| Links Corner Course Database ID Number - 1429 |
Release Date |
CRZ Filesize |
Par |
Course Length |
| 2004-04-07 |
26,398,171 bytes |
73 |
7879 yards |
| Type |
Style |
CRZ Filename |
|
FICTIONAL |
UNCLASSIFIED |
Manitou Island.crz |
| Course ID |
Course Key |
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LINKS CORNER REVIEW |
Reviewed by Chris Gormley
Background Info:
This is the 2nd course released by Zea Miller and there was no readme included with the course. Being from Michigan I am hoping that this course is based on a real course in the Manitou Island area of the state. Which will mean it should include sand dunes, and some elevation changes to match the contours of the land in northern Michigan.
Overall Impressions:
After playing this course I must say that it is quite like I would expect it to be if it were located in Northern Michigan. Many will find the elevation changes difficult and some will think them unnatural or imaginary but having lived in Michigan all of my life I can tell you that there are places just like this course in Michigan. There are some blind shots and although I am not a big fan of blind shots I did not feel that these really took away from the course. There are some design flaws such as sharp edges, shadows, etc. which did take a away from the overall design but with a little more beta testing and a little more care taken during the design process these could be cleaned up quite easily.
The planting was quite well done even though it got a little 'busy' in a couple of areas. But the designer kept the same basic theme throughout the course so this helped bring things together. The textures looked pretty good as well although I was a little puzzled on the use of them. The fairways were lined in the following manner: Fairway - Rough - Light Rough - Rough. It gave the course a rather odd ring around everything by using the light rough texture in this manner. It would have been better in my opinion to put the Light Rough between the fairway and the rough textures.
Closing comments:
Overall this course has some very nice spots. There are a couple of rough spots throughout the course but I don't feel that this detracts from the course much. I would have liked to see the course beta tested a little more thoroughly as the mistakes that are evident are quite obvious and could be fixed quite easily IMHO. I hope to see more from this designer in the future because I do believe that he does have a good grasp of the APCD and with a little more refining of some of the various techniques he could be turning out some very fine courses.
"I am writing this review from the viewpoint of not only a player but as a Tour Director. Although I am not a designer I understand the work that goes into a design as I have beta tested many courses and my review is simply how I as a player/Tour Director would view this course."
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CLIPNOTES by Ben Bateson (ousgg) |
Description
Fictional, dunes course |
Location
TBA |
Conditions
TBA |
Concept 6/10
There's a definite progression to the layout on Manitou Island, starting on
clifftop and progressing upward into some towering sand-faced dunes. An
unusual layout too, with just one Par 3 hole on each half. The combination
of pines and autumn colours work surprisingly well, and for an early course
there have been some clever touches added in terms of texture rings and
grass banks. Some excellent, but rather gimmicky, hole designs make
good use of the non-stop elevation changes and the narrow bands of
fairway are a consistent threat. |
Appearance 4/10
There's all sorts to see here, but not all of it great. A terrific, unusual view from the first tee is never really matched all the way around,
although the fairway fringe rings and grass planting show an imagination not often equalled in early courses. A big problem is the
handling of the mountainous elevations, which is very inconsistent, and a disappointing lack of any texture blends. There are a lot of
ugly extrusion marks too. |
Playability 3/10
Hitting the fairways is a major part of the challenge here, and one which will quickly grind down the keen player. Because of the
difficulties putting mentioned below, some problem lies, and lots of blind shots, it's likely that this course's appeal will be short lived. |
Challenge 1/10
The greens are bang out of order. Hugely sloped, frequently unputtable, and with plenty of off-key pin positions, they will lead to an
instant deletion of this course, more often than not. As such, it's a totally unfair course and your final score is unlikely to be a just
reflection of performance. What a disappointment. |
Technical 4/10
There are some good aspirations here in the use of grass planting, custom features, layout and texture assignments. Unfortunately,
the whole thing just hasn't had the skill applied to see it through. While the visuals aren't at all bad, some more playtesting would be
thoroughly recommended. |
| Overall |
Nice ideas, but a bombardment of playing problems will put too many golfers off. |
18/50 |
Please remember that Clipnote reviews are the opinion of one person and do not constitute an 'Official' Links Corner review of the course. |
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