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Pebble Beach Classic Edition
by Les Wellard, David Russell, Joel Geysen, Ross Mackenzie
| Links Corner Course Database ID Number - 1524 |
Release Date |
CRZ Filesize |
Par |
Course Length |
| 2004-12-06 |
101,998,592 bytes |
72 |
6867 yards |
| Type |
Style |
CRZ Filename |
|
REAL |
OCEAN |
PebbleBeachCE_locked.crz |
| Course ID |
Course Key |
| 684598d56e754731adf78894599467c8 |
445bde8c8f1e85a29d9fd286a9c92e7b |
| COURSE NOTES |
Full Credits History
Les Wellard � original concept and design of Pebble Beach 1930
David Russell � consultant/tester on Pebble Beach 1930 and update to Pebble Beach Classic
Lacy Gearheart � some elevation work on the 7th, 8th and 18th holes on Pebble Beach Classic
Mike Jones � cameo picture
Eddie Schmidt � custom flag
DLunatic � panorama
Latest Update
David Russell � replanting and general improvement work on Pebble Beach Classic Edition
Joel Geysen � texture blending and bunker work to Pebble Beach Classic Edition
Ross Mackenzie � textures, blending, bunker work and improvements to Pebble Beach Classic Edition
Background
Pebble Beach Classic Edition is not a brand new course design but the second official update to the original Pebble Beach 1930 course, which I updated in 2001 to Pebble Beach Classic.
I originally worked with Les Wellard on the 1930�s course as a consultant and assisted with strategy and general planting and lay out ideas. The full credit for the original apcd work on the course rests with Les Wellard. Following its first release we both agreed there was room for an update and the idea for the �Classic� course was formed. Sadly Les left the Links scene and Pebble Beach Classic became my own update project. The second version was released in 2001.
This latest 2004 update called Pebble Beach Classic Edition came from a desire to bring the course up to 2003 texturing standard and iron out some minor faults. This new update has been project managed by myself and includes the work of Joel Geysen, Ross Mackenzie and myself.
The latest key amendments are listed below :
New Grass Textures and Full Texture Blending
Ground Level Replanting in places
Fairways and Greens Resized in places
Rough Properties Amended
Bunkers Reworked
Buildings Added
More Crowds Added
Improved Computer AI
Pins positions and Greens amended to suit the new Mod
The course importantly retains the same lay out and concept of the original. It is still an interpretation of the real life Pebble Beach course from a time gone by.
My thanks to Les Wellard for including me in his original effort to bring this course to life and to all those who contributed to the 3 versions released. Special thanks to Ross Mackenzie and Joel Geysen for all their hard work on this latest update, and to Dexter Gresh for the use of some of his textures.
David Russell (Crusader)
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LINKS CORNER REVIEW |
Reviewed by Chris Gormley
Background Info:
This is the 3rd rendition of this course to be released at Links Corner. This course has undergone many changes over the years since its inception by Les Wellard. His goal for this course was not to recreate Pebble Beach as it is today but to show what it may have looked like back in the 1930's. The first release was a very good course for the times and was very well received. The 2nd and 3rd updates were done to bring the course up to the standards of todays APCD masterpieces. I commend the other designers(Russell, Geysen, and Mackenzie) for stepping in and helping apply the new techniques of course design to this already outstanding course. Here is a little bit from the readme:
Pebble Beach Classic Edition
Full Credits History
Les Wellard - original concept and design of Pebble Beach 1930
David Russell - consultant/tester on Pebble Beach 1930 and update to Pebble Beach Classic
Lacy Gearheart - some elevation work on the 7th, 8th and 18th holes on Pebble Beach Classic
Mike Jones - cameo picture
Eddie Schmidt - custom flag
DLunatic - panorama
Latest Update
David Russell - replanting and general improvement work on Pebble Beach Classic Edition
Joel Geysen - texture blending and bunker work to Pebble Beach Classic Edition
Ross Mackenzie - textures, blending, bunker work and improvements to Pebble Beach Classic Edition
Background
Pebble Beach Classic Edition is not a brand new course design but the second official update to the original Pebble Beach 1930 course, which i updated in 2001 to Pebble Beach Classic.
I originally worked with Les Wellard on the 1930's course as a consultant and assisted with strategy and general planting and lay out ideas. The full credit for the original apcd work on the course rests with Les Wellard. Following its first release we both agreed there was room for an update and the idea for the 'Classic' course was formed. Sadly Les left the Links scene and Pebble Beach Classic became my own update project. The second version was released in 2001.
This latest 2004 update called Pebble Beach Classic Edition came from a desire to bring the course up to 2003 texturing standard and iron out some minor faults. This new update has been project managed by myself and includes the work of Joel Geysen, Ross Mackenzie and myself.
The latest key amendments are listed below :
New Grass Textures and Full Texture Blending
Ground Level Replanting in places
Fairways and Greens Resized in places
Rough Properties Amended
Bunkers Reworked
Buildings Added
More Crowds Added
Improved Computer AI
Pins positions and Greens amended to suit the new Mod
The course importantly retains the same lay out and concept of the original. It is still an interpretation of the real life Pebble Beach course from a time gone by.
My thanks to Les Wellard for including me in his original effort to bring this course to life and to all those who contributed to the 3 versions released. Special thanks to Ross Mackenzie and Joel Geysen for all their hard work on this latest update, and to Dexter Gresh for the use of some of his textures.
David Russell (Crusader)
Overall Impressions:
Well to be quite honest there is not much for me to say on this course that has not been said already. It is a great update to an already great course. There, as you can imagine, are no apparent design problems anywhere throughout the course. The techniques used to create the course are very well done with all of the advanced techniques like seam blending were used throughout the course. The terrain allows for nice smooth transitions all throughout the course and really does make a player feel like they are playing the 'young Pebble Beach' before it aged and grew its fearsome teeth that it has today.
The fairways are large and roomy and allow a player to work the course no matter what the conditions happen to be for their round. There are parts of the course where the trees protect the fairways really nicely in the landing areas so be careful on those initial drives off the tee. If you get greedy you could find yourself in some trouble, making par difficult to obtain. The greens are very well contoured and I think that most of the pin positions will work quite nicely with the 1.06 MOD. There may be an occasional tough one, but hey it is Pebble Beach and not a walk in the park. The hazards that are located all throughout the course have been very well done, and I have especially enjoyed the bunker work on Hole #6, especially the bunker on the left side of the green. I think that the designers put a magnet in the sand there as every one of my approach shots to that green ended up there. Looking up at the green from the bottom of that bunker is not something that you will want to do often if you want to score well on this hole.
The planting on the course is very well done and probably the best part of the course IMHO. Everything looks very natural without being overbearing. The underplanting is awesome and rivals some of the best courses we have available to us in the Links Community.
The textures are all really pretty good and blend well together. The rock texture though is probably the only negative part of this course. It does not look as natural and real looking as the others do. But this is a minor thing when you look at the course as a whole.
Now let's walk through some holes on the course:
Hole 6: This is a Par 5 hole that measures in at around 530 yards from tee to green. The fairway is long and narrow and is protected by a bunker on the left side and the cliffs and beach/water on the right side. If you place your drive off the tee correctly and the wind is favorable you should be able to reach the green in 2. But be careful with your approach shot to the green as it is protected by 3 bunkers with the one on the left side being rather ominous. The green is sloped slightly from back to front with a little shelf in the middle therefore making putting a challenge depending on where the hole is cut.
Hole 10: This is a medium par 4 that measures in at 420 yards from tee to green. The fairway is protected by the cliffs and beach again along the right side with the left side being open except for a couple of bunkers and some trees. The green is rather large and slopes from left to right for the most part. Be careful on the approach shot that you don't fly over the green, you will find yourself in some trouble if you do.
Hole 18: Is one of the most strategic holes on the course. It is a long par 5 that is tough to score well on because it is protected on from the initial drive all the way to the green by bunkers, trees, and ocean. The green is contour to challenge a player and no matter where the hole is cut it should make for some interesting putting especially if you cannot get your approach shot close to the pin.
I have only taken the time to go over 3 great holes on the course but there are 15 others for you to discover on your own. Every one of the holes offers something to challenge players of any ability.
Closing comments:
As I stated at the beginning of this review there is not a whole lot to say about this course except that it is a great update to an already great course. All of the updates that were done by the team of designers were great and I highly recommend this course for all linksters.
"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 look at every course that is released. M review is simply how I as a player/Tour Director would view this course after a couple of rounds."
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