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Pacifica Point
by Jamey Hribal
| Links Corner Course Database ID Number - 1446 |
Release Date |
CRZ Filesize |
Par |
Course Length |
| 2004-05-25 |
32,948,224 bytes |
71 |
6999 yards |
| Type |
Style |
CRZ Filename |
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FICTIONAL |
OCEAN |
Pacifica Point.crz |
| Course ID |
Course Key |
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LINKS CORNER REVIEW |
Designer: This is Jamey Hribal's first course release.
Course: The overall length of the course and it being a Par 71 would lead players to believe that the course might be perhaps quite easy, but alas, that is not the case. There are many very long Par 4's spread around the course, and with neither of the three Par 5's being reachable in two shots, the only letup for players is with the target oriented Par 3's. There are some nice hole designs found around the course, but unfortunately, this doesn't remain constant throughout the round, with many of the designs relying either solely on bunkers or length to challenge players, rather than a mix of different hazards. Even though the course is classified as being an Ocean design, water barely plays any part in the course, and with palm trees being the central feature, it is more of a Tropical course than anything else.
Favourite Hole: My favourite hole on the course was the Par 3 on Hole 10. Visually it could have been much better, but with the hole playing over water and having a downward elevation, it provided an interesting challenge in terms of working out what distance was needed in getting close to the pin, especially with a bunker laying in wait for any shots that travel too far over.
Playability: Putting in most instances is relatively easy with the greens not having much elevation to them, however, there are some holes which have pins delicately placed on the edge of slopes, so be aware of where you need to be putting from before hitting into each green. The fairways are quite open, so staying in regulation is not a very difficult task, but with heavy rough being right next to the fairway, if you do spray your tee shots, you could struggle to make par. With eagle opportunities not being possible on the Par 5's, Hole 14 might provide an opportunity to achieve one in the right conditions. In terms of quality APCD work and impressive visuals, this course doesn't really contain either, but if you are looking for good playability, then this design will provide you with a satisfactory round of golf.
Technically: In terms of playability and visuals, there aren't any major technical errors that will interfere with the experience of a players round, however, there are a few things that could have been addressed. With stock textures being used, the lack of seam blending became obvious throughout, and with over extruded tee areas, cleaning up between textures would have improved the overall look of the course greatly. The elevations around the layout were not extreme, but were notably not perfect in their use on each hole. As an ocean course, the beach and ocean areas could have had more attention paid to them, as aesthetically, they were not very pleasing to the eye, while the bunkers needed to be lipped properly. With some instances of repetitive planting and perhaps over eagerness with the use of flower gardens in areas, the course doesn't have any major faults, but if more time had been spent taking care of things with extensive beta testing, this design could have been much better.
Other: The course does contain a cameo and splash screen, but doesn't have a custom flag, handicaps or hole previews. With Tropical courses not being released in plentiful amounts, there was a good opportunity to release something well thought out and unique, but regrettably, the course is missing many of the basic things that most courses have, so in future, I'd recommend the course be beta tested, as input is always very valuable in helping create something special.
Download Value: At just over 31mb, a course of this size usually provides a good quality download, but with no extras in the zip file or within the course, I can only recommend this course to people who enjoy Tropical designs. This course could have been much better if it had some better APCD techniques implemented throughout, while with such quality courses in the same style being released in the past, because it doesn't offer anything different, it will not be staying on my hard drive.
Information:
Course Statistics:
2003 - Fictional Ocean - Par 71 - 3 Tees
6999yds (Back) - 6038yds (Forward)
Par 3's: 4 - Par 4's: 11 - Par 5's: 3
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CLIPNOTES by Ben Bateson (ousgg) |
Description
Fictional, ocean course |
Location
TBA |
Conditions
TBA |
Concept 6/10
Notable mostly as a forerunner to some classy and visually impressive
designs, Pacifica Point is an intelligent and slightly gimmicky ocean layout,
ticking many of the boxes for trademark holes, and throwing in one or two
intelligent twists of its own. While it's no great visual or technical knockout,
it does stand up well among the older courses thanks to a little design flair,
something that we would see echoed in the designer's later efforts. |
Appearance 4/10
The textures are mostly from stock and unblended, which does give the course an undeniably primitive feel. The broadly tropical
planting is broken up with colourful trees in blossom, which is also odd, to say the least. The overall effect is garish if not totally
unpleasant, but there's very little eye candy given the potential of such an ocean-side location. |
Playability 6/10
The course offers good shot values by not being excessively long and valuing placement of shots without being excessively penal.
There's a small sting in the tail, though: the more clever holes - including a very impressive split-fairway Par 4 - all turn up in the first
two-thirds of the course, which makes the closing stretch something of an anticlimax. But even despite this and unprepossessing
appearance, Pacifica Point might well be a course that you return to. |
Challenge 7/10
With a lack of density to the trees and little of the underplanting that Jamey would subsequently do so well, there is little problem
escaping the rough. Bunkers are a typical hazard, but let's not forget the crucial role played by the cleverly-placed rock patches. These
are a key reason enough to add variety and nous to your shots from tee to green. The putts themselves vary from the completely flat to
the slightly silly; this is reason enough that the course might not be viewed altogether fair. |
Technical 3/10
Clearly the constructive criticism this designer received over this release enabled him to make huge strides forward: witness
Rosewood and Pine Dunes if you don't believe me. There you'll find planting, underplanting and textures of the highest quality - suffice
to say that Pacifica was a bit too early to feature these innovations. |
| Overall |
A fair peninsula type course with a standout hole or two. Worth a download. |
26/50 |
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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