties in a few places. For example the Spartan helmet shaped tee's, the mowed MSU and Big Ten logo's in the side of the hill behind #18, the Spartan green flags and also the ball washers with the big block 'S' don't exist on the real course. (But, maybe they should?)
Alumnus Forest Akers of Detroit donated the land for the course to Michigan State, with the provision that the course also serves as an arboretum. Most of Michigan's native trees and a wide variety of shrubs are grown throughout the course. Forest Akers may be the only course in the country recognized as an arboretum.
The West course was originally built in 1958 and underwent a $1 million renovation in 1992 by; former Spartan golfer Arthur Hills. The renovation included all new bunkers, 18 new tees (from Blue Grass to Bent Grass), new fairway grass (Blue Grass to Rye Grass), seven new greens and an additional 300 yards from the original Bruce Mathews design.
At 7004 yards from the tips, Forest Akers West ranks as one of the best collegiate courses in the Big Ten, and has earned a four-star rating from Golf Digest. The overall look of the West course is very classic, with some narrow rye-grass fairways, varied elevation changes, and large bent grass greens that present players with some long, looping putts from outside of ten feet. You won't find tricked-up greens with multiple tiers or deep trenches running through them, but you will find enough lumps and dips to challenge your green-reading skills.
The course is Mr. Kangas second Links course. The first, Springbrook Lakes, released in late August of 2002, received a favorable review and a rating of 84 from Joseph Reynolds. His words are worth quoting, since they apply well to Forest Akers as well: 'If I had to use one word to describe the course, modest comes to mind. There are few risk-reward holes, virtually nothing that could be called penal, yet it never bores you. The planting is beautiful; this first time designer could do a tutorial on how to plant effectively without being repetitive or going over the top. There are subtle elevations and undulations but nothing ventures into the extreme. The fairway, green and bunker shapes are interesting and realistic. In fact you'll feel like you're on a real course from one to eighteen.'
Forest Akers is a very well-planted course. It has a particularly natural look, and, as befits an arboretum, a great variety of beautiful trees. There are no artificial flowerbeds or plantings. I liked the 18th hole a lot, with its pond and fountain, clubhouse, flags, and the big MSU cut in the hillside (screenshot 1). A more typical view of the course is shown in screenshot 2 of the 15th hole, a well-bunkered medium length par 4. Note the nice bunker work, the first cut, light rough, and heavier rough, and the cart path.
It is indeed a modest course. Nearly all the holes are quite straight; some are fairly heavily bunkered, some not at all. Two of the par 5s are reachable in two shots, but the other two are not. The greens vary from easy to moderate. Arnold Palmer shot 62, with only 21 putts, so he did not find the course to be a big challenge.
There is a curious technical problem on this course that I haven't seen before. There is a 'marsh' between the second and third fairways. I noticed while playing the 3rd hole that this marsh changes its appearance from view to view. In screenshot 3, an overhead view from the dynamic camera, it appears to be a pond with reeds around the edge. But looking back from the green in screenshot 4, there's no water visible at all, just reeds. In the overhead view, it appears to be a pond also. Very strange!
In summary then, this is a modest local course, impeccably designed and planted, that will provide an easy but very beautiful and serene round of golf. I haven't played it yet in Links 2k3, but I can imagine that it is even more beautiful with shadows. I recommend it for the beauty, but not for the challenges.
Summary :
Details: Real woodland course, par 72, 7004 yards, 4 par 3s, 10 par 4s, 4 par 5s, 5 tees per hole. Readme file with course history and hole notes, a cameo of the course sign, a splash screen with a soft-focus view of the course, hole handicaps, no hole previews, no hole signs, cart path, custom objects—ball washers/trash cans, phone booths, clubhouse. 19.6 Meg download. |
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CLIPNOTES by Ben Bateson (ousgg) |
Description
Real, woodland course. |
Location
TBC |
Conditions
TBC |
Concept 7/10
This is quite special for a college course. Although it can't be said that every hole is designed with stunning originality, there are several nice twists in the tale and a genuinely good locational feel to the course. Bunkers are charmingly underused, and yet some clever fairway shapes and greens mean that Forest Akers remains absolutely no pushover. This is a course that doesn't get the recognition it is due - time for that to change. |
Appearance 6/10
This re-creation has generally been very capably carried out, although there are a few areas worthy of attention in order to make it truly good-looking. While the use of multiple textures is admirable, they do contrast somewhat, with several hard edges quite apparent. Perhaps some custom textures would be more appropriate. The planting, too, seems a bit too careful and keen to avoid clones, with the result that it's a bit lurid. Lastly, the old extruded edges make their appearance: particularly around tee boxes. It's admirable that the course still looks good despite these. |
Playability 6/10
With hole shapes tending towards the straight, there might not be enough interest for some. But for those who persevere, there is an excellent opportunity to mix things up later on, and a suprising lack of short pitch shots, plus an Easter Egg or too later in the round. It'll never be a premium tournament course, but for a quiet half hour, Forest Akers is a good choice. |
Challenge 8/10
This course has lost none of its challenge. With narrow fairways and a close woodland surround, stray shots will be punished. The Par 3s are lengthy and you'll do well to hit the greens off the tee. But, thankfully, there are opportunities to pick up strokes on the longer holes and most players will finish a couple under par. A good test, all told. |
Technical 5/10
Definite priorities would be the hard texture edges and the somewhat odd planting. The tee boxes are poorly extruded and oddly shaped for reasons best known to the designer. A little bit of fine elevation work might pay off too: with a lot of uphill approaches, I found that the caddy was often landing me short of the pin by 10 yards or so. Lastly, some pin positions are very close to the edges of greens (admittedly, said greens are small), and could use a little re-thought. |
| Overall |
A very under-rated course and a very enjoyable one. Perhaps looking a little dated, but that's no reason not to play it. |
32/50 |
Please remember that Clipnote reviews are the opinion of one person and do not constitute an 'Official' Links Corner review of the course. |
This course is available as a FREE download.
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