|
Great Southern Aurora
by Stuart Kahle
| Links Corner Course Database ID Number - 122 |
Release Date |
CRZ Filesize |
Par |
Course Length |
| 2001-05-14 |
7,483,129 bytes |
72 |
7022 yards |
| Type |
Style |
CRZ Filename |
|
FICTIONAL |
LINKS |
Aurora1.crz |
| Course ID |
Course Key |
| 17ba4b50ae724e228a758d68c1367e3e |
ec6bd4b872a9302dc74c5baf47cdccc3 |
|
LINKS CORNER REVIEW |
Reviewed by Dave Campbell
Expectations: My thoughts went to the Aurora Borealis when I saw the name. I'm expecting a bright course, maybe floral in nature.
First Impressions: This is the eighth course posted to the Links Corner by Stuart Kahle. I think this might be the most by any designer, certainly near the top. He has previously released the following; Royal Melbourne East, Palomino C.C., Federation G. & C.C., Commonwealth G.C., Royal Melbourne East #2, Victoria G.C. and Yarra Yarra G.C. This design is a fictional inland links style course that plays 7,022 from the back tees to a par 72. I was really fooled by the course name as to what I expected the course to look like. I believe the 'Great Southern Aurora' must be the geyser that is visible throughout the course, particularly from the 6th tee.
The layout is inventive and thought provoking and unmistakably in the traditional links style. I teed off twice with a 6W and once with a 7W because of fairways congested with strategically placed bunkers, turning seemingly easy holes into tough ones. Split fairway on many courses force you to make club choices constantly. The course is completely open and virtually treeless and this made for a confusing look in the top cam at times. There are ponds and lakes throughout that come into play more often than you would think upon first glance. Very good elevation work is evident during the round with some particularly nice rock face retaining wall work at many locations on the course.
The tee boxes are round in most cases with a nice looking extruded fringe. There are good looks at the fairways and greens from all 18 tees. The fairways are well done with a 1st cut and light rough border that looks completely natural and in the links style. The fairways have some elevation dips and rolls but not to the extent of say 'Northern Dunes'. As mentioned earlier there are many fairway bunkers and all looked traditional, in other words no deadly pot bunkers. They're still to be avoided but you have a much better chance at a save in these bunkers than other links style courses.
The bunkers are very nice with a light beige colored texture that really fit the landscape. Sizes and shapes vary and all are extruded and sunk nicely with a dirt texture mapped to the wall. I visited many during my review rounds and had a good clean shot out of them every time.
The greens were large and offered a fair putting test. Elevations were present but not unreal, in fact in one test round I sunk 23' and 35' birdies in succession. With moderate pins I could almost always shoot right at the flag.
There are many lakes and ponds here and all are placed there for a reason. They come into play on drives as well as approaches and offer some nice views, particularly when reflecting the low, dark hill panorama.
At first this course seems pretty barren but as you go through the round you'll notice it teems with wildlife. All manner of herons, turns and other such long billed creatures abound. The planting is all scrub, bushes and low level planting. Of course there is the great fountain looking 'Aurora' that seems to be in full eruption. Many fences were visible to mark off tee areas and such and were very well done. There are places with deep grass and scrub planting that could be a nightmare to get out of. You would have to really miss the snap in most cases since the landing areas are generous and the dense stuff is off the fairway by quite a bit.
Drawbacks: Not much to say in this regard, very solid all around from an APCD perspective. I might mention that the 'Aurora' visible from the 6th tee is a solid object and a ball will bounce off it just as if it were a tree. If you club correctly and aim where you should it will never come into play. I just had to go to practice mode and try though.
As mentioned previously the top cam view was rather confusing at times. With no tree planting to outline the hole you could sometimes see 3 or 4 greens, fairways and holes. Not sure what could have been done to alleviate this, maybe laying out the holes farther apart. Either way it does not affect playability in the least once to know where to aim. Sometimes one of those other fairways might offer you an easier path to the hole so keep your eyes open.
The traps are all done nicely but it seems like the extruded top edge is razor sharp in places rather than rounded smoothly. This may be Stuart's intention and again doesn't affect the way it plays.
Best Hole: All the holes were done well and the layout kept them from becoming repetitive. I like the look off the tee on the 6th as you're facing directly at the erupting 'Aurora' but I think my vote goes to the Par 3 14th. It is beautiful from the tee and combines many of the elements I talked about in my review and should provide the most informative screenshot. You'll just have to download and play yourself to see the 'Great Southern Aurora' :o)
Comparable courses: Cuckmere Links by Jim Gates, Northern Dunes by Mike Jones
Overall: This is an inland links style course that is extremely well done. I am not a big fan of links style courses normally but found this one a bit different. My final test round in the above conditions was -7, which means you can attack this course if the setup is right. Stuart has honed his APCD skills by producing many designs and this beautiful course is the result. The most amazing thing is that it's only a 7 meg download, by far the best offering I've ever played at this size. I recommend you try this course regardless of skill or swing method. Great job Stuart and I anxiously await your next design.
Course Info :
Cameo Screen? Yes
Splash Screen? Yes
Text file? No
Hole Previews? No
8mb
Reviewed May 2001 |
|
CLIPNOTES by Ben Bateson (ousgg) |
Description
Fictional, links course |
Location
TBC |
Conditions
TBC |
Concept 6/10
The idea of transposing a links course to the Australian coast is an odd one, but one which pays off to some extent. Great Southern Aurora plays up its old-fashioned credentials, and would - I imagine - play quite nicely in all-sepia. Sadly, the ideas run out later on with a succession of over-worked holes, and I've certainly never seen any links course with a 5-3-5-3-5-3 finishing stretch. A little more coherence wouldn't have gone amiss. |
Appearance 2/10
Clones aplenty and some rather peculiar planting choices - from the game birds and flamingos to the geyser of the title, the designer hasn't exactly gone all out for realism. The huge flat stretches of the stock deep rough texture are an unpleasant shock into the bargain. The highlights are fairly few, but the fences look pretty nice and the rockworks do at least add some variety to a very plain landscape. |
Playability 8/10
Even those who are unaffected by links golf may find something to enjoy here. Although two or three holes succumb to guesswork and silliness, there is much of the original links spirit at Southern Aurora in the requirements to find a safe passage between deeply hazardous rough. Shot selection and the need to throttle back are part of the game here, and in that respect the course is very cleverly pieced together. |
Challenge 9/10
Clever golfers and those that know the course will pitch up against a very fair challenge here. The greens are similar in elevation to much of the rest of the course, and the bunkers easy to escape, and the challenge is purely about avoiding the deep stuff. Isn't that the oldest and best challenge there is, though? |
Technical 3/10
Textures from stock, bunkers without depth. A planting selection that is cloned beyond credibility. Despite all this, Stuart Kahle shows us that he can design passable and often exciting links golf in this one-off and unusual creation. |
| Overall |
Nothing to look at, but isn't that the hallmark of great links golf? This is still quite a way from a great links, but in its own peculiar way it provides a good round. |
28/50 |
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.
|
|
Download course
|
Please support Links Corner
|
|
|
