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MURHOF GC
by Thomas Wagner
| Links Corner Course Database ID Number - 1656 |
Release Date |
CRZ Filesize |
Par |
Course Length |
| 2006-03-12 |
61,587,456 bytes |
72 |
7102 yards |
| Type |
Style |
CRZ Filename |
|
REAL |
PARKLAND |
Murhof GC.crz |
| Course ID |
Course Key |
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| COURSE NOTES |
Dear Links Community!
My name is Tom Wagner, 51 years old, living in Graz/Austria/Europe
This is my very first try to create a golfcourse in APCD.
The MURHOF Golf Club is a real existing course close to my hometown. Unfortunately there is no 2003-version of links for mac. So I had to work with the 2001-version.
I did the course basing on some pictures and an arial-photo but without any GPRS-data (they dont exist).
From there the result is not 100 percent real but quite close to reality.
I know that there are a lot of mistakes and bad doings inside the file but nevertheless I hope you will enjoy playing the course and give me a review what to make better.
(it was not possible for me to produce for example hole-previews, I tried it but did not succed. the information in the manual is very poor)
keep swinging
tom |
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LINKS CORNER REVIEW |
Reviewed by: Chuck Clark
Background: This is the first course released to Links Corner by Mr. Wagner. This is an APCD version 1.0 course for use with Links 2001. However, I played it in Links 2003 (version 1.06). The only information we have as background on this course and designer is contained in the read-me. The following is the complete read-me:
' My name is Tom Wagner, 51 years old, living in Graz/Austria/Europe. Playing golf and Links CE 2001 (for Macintosh) since 2004. This is my very first try to create a golf course in APCD. The MURHOF Golf Club is a real existing course close to my hometown. Type: REAL Style: PARKLAND. Unfortunately there is no 2003-version of links for mac. So I had to work with the 2001-version. It is a very hard job to do that all on a mac but there are good tips to avoid crashes in the forum. I did the course basing on some pictures and an aerial-photo but without any GPRS-data (they don't exist). From there the result is not 100 percent real but quite close to reality. I know that there are a lot of mistakes and bad doings inside the file but nevertheless I hope you will enjoy playing the course and give me a review what to make better. (it was not possible for me to produce for example hole-previews, I tried it but did not succeed. the information in the manual is very poor) I will go on the way of try and error and hope to be able to produce a better course in future.'
So, we know from the read-me that this is based on a real course. We can also guess that this may be a parkland course in a mountainous setting. I'm not sure I've ever seen a Links course created on a Mac; although I don't know what difference it would make. I can certainly appreciate Mr. Wagner's perseverance and (hopefully) this review will inspire him to continue working with the APCD.
Overall Impression: Well, my first impression is that this is definitely a Links 2001 course. The low res. textures are always a give away. Mr. Wagner also used our old friend the Whistler pano. It's actually a great looking pano; but after seeing it on about 100 courses it does get a bit old. A custom pano always makes a great first impression. My other first thoughts of Murhof are that it's very flat (despite the pano), the planting is at times repetitive and other times very inconsistent, and some of the pin positions are not playable with the Mod. In addition there are no hole previews, splash screens or a logo screen.
Playability/Shot Values: This course is generally very playable. The fairways are fairly wide and level. The hazards are pretty easy to avoid if you pay attention to where you aim. The greens however are a bit over the top (see screen shot); but only in a few places. This is a real course so we have to assume that the designer has faithfully recreated it. Just for your information this course plays to a par of 72 and is 7,102 yards from the back tees.
Visuals: This course isn't visually attractive. The stock textures, level elevations and uninspiring design make this a course which doesn't stick in your memory. The planting is repetitive at times and very inconsistent from hole to hole. There are pine trees, leafy trees, flowering trees and just about everything in between. The theme seems to change from hole to hole. As an example, some of the off-fairway areas have under-planting and some don't. The first few holes seem to have pines. But then you get to the fourth tee and there are jungle like plants down the left side of the hole and some flowering trees down the right. The designer needs to stick to a consistent planting theme. I can't believe that the real course really has such a bizarre assortment of flora and fauna.
Since this is a 2001 design, there isn't any seam blending. That means that the designer is severely limited in making the hazards look realistic. Mr. Wagner does a decent job though with the water hazards. The bunkers are pretty simple though. They are very standard looking.
Technique: The technique is pretty simple and standard. There are some obvious errors. Besides the things mentioned above there are many problems with edges. There are sharp texture transitions which result in unrealistic elevations, some messed up edge sharpnesses and some random sharp edges (which result in bad shadows). However, for a 2001 course the construction is not bad. It will never remind you of a Mike Jones course but for a first effort it's pretty good.
Favorite Hole: None of the holes here really stand out. But I did like the 6th hole. The 6th hole is a 462 yard par 4 with a lake all the way down the left side. It dog legs slightly to the right. If you pull your drive just a bit it will get wet. There is also a tree in the fairway which gets your attention. This is one of the only holes on the course which really makes you think on the tee shot.
Summary: This is a first course and a Links 2001 course. Therefore I can't really recommend it for download. However, the designer definitely shows some promise. The course is fairly well built for a first course and there aren't too many glaring errors. If this designer really wants to advance his technique he probably needs to move up to APCD 1.5. This may mean he needs a hardware upgrade (based on the read-me); but I'm afraid that's the price us APCD designers have to pay. I have upgraded my computer a couple of times to keep up with Links and the APCD.
Specifically to this course, the designer needs to work on making a course with smoother elevations. He needs to learn all about edge sharpnesses and how they affect the look of a course. He needs to keep a consistent planting theme and watch out for repetitiveness. He also needs to watch out for overly sloped greens (or bad pin positions). In order to really make a course come alive a good custom pano and some decent custom textures would be nice. It would also have been nice to see some custom graphics. Keep trying Mr. Wagner; the learning curve is sharp but it's also very rewarding!
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CLIPNOTES by Ben Bateson (ousgg) |
Description
Real, parkland course. |
Location
TBA |
Conditions
TBA |
Concept 4/10
A nice and unassuming conversion of a real course. Credit to the designer
for what he's done, but the course itself isn't much cop. It's a pleasant way
to pass a few minutes but is seriously lacking in innovative or original hole
design. It's on flat parkland with generous fairways and an aura about the
course that it's never really going to get you into any serious trouble. It's
not impossible to conceive that some people would want more. |
Appearance 4/10
For a 2001 design, this looks pretty good, although it suffers as a result of having been built from stock. There are a few harsh texture
edges, and a quite a bit of cloned and/or random planting if you look hard enough, which does detract from the play. Tee-box
extrusions are another (unsurprising) difficulty. I would also like to have seen more custom objects, such as ballwashers or even a
clubhouse. But there are some nice views available, and the designer has kept the course looking natural, so credit there. |
Playability 4/10
Murhof makes for pretty brainless gameplay. There's little to challenge you, and even on the hardest difficulty settings you shouldn't
need to engage the little grey cells too hard. This is perhaps a course to introduce your mother or girlfriend to the game of Links.
They'd probably find it hard. |
Challenge 1/10
Sadly, this is much, much too easy. A couple of greens are testing, but the fairways are almost impossible to miss and hazards almost
incidental to the line of play. Even on the tough difficulty setting, you should be able to easily beat 70; on the easy ones a 59 wouldn't
be off the cards. |
Technical 4/10
The designer has all the basics down pat, and what's here look very competent; there's just some refinement to be done now. Some
shape changes, some fine-tuning to the planting and easing off the green elevations would come first. And, for heavens' sake, some
way (real or imaginary) of making the course harder. |
| Overall |
OK in the execution, but fails to grab the attention of the player due to lack of
challenge and attention to detail. |
17/50 |
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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