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Buffalo Springs 2005
by Adriaan Maarschalk
| Links Corner Course Database ID Number - 1621 |
Release Date |
CRZ Filesize |
Par |
Course Length |
| 2005-10-18 |
71,335,936 bytes |
72 |
7084 yards |
| Type |
Style |
CRZ Filename |
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FICTIONAL |
LINKS |
Buffalo Springs 2005.crz |
| Course ID |
Course Key |
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| COURSE NOTES |
Extract from the readme
This update of Buffalo Springs came thanks to Andrew Jones's new APCD texture editor. I used the course for testing different settings for different textures, which led to some changes to the traps, which led to some planting experiments which eventually led to this release. |
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LINKS CORNER REVIEW |
REVIEW BY JON WEINRIEB
The Basics: This is a remake of Adriaan's design of the fictional Buffalo Springs, a Links 2003 design using the APCD 1.5. Adriaan is a budding designer who made some big waves when he stepped onto the scene in September 2004 with this first release. Although Buffalo Springs 2004 and 2005 are all we have seen from him, I suspect it will not be the last. Because this is a redesign, rather than completely running through the entire course again, I decided it best to include the majority of Andrew Cray's review of the first version, followed by some remarks from Adriaan regarding the reason for, and the nature of, this fine upgrade. Finally, I conclude with my comments and impressions of the course generally and with respect to the redo.
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From Andrew Cray's Review of Buffalo Springs 2004:
Playability: This course is very playable. If you play with your head on straight and avoid driving the ball like Seve, you'll find yourself under par. The risk/reward factor itself is enough for you to download this course. Each hole presents a different challenge and variety of ways to play it. It's links golf at its finest. You're penalized for marginal or poor shots and rewarded for the good. Stand on the tee and be committed to the shot at hand. Any second thoughts can lead to big numbers.
Quality of APCD Work: This is an outstanding effort for a first time designer. From the 1st tee to the 18th green, the course just flows with beauty. There were no major technical flaws. Seam blending was well done and so was the pot bunkering. The textures, planting and vegetation fitted the area of the world where Buffalo Springs is located in. I certainly appreciated the attention to detail that the designer provided on this course.
My Personal Opinion: As you stand on the first tee you are greeted with a long stretch of fairway. You can see the two fairway bunkers in the distance. You're playing links golf in its truest form. Buffalo Springs brings it all to the table. Accurate driving, superb distance control, and a deadly short game is what you need on this layout. This is a course where being aggressive can pay off if you are accurate off the tee, but if you stray off your intended line by just a small margin, you can find yourself in one of the many pot bunkers or a watery grave. Little pitch shots around the greens are tough due to the fast, sloping greens. Buffalo Springs features beautiful planting and vegetation work, superb hole designs, and excellent elevation work, as well as masterful high resolution textures.
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From Adriaan's Release Notes:
This update of Buffalo Springs came thanks to Andrew Jones's new APCD texture editor. I used the course for testing different settings for different textures, which led to some changes to the traps, which led to some planting experiments which eventually led to this release. [See below for a detailed explanation of the improvements].
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The Upgrade: I would not say that the differences between Buffalo Springs 2004 and Buffalo Springs 2005 are remarkable. As is obvious from Adriaan's release notes, they were intended to be more a matter of function as opposed to one of form. For example, the designer felt, as did some players, that the bunkers were unfairly penal in some respects due to the heavy sloping on the walls and the ways in which the Links engine handled the lie when a ball came to rest on them -- places golf balls would normally never stop and hang in real life. To that end, we must applaud Adriaan for working toward one of the most critical yet sadly overlooked aspects of APCD design -- playability as it relates to realism. To that end, Adriaan upgraded the following:
(1) & (2) Sand Texture & Bunker Walls: All of the bunkers were reworked in several ways. Most importantly, the ball now rolls properly down the slopes of the bunker walls. Improved texturing also provides for more accurate caddying.
(3) Edited Fairway Texture (FFairway): Although the default fairway was not altered, an additional closely mowed fairway texture with a slightly lighter color is used around all the greens. These areas of humps and hollows are set to have a similar speed as greens set to Soft/Slow. Also, as is the case in real life, the player is afforded some bite on the ball when chipping from these areas when played from a clean lie.
(4) Planting: Some aspects of the planting have been improved although not in any major or terribly noticeable fashion.
(5) The 11th Fairway: Widened for more aggressive play with a driver from the tee.
(6) Pins: Certain suspect pins were amended to provide for more mod-friendly play. In that regard, Adriaan also improved things for tournament set-up, advising players to use pin 1 for round 1, 2 for 2 and so on. Alternatively, another option is to use pins 5 to 8 for the 4 rounds respectively.
(7) Hole Previews: Added.
Although not a major undertaking, the improved texture properties, hole previews and reworked hole locations do indeed improve the course's playability and take it up just that little notch.
APCD Technique: As a general matter, the APCD technique employed on the update is every bit as good as the original and lives up to a fairly high standard. Adriaan clearly spends the time necessary to get it right most of the way around. That is not to say that a few issues do not crop up here and there -- some fine tuning that, if corrected for his next course, may get him over the hurdle into the grouping of elite APCD designers.
For example, one fairway-to-rough transition clearly lost its path application and needed a recalculation of UVs. A simple fix and one that should have been caught. Additionally, on the third hole, for instance, there is a large unblended seam between grass and sand that clearly should be blended (at least with a stock alpha) for maximum effect and realism. The interior of the bunker and overall bush planting is good but could be improved with additional grasses and smaller bushes. Other areas well in play should have been seam blended.
My Impressions Of The Course & Overall Recommendation: The original course was released to rave reviews and has become a real fan favorite among Linksters. The update, although minimal, does not disappoint. Buffalo offers a great variety of holes, ranging from straightforward to the downright tricky. But I do not think of it as unfair. Just a little quirky. At a mere 52MB, I recommend this fun and unique test of golf to everyone.
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CLIPNOTES by Ben Bateson (ousgg) |
Description
Fictional, marshland course |
Location
South Africa is the intention. |
Conditions
Reasonably playable at fast conditions; I'd be inclined to ease back to M*/M* as the most realistic |
Concept 5/10
Adriaan's brave attempt to merge farmland, wetland and links golfing comes out - almost inevitably - as something of an incoherent and bits-and-pieces effort. While there's undoubtedly some fine visuals on offer, and design tending very much towards the gung-ho, it's consistently difficult to feel any sense of location or conviction that these holes are at all linked together. The overuse of water is probably the nail in the coffin that stops it pressing for a consistent tournament place. |
Appearance 8/10
Plenty to feat your eyes upon, from the selection of buildings on and around the course, to some pioneering work in low-level planting, and terrific use of colour on the plot. It's all replete with a host of extras, from tournament crowds to the observatory-cum-restaurant to a paddock full of sheep. Sadly, the ocean pano is really quite garish in comparison, and much of the bunker work seems to be lacking construction. |
Playability 7/10
Those who miss their snaps on a regular basis probably won't take kindly to this very unforgiving layout, but this is the classic example of a course that earns its appeal over time. Learning the layout will inevitably pay dividends, even if the water is unfairly punishing on more than one occasion. The short length of the course helps prevent it being a bore, though, and there are plenty of treats to be had on the way around. |
Challenge 6/10
The injudicious use of the water is always going to be counted against Buffalo Springs: add to this Adriaan's favoured plateaued greens and you're undeniably in for a stiff test. There are more than a few hints that the course has been artificially balanced against this: some non-standard textures and reduced-length holes most notably. Not really the fair game I was looking for. |
Technical 7/10
Visually and artistically, there's little that can compete with work such as this. Unfortunately, the texture-fiddling - while admirable in ambition - hasn't really paid off and comes across as inconsistent more than anything. Which, to be fair, is fairly descriptive of this bits-and-pieces course as a whole. |
| Overall |
A massively entertaining casual round of golf for those that don't mind losing a ball or two to the lakes. I can't see it being taken seriously for tournament play, though. |
33/50 |
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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