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Northern Lakes C.C.
by John Baty
| Links Corner Course Database ID Number - 1221 |
Release Date |
CRZ Filesize |
Par |
Course Length |
| 2003-01-28 |
22,946,004 bytes |
72 |
7249 yards |
| Type |
Style |
CRZ Filename |
|
FICTIONAL |
WOODLAND |
Northern_Lakes.crz |
| Course ID |
Course Key |
| 71215a9967834aa6a51572494c1929f2 |
e75ed976179efd510e4a170ac679238c |
|
LINKS CORNER REVIEW |
Reviewed by Robert Rundel
March 2003
Northern Lakes CC is another first course by a new designer, John Baty. It's not bad at all, especially for a first design, but it does have a major downfall for me: the pink trees. It is clear that Mr. Baty was trying for an autumn look, since there are also yellow, orange, and red trees. But I have never seen a pink tree in autumn, and I spent four years living in New England. I have seen pink trees in the spring. One of the great pleasures of living in the Deep South was watching for the pink dogwood blossoms in the spring. But in the fall?? The first screenshot, of the 8th green, shows two identical pink trees, as well as an unusually fluorescent yellow tree.
I also found that the course is set in an evergreen forest, with the autumn-colored trees dropped in along the fairways and by the greens. They look like highly non-native trees to me. This is shown well in screenshot 2, a view from the 14th tee, in which you can see details of the forest from the elevated driving area.
There are a few too many identical trees, as in screenshot 1, but not nearly as bad as other courses I have reviewed. There are also some minor texture problems, such as shown in screenshot 3, where the nice rock texture of the lake bank is cut perfectly straight, both at the water and at the grass, as if by some great saw blade.
But if you can overlook these appearance problems, the course design is quite a nice one, and it's fun to play. As you would guess from the course name, water comes into play on many holes. The bunkers are quite acceptable, and the fairways and greens have interesting contours
The 14th hole, shown in screenshot 2, is a driver's delight, straight with a 30 yard drop. You can grip and rip here; a 320 yard drive is not uncommon.
My favorite hole is the 11th, a 535 yard par 5 with a great risk/reward decision on the second shot. Screenshot 4 shows the golfers view of the shot, which is a blind shot due to the drop down to the green. It's somewhere around 250 yards, 30 feet down, there's a lake just in front of the long and shallow green, and two large bunkers at the back. If you decide to lay up, you have to be careful not to roll down the hill and into the water, and you have quite a delicate chip shot to follow. Screenshot 5 shows the view from the green, looking back up the fairway. This is rated the #4 handicap hole, but one could certainly argue that this is in fact #1.
The 18th hole is also worth mentioning. This is a par 4 played around a large lake, very reminiscent of the 6th hole at Bay Hill. Both the drive and the approach are over water. It's a beautiful hole, and challenging to play.
I also enjoyed the interesting and varied contours of the greens. Screenshot 6 shows the green on hole 3, a pretty par 4 over water. The green has a hump in the middle, and it's an interesting challenge if you have to putt over the hump. Screenshots 1, 3, and 5 also show interesting greens.
I would like to encourage Mr. Baty to give us another course. But please lose the pink trees. I have a strong preference for a natural look in a golf course, and they just don't fit in. I would also prefer to find a readme file with a little more information than the basic 9 lines here of just vital statistics. And a more natural-looking splash screen; the present one, with super-high contrast and fluorescent colors, is ugly. And one more request, please look at the hole previews on other courses. The hole previews here have no yardage, no playing tips, and no indication of green contours. But as a piece of golf course design, Northern Lakes shows great promise of future courses to come.
Summary :
Details: Fictional woodland 18-hole course, par 72, 7249 yards, 4 par 3s, 10 par 4s, 4 par 5s, 5 tees per hole. Minimal readme file, a cameo and an ugly splash screen with course pictures, hole handicaps, minimal hole previews with no suggestions and no yardages, no hole signs, cart path only near tee boxes, some custom objects including ball washers, sheds, and a lovely clubhouse, no gallery or tournament objects. 20.9 Meg download. |
This course is available as a FREE download.
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