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Burnt Pine at Sandestin 2005
by Lacy Gearheart & Chris Gormley
| Links Corner Course Database ID Number - 1615 |
Release Date |
CRZ Filesize |
Par |
Course Length |
| 2005-09-14 |
54,005,760 bytes |
72 |
7099 yards |
| Type |
Style |
CRZ Filename |
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REAL |
PARKLAND |
BurntPine2005a.crz |
| Course ID |
Course Key |
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| COURSE NOTES |
Updated by Chris Gormley
In the update all the textures were changed along with only a few bits of the planting, Lacy did such a nice job the first time so why tweak that stuff.
I did adjust a few of the greens to make them more mod friendly but for the most part the course plays like it did on the original version. A few people may whine about the greens but after play testing them all with the MOD for a weekend I decided that I had tweaked them enough.
Chris Gormley |
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LINKS CORNER REVIEW |
This is a remake of a real course originally released as a 2001 design by Lacy Gearheart, Lacy has released 8 courses to date 2 of which are collaborations with other designers this being one of them. Chris Gormley has released 2 courses both re makes and both collaborations.
First off I will start by saying that I have not played the original design so this review will be based on how the course looks and plays now for a first time player.
The Players Point Of View.
Burnt Pine is a very scenic course winding it's way between a series of lakes and along the coast in the latter parts, some lakes come into play from time to time giving the player a few thought provoking problems especially when the wind is blowing, bunkers are prevalent on all holes and look very realistic, any wayward shot will usually find one, however the bunkers aren't too deep so getting out of them isn't too much of a problem. The course itself is fairly flat and not too difficult to play, I have heard this said a million times about real courses and I think it would be wrong to criticise the designers because of a real life rendition. One thing that troubles me is the choice of some of the pin placements; they can be extremely tough, even unfair and not lifelike at all, there is a screenshot of one but there are a few more to be wary of.
There is a good variety of holes here and all offer up differing problems, from two pretty long par fives, to long and average length par threes, the fairways are quite generous and on most holes you can come out of your shoes on the drive without too many problems, doing so is not always the best choice though. The greens differ from relatively small to above average in size, when playing to fairly placed pins the greens offer some interesting breaks, double breaks and some nice rolls, so beware the greens are not as flat as they look at times.
From a scenery point of view the course is planted quite well, there are a few clones but unless you really look for them most are un-noticeable, the grasses seem a little clumpy and in my opinion are too green to be convincing, having said that overall the course is very pretty to look at and very realistic, the panorama chosen fits the course quite well but I think it could have been better. The shore line really looks nice there is a good choice of sand which makes the beach / dunes look very realistic indeed. There are also well planted rocks along parts of the lake banks; this is quite a tough assignment to get looking right the designers have pulled off the look amazingly well. All in the entire course is very nice to look at and very pleasing to the eye.
Burnt pine is a playable and enjoyable course, though it may be a little easy for some, as already stated the designers can not be criticised for this; it is a real course and I'm sure if you really took the clubs out of the bag and played here for real you would suddenly find it wasn't so easy.
The Designers Point Of View.
On the whole the course is pretty well done; I think some of the planting choices could have been better. Darker and more updated grasses to fit the surroundings would have improved the design in my eyes immensely. I did not like the extrusions on the tee boxes, they are too sharp and leave dark lines; perhaps blended tees with the edge sharpness set correctly either side of the blend would have been better. Over all the texture choices are superb and fit the course really well, the blends are well done and convincing, there are parts of some bunker lips that are blurred where the mappings are stretched, these parts could have done with a separate mapping to bring them into line with the rest of the lip surrounding the bunker. More care could have been taken when placing the pins, a real life green keeper would not have placed pins on a steep slope.
This might sound like the course isn't designed too well, all of the things mentioned are personal feelings, apart from the few things I did not like the course is superbly designed and is in my opinion a winner, one thing I always mention where walls have been made is the lack of a top to them, in this case the wall on 14 has a top and is extruded brilliantly.
Both designers have achieved a well designed and executed real life course.
Summary.
A very nice rendition of a real course, at just over 49 meg it is not a massive download, but is not too small either, fun to play and very nice to look at. I was torn between ratings for this one, it's a favourite of many linksters and is a good design, I just feel that the small problems when added together outweigh the plus points slightly.
Extras.
The course comes complete with splash screen, hole previews, custom flag, crowds and tournament objects.
Download Value.
Definitely worth a download even on dial up, I promise it will be well worth the wait, I shall have a few more rounds here, Burnt Pine will be staying on my hard drive for the foreseeable future, If you like real courses or even lifelike fictional ones this is a course you should not miss.
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CLIPNOTES by Ben Bateson (ousgg) |
Description
Real, lakeside course. |
Location
TBC |
Conditions
TBC |
Concept 8/10
This is a delightful und understated little course, revolving nicely around a lake: the majority of the lakeside is used very effectively on several holes. Individual holes offer a consistent challenge; the woods are never too far away, and well-placed bunkers and sharp greens make reaching in regulation a good challenge. |
Appearance 8/10
The luscious planting is particularly noticeable by the lakeside, where rocks are very artistically placed. Stray too far off the short stuff, though, and the forests can become a bit haphazard and too random in the planting. The fairways have an odd extruded look in the top view, but look fine in main play, even if the fairway/rough contrast is quite pronounced. Textures are well-chosen and bunkers have a natural and unobtrusive appearance. Tournament object make an appearance, and the overall impression is of a course that is very nice indeed to look at. |
Playability 7/10
Keen Links players will hardly notice this round go by, such is the variety of shot options and views that Burnt Pine presents. All shots have to be carefully weighed in the balance, and most players will find a hazard at least once if they take risks. Shot-shaping features heavily, and those who can shape a good draw will enjoy their round far more. |
Challenge 6/10
The real courses can often be the toughest, and frankly I thought that Burnt Pine was set up a little bit too harshly. Pin positions were improbable, often in the middle of steep slopes, and many people will be persuaded to back off on their drives and pay the price as a result. There is the danger that, on difficult setting, this round could become a tedious slog, which is something every designer needs to avoid, whether he has designed the course or not. |
Technical 7/10
For a 2001 course, this is put together exceedingly well. The planting is generally very good - top notch on the opening holes, certainly - and the elevations and extrusions managed well. Perhaps there's some future in blending the fairway in with rough grass more gently, but this is only a minor problem and certainly doesn't affect the play. I'm going to be harsh and dock another point for some nasty and unlikely pin positions. |
| Overall |
A solid re-creation of a challenging course. Definitely worth playing once, but steer clear of the toughest settings. |
36/50 |
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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