| Links Corner Course Database ID Number - 1138 |
Release Date |
CRZ Filesize |
Par |
Course Length |
| 2002-08-21 |
28,911,994 bytes |
72 |
6635 yards |
| Type |
Style |
CRZ Filename |
|
REAL |
UNCLASSIFIED |
ChWhi2K3.crz |
| Course ID |
Course Key |
| 3cc8faae97cd4744bdaeb7cb279a7a15 |
94eb8cfd613693b36f4b218e0a43776b |
|
CLIPNOTES by Ben Bateson (ousgg) |
Description
Real, mountain course |
Location
British Columbia |
Conditions
Probably best to stick to S*/S* |
Concept 7/10
Despite its age, Chateau Whistler continues to exude Canadian mountain air. Massively influential, not only in its much-reused panorama, but in the exciting course layout, from the opening tricksy holes to longer championship fare later on. The creek that winds its way through the course forms a natural and unobtrusive hazard, and the Par 3 holes are an exceptional selection. There are few Microsoft courses that still get loaded up occasionally these days - Whistler is most definitely one of them. |
Appearance 7/10
This might be Microsoft's greatest ever planting achievement. Pine forests are not easy to make unrepetitive and beautiful, but some sumptuous planting of both trees and eye-level features. Extra features are natural and easy on the eye, without in anyway appearing visually gratuitous. In short, an absolutely fantastic course to look at. It used to be a perfect score, but inevitably the progress of time has told. |
Playability 6/10
After a great set of opening holes, Whistler plays well without ever really exciting you, in the manner of many resort courses. It's easy to hack round for fun without troubling yourself, but not many holes offer any substantial choice, and the Par 5s are too easy to hit in two shots. |
Challenge 3/10
The course still plays fairly easily, with only some antiquated hole positioning providing the test. It's not long, but at least there are some suitably tough tee shots, given that the foresting is actually out of play for long stretches. The shallow bunkers are barely much to raise anyone's blood pressure. |
Technical 6/10
Despite being some of MS's best work, cracks are definitely showing, especially greenside where the lack of detail counts against it. The planting remains eye-catching, but we shouldn't really be able to see the impossible paths and the edge of the plot. I'm sure it wouldn't have hurt the MS designers to create more than one stock texture either. |
| Overall |
Nice to look at and very gentle to play. Take your time over your first round and you could break 60. You won't need to go back afterwards. |
29/50 |
Please remember that Clipnote reviews are the opinion of one person and do not constitute an 'Official' Links Corner review of the course. |
This Microsoft course is available for purchase from Links Country Club.
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Purchase course
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