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Hills Course at Palmetto Dunes
by K. Selberg / J. Sigler
| Links Corner Course Database ID Number - 1235 |
Release Date |
CRZ Filesize |
Par |
Course Length |
| 2003-02-24 |
55,077,713 bytes |
72 |
7396 yards |
| Type |
Style |
CRZ Filename |
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REAL |
TROPICAL |
HillsatPD_2001.crz |
| Course ID |
Course Key |
| ca695ea0484711d78f1400c0f06b6332 |
51cd623080d65827ac4f914ce44dd054 |
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LINKS CORNER REVIEW |
Reviewed by Bob Hankla
May 2003
The Hills Course at Palmetto Dunes is a real course located at Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, also home to the famous Harbourtown. Standing on the first tee you are presented with a beautiful view down the fairway, bounded on both sides by dense semi-tropical trees and bushes. You can quickly see that this is going to be a beautiful course to look at. Another thing you notice looking down the fairway or at the yardage book is there are no bunkers to be found, on the first hole or any other hole for that matter. That's right, there are no fairway bunkers to be found. There really isn't a large amount of greenside bunkers either, but they seem to be found in all the right (or wrong) places. The third feature you notice is the undulating fairway. Flat lies are rare due to the swales that cross the fairway. All of these features you will see throughout the course. The textures used work very well together, and serve to reinforce the bright and sunny feel to the course. I found the layout to be very interesting and varied, especially given the fact that it's a real venue. Water plays a key role in many of the holes, both as a hazard and adding a little drama to the layout. The fairways and greens all have interesting and varied shapes, and trees play a role in a few holes, blocking the most direct path to the pin. The greens are average sized, and play very well. If you're close to the pin you will generally have a straightforward putt; longer putts will provide the expected bigger breaks. Some of the greens have significant slopes, but they are smooth slopes and not undulating. The construction of the course is also very good. The hazards are built and planted very well. Bulkheading is used extensively around water hazards. The few bunkers are done well. You won't see any sharp edges or other common construction problems. There are also plenty of custom 2d objects, mostly the homes surrounding the course, and they are all done well. In case you haven't noticed, I can't find much to complain about. I found the difficulty level to be fairly low, especially in benign conditions. I played one tournament round in the wind, and it gave me plenty to deal with, but that may be because my putter decided to relax in the lush surroundings. In case you haven't noticed, I haven't found much to complain about. The only possible drawbacks I could mention would be the lack of bunkers bothering some people, and the lack of 2003 features, but I think the lack of bunkers adds to the character of the course, and I've been told that a 2003 version is coming.
Favorite Hole: I liked a lot of the holes, but my personal favorite would have to be #2, a 456 yard par four playing as the #3 handicap. This is one of the bunkerless holes with an open fairway, so the driver is the tee club. The layout is interesting because at the end of the fairway there is a T formed by the water hazard, with greens tucked in both the opposite corners of the 'T' (see the screenshot from hole 2). You should be aiming for the green on the left. It is elevated significantly, heavily sloped, and the rough slopes sharply down to the water on the front and sides. You have to get your approach shot close to keep from seeing a serious break on your birdie try.
Recommendation: This is a very good course that should appeal to everyone. It's a hefty download at 54mb, but well worth it.
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CLIPNOTES by Ben Bateson (ousgg) |
Description
Real, ocean course |
Location
South Carolina |
Conditions
The 17th green will restrict most people to M*/S* at most. |
Concept 8/10
Not many hills; not many dunes. Nevertheless, The Hills course is a meaty and brash tropical course, clearly designed for the intimidation of players. It has massive amounts of water, certainly by real course standards, and quite a few of the challenges posed are artificial, rather than a result of the natural shape of the landscape. Dark, bush-like planting and tall sentinel trees dominate the landscape. If you can get past this stern welcome, it's actually a blast to play, with some twisty and surprising hole designs and a stunning closing trio; don't be intimidated! |
Appearance 7/10
The bushy and dense planting doesn't always strike one as being authentic to the area, to be honest, and even though some real attention has been paid to those difficult waterside areas and there's some worthy 3D work, there is something wanting in the landscape. Some terrible-looking terrain folds rear their head trom time to time, and quite a few extrusion marks are visible into the bargain. |
Playability 8/10
I doubt many courses will have you saying “oh - that's clever!” as often as Palmetto. Clever architecture, rather than unfair design, is a hallmark here, from the ridged fairways to the clever and restrained positioning of bunkers. I can honestly say that a round at Palmetto Dunes is slightly unlike one anywhere else. |
Challenge 6/10
This can be tough old golf. Dropping one in the lake is almost an inevitability, and there's also some tricky green elevations and lengthy Par 4s to deal with. The Par 5s are manageable, though, and the clever design and use of heavy rough needs a thoughtful head to manage. |
Technical 7/10
This is technically better than it might initially appear, and after the re-design, there are very few flaws left out there. Mostly, the player's attention is drawn by the inherent incongruities in the course: the APCD work does very little to detract from this. |
| Overall |
A thoroughly Carolina experience with some stadium-course pretensions. A mix of the ordinary, the oddball, and the testing. Very worthy. |
36/50 |
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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