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Coombs Mill
by Michael Ballard

Links Corner Course Database ID Number - 1243
Release Date CRZ Filesize Par Course Length
2003-03-10  64,803,920  bytes 72  6899 yards
Type Style CRZ Filename
FICTIONAL  WOODLAND  Coombs Mill.crz 
Course ID Course Key
3787b3238d214950b0fe073c6faed929  63bd65de30f41a59f0664fc48cafb724 

COURSE SCREENSHOTS

LINKS CORNER REVIEW

Reviewed by Simon Kent

March 2003

Designer: This is Michael Ballard's first attempt as a designer, and for a 2001 course, it's a good start.

Course History: The Course was designed with the 2001 version of APCD, so that the course is playable in both Links 2001 and 2003. Here is a quote from the designer straight from the Read-me file.

'My overall goal was to make the final product look very much like what I had envisioned for a real golf course. The idea for Coombs Mill started about 5 years ago when I was walking in the woods behind my parent's home in Augusta, Maine and realized that this would be an interesting site for a golf course.'

Playability: I shot a -6 (66) with 88% Fairways and 72% Greens in regulation, with a total of 26 Putts. The course design really does make for an interesting game, and if you play well enough to capitalize on the Par 4's and 5's that are easily reachable, you may walk away with a great score. However due to the planting of the trees and the wide variety of natural hazards, the course itself can turn out to be a killer, which means staying in the middle of the fairway is crucial if you wish to break Par for the round.

The Course: Coombs Mill includes detailed Hole Previews to rival those of many other courses, and also provides a Handicap for each hole. The designs of each hole are certainly challenging and leave no room for errors, and if a shot lands in the trees or deep rough, it could take many shots to get back out. Even though this is similar to many other Fictional Woodland courses that have been released, the reachable greens on the Par 4's and risky Par 3's make this course very enjoyable. Coming down the 18th Fairway, the last green is reachable in two shots and in a tournament situation, could lead to a great finish. The course itself doesn't have any Tournament options, but this can be a good thing, because it would take away from the natural side of the course that the designer wanted.

Best Hole: My favourite hole was definitely the first (Screenshot 1), and it simply is one of the best opening holes I have ever seen. It allowed you to take a risky shot and get to the green instantly, but if you swayed offline or left it short, you could easily have water or trees to contend with.

Technically: The planting was varied, with many different types of trees and plants, mixed in with natural rocks and along with the elevation changes, each hole was quite different. The only thing that confused me were the bunkers; because on many holes they were shaped quite weird, even using straight lines in some cases, and along with the brick lining they had on the lips, it certainly was unique, but didn't really achieve the natural affect the course was supposed to have. The fairway and greens had great variation in their sloping and elevation changes, which made for correct placement of your drives on every hole, and for a first design, the technical aspects of the course were pretty good.

Other: Don't hit too far over on the 10th Hole, or else you're ball might get stuck in the wall, and on every hole, make sure you do not hook or slice the ball, because if you get lost in the trees, you may not ever be able to get back out.

Download Value: For a 2001 Course, this is a pretty good download. The course design is interesting and there's plenty of risk/reward holes. However the use of APCD 1.5 was really needed to make this course become a 'standout' and puts behind many other similar courses that have used APCD 1.5. It is a large download and for people with slow internet it may not be a good choice unless you really want to play the first hole (Screenshot 1).



USER RATINGS

 Votes cast
Ace11 %4
Eagle44 %16
Birdie33 %12
Par11 %4
Bogey or worse0 %0

The User Course Reviews and polls have been removed from the forum due to the low numbers of members. The information above is presented merely for historical interest.

This course is available as a FREE download.


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