| Links Corner Course Database ID Number - 1465 |
Release Date |
CRZ Filesize |
Par |
Course Length |
| 2004-07-02 |
82,911,232 bytes |
72 |
7032 yards |
| Type |
Style |
CRZ Filename |
|
REAL |
WOODLAND |
TPCWoodlands2003v2.crz |
| Course ID |
Course Key |
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LINKS CORNER REVIEW |
Reviewed by: Chuck Clark
Background: This is the third version/second update of this course. Alan Price was the original designer of the Links 2001 version. David Russell did the first update and released it last June under the same name. This latest version has had some more refinements by Ross Mackenzie. David Russell documents the changes in the read-me as follows:
' The new 2003 version has the following new features :
New textures, Hole previews, Much fuller tournament crowds, An additional start-up screen, Grass planting for effect, Tree changes to reduce the more obvious duplications and ensure more shadows are created, and a little tidying up here and there for visual appearance.
In 2004 Ross Mackenzie added some more new textures and has blended all the edges of the course, also improving the overall smoothness of the design and the bunkering.'
The TPC at The Woodlands is a real life PGA Tour course in Houston, Texas. It has been the home of the Shell Houston Open for many years. It is familiar to many of us PGA Tour fans. Considering that this is the second update of this course and there are two previous reviews (that have been written); I don't think I really need to add too much here. You probably already know more about this course than I do.
Overall Impression: This is a fine real course rendition in the vein of TPC at River Highlands and Brown Deer Park (by Chas Dempster); and Muirfield Village (by Pete Frydrak and Kevin Hill). It's a good course for playing along with the pro's; however it is not quite up to snuff with some of the real course recreations like Colonial CC (by Eric Dorsey) or Merion East (by Dexter Gresh).
Playability/Shot Values: As you would expect from a real course rendition, this is a very playable course. Wide fairways and big greens can make for an easy round if you're hitting it well. But there is a lot of water and sand if you're not.
Visuals: A nicely finished course; but not an extraordinary one. In this day and age it is hard to match the astonishing talent of our top designers and their imaginations. The textures, planting, apcd work and objects were nicely done but not over the top. The course looked ok; but the surrounding areas were just not immersive enough. I also didn't notice a pano; but I know for a fact that Houston is dead stinking flat. I wouldn't guess you could see the horizon from anywhere on that course anyway!
Technique: The technique on display here is very good. There were only a few small quibbles on my part. There were a few redundant trees; which is completely understandable considering the limited supply of pine trees available to the designer and the thousands of them actually occurring on this course. The bunkers were fairly simply built and there was a badly mapped face on a wall by the 14th tee. But other than that this course shows that a lot of time and effort went into to building it.
Favorite Hole: My favorite hole on this course (from watching it on TV) has always been the 17th. This is a dog leg left par 4 with a threatening lake coming into play on each and every shot. The pro's usually hit an iron or fairway wood off the tee to just get it in the fairway. Any kind of hook off the tee will result in a drowned ball. The second shot is then played over the lake to a wide but shallow green perched right over the water. It's a pretty nervous hole for a pro trying to protect a lead going into the last hole. The tournament has been decided here many times in the past; and this rendition captures this drama beautifully.
Summary: A nice rendition of a real-life PGA Tour course. I am only familiar with this course from watching it on TV; so I can't vouch for its accuracy, but it looks pretty good to me. This version is nicely done but not extraordinary. As an APCD/Links real course rendition I would rate it higher than Muirfield Village 2003 but not as high as Colonial CC. It definitely should be on your hard drive if you like to 'play with the pro's'. I heartily recommend it to anybody who really likes PGA Tour course renditions. It is not quite up to the current standards of today's best APCD creations however; so don't expect as such. I have included a lot of screen shots though so you can make up your own mind.
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