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Moosevalley Golf Club
by Kennet Larsson

Links Corner Course Database ID Number - 1682
Release Date CRZ Filesize Par Course Length
2006-07-09  23,457,792  bytes 72  7241 yards
Type Style CRZ Filename
FICTIONAL  WOODLAND  Moosevalley Golf Club.crz 
Course ID Course Key
   

COURSE SCREENSHOTS

COURSE NOTES
Moosevalley Golf Club its my sixth course, Its a fictional wood course in the north of Sweden with large greens and deep bunkers.The course is 6059 yards from backtee.It`sa tricky course because a lot of greens are plateau and hilly.On some hole take a long iron and put the driver in the bag.I hope you like to play the course. I am sorry for my bad english but i hope you understand.

LINKS CORNER REVIEW

Reviewer - Michael Hubbard


INTRODUCTION

This is Kennet Larsson's 6th course and his second for Links 2003.


COURSE

Tight fairways, cavernous sand traps and ghoulish greens are what greet you around this helter-skelter course. The trees are very dark green with numerous clones, on a whistler background. There is dense under planting around the course, but again cloning is very much in evidence.

Where the course does fall down greatly in vision is the chaotic look to the fairway & green edges. From the fairway you run through Rough, fairway & Rough intermingled, Fringe, Rough again and then Rough 0 and finally Rough 1. Why?
So too around the greens a similar confusion exists where the terrain becomes a blurry tangle of textures. Even more indistinct in the area designated as Deep Grass! Along with this, sadly, there were a number of seam overlaps present too. In all of this I feel that Kennet would do well to seek some advice in making these transitions a lot smoother and less complex both visually and in play - Screenshots 3, 4 & 7.

The bunkers too are most alarming, with some towering over your golfer like a tidal wave about to engulf you in a sandstorm. Such is unfortunate too as the bunker surrounds and textures used are perhaps some of the most pleasing features to be seen on the course. There are water features scattered around the course. Strangely they have begun to sprout trees from there midst - Screenshot 3!
Elevation here too is worth a mention. As noted below, the majority of the holes play downhill, with the par 3, 9th hole plunging some 27yards in all. This does at least, on occasion provide for a good view of the hole - Screenshots 1, 5 & 6. Such is indeed required given the fact that the overhead cam shows NO TREES! Elite players beware . . . In truth such concrete trees make for one or two difficult shots around the track.
There are no Crowds, no Tournament objects & no Hole Previews. What there is however are one or two nice bridges, the Swedish flag & some small custom made tee markers - Screenshot 3.




PLAYABILITY

On a course with fairways that fall over 300 feet, 7241 yards is not quite as stern as it may have been. However, with the fairways being tight there is little room for error off the tee on fairways that are difficult to hold. All the par 5's are reachable and only 3 of the par 4 holes are over 450 yards in length.
The Par 4, 15th is a drivable green. However with two steps each of 9 feet in height there is no advantage gained in making the swing unless the pin is on the lower level - Screenshot 7. What is indescribably difficult here are the steps on the greens. 7 foot on the 11th & 14th holes, 11 feet at the 8th, two 9 foot steps on the 15th and worst of all a 15 foot ridge running through the 17th green. Why? Read on . . .

Despite the 7th green being completely flat there are other gruesome slopes that on the one hand, render the mod obsolete here and on the other hand, would not even tempt me to return to the stodgy days of the 1.05 links greens to try and compete. As such the greens really do, for me at least render the course all but unplayable in any setting requiring realism - Screenshot 2 & 4.
What of size? Well the 13th green measured 89 yards long, whilst most others were a modest 40 - 50 yards in length. So in terms of GIR stats, Moosevalley should be right up there.




DESIGNER INTERVIEW - KENNET LARSSON

1. Why did you choose to put such steep ridges across so many greens?
I like plateau greens because if you don't hit the right plateau you get a very provocative putt


2. What do you find to be the hardest aspect of APCD designing?
The hardest thing for me with APCD design its seem-blending


3. How did the fairway and Green edges become so muddled?
Because my English are bad its hard to understand and I don't find description in Swedish


4. What do you enjoy most about designing?
The best with design it's that you could fantasize your own dream course. I'm not a good designer yet but I hope my next courses would be better and better



CONCLUSION

If Moosevalley Golf Course was intended, in any way, to be realistic then it has surely failed in all respects. If however you are looking for a roller coaster of a ride, downhill with no breaks, then you may get some light relief from this track.
My recommendation to Kennet, who clearly has an understanding of how the APCD operates, would be to read some tutorials, seek advice and beta test. In many ways the course is overcomplicated when a far simpler set out would have yielded improved results. Simplicity in fairways, greens and sand traps could all have benefited the hole layouts immeasurably.



IN A WORD

A Step Too Far

CLIPNOTES by Ben Bateson (ousgg)

Description
Fictional, canyon course
Location
TBA
Conditions
TBA
Concept  9/10
Extremely convincing in its depiction of forested glade, Moosevalley is lush, oddball and thoroughly addictive. With massive, sprawling greens and bendy fairways, it is an almost unique challenge, and there's plenty to look at on the way. The Par 5s are terrific, and the Par 3s correctly cosy - apart from the intimidating final hole. The general design might appear at first glance to be constraining, but the rough and deep grass prove not to be overly arduous, and those who are inventive and creative are in for a real treat.
Appearance  8/10
There really are some breathtaking views at Moosevalley, although the appearance of the course as a whole is more fantasy than real. Excellent deployment of textures in all areas really makes the course come alive, and the blending is well up to standard. On more than one occasion the view is sadly marred by sharp terrain changes or folds, which is a real pity, because this is a really beautiful setting.
Playability  7/10
A terrific selection of risk/reward, inventive shot-shaping and creativity around the greens will keep even the best and the most cynical player on their toes. The technical problems with the trees (see below) actually work in your favour as far as good golf goes. Ushered on by a terrific atmosphere and no few surprises along the way, this is a treat.
Challenge  6/10
Good putters will pick up a lot of shots around here. The mammoth greens - although often not Mod-appropriate - can hardly fail to pick up your ball, and approach is often possible out of the rough or bunkers. The main issues for the golfer are the constantly changing terrain and navigating your way through some real puzzlers of holes. Nevertheless, a score under 70 isn't too much to be desired.
Technical  4/10
Unfortunately, despite the wonderful gameplay, there are some major issues here, largely with the impenetrable properties of the trees. 'Steel tree' syndrome is a notorious problem all the way around, and can have major effects on the wilder swingers. In addition, some fine detail needs to be paid to the landscaping, particularly in the sharp drop-offs towards water or ditches.
Overall A terrific course, held back by an almost unforgivable technical slip-up. Despite this, thoroughly recommended for its immersive environment and terrific hole design. 34/50
Please remember that Clipnote reviews are the opinion of one person and do not constitute an 'Official' Links Corner review of the course.

USER RATINGS

 Votes cast
Ace7 %3
Eagle9 %4
Birdie45 %20
Par34 %15
Bogey or worse5 %2

The User Course Reviews and polls have been removed from the forum due to the low numbers of members. The information above is presented merely for historical interest.

This course is available as a FREE download.


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