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The Heritage on SouthBank
by Stuart Kahle
| Links Corner Course Database ID Number - 456 |
Release Date |
CRZ Filesize |
Par |
Course Length |
| 2001-06-25 |
11,912,744 bytes |
72 |
7183 yards |
| Type |
Style |
CRZ Filename |
|
FICTIONAL |
LINKS |
TheHeritage_F.crz |
| Course ID |
Course Key |
| baa28f1096cd4e66a0aaf65b1de441f0 |
537ac0956fb5b4f09626067b237ee1c9 |
|
LINKS CORNER REVIEW |
Reviewed by Pete Dixon
July 2001
'Struth mate! What's that my balls in? Thought I'd hit a fair dinkum drive, Jeez it's sheep s*%*!!' And so the round at Heritage begins, not only do you get the usual hazards, rough, bunkers, water but you get a new one, sheep droppings!! Not really, but this is definitely an original course, one that originally, when I helped test it for Stu, was going to be a links course but apparently Stu went off that idea as he got bored with his creation under that guise and changed it completely to the only outback, sheep ranch, Australian course available on Links.
I have been an admirer of Stu's work since the start and have admired him from seeing his original first few courses, that were recreations of some famous Australian ones, that were lacking technically and he went back to them and re worked them into courses that are all must haves now.
He has since come away from real courses and his last venture was another highly original design the Great Southern Aurora, now this.
I have played this several times now and as I stated in a posting on the forum some days I really really like it and others I am not so sure but I can't put my finger on why?
To the course, well it is as usual exquisitely crafted, supposedly set in the late 19th century and meant for use without woods, the pano is excellent and really gives the feeling of being out in the wilds of Oz with nothing for company but sheep and a farmer who wants you to be his son, mother, girlfriend!!!! The fairways are smooth and roll freely; the custom texture used is a fairly pale green and fits the experience perfectly.
There is wooden fencing all over to keep the sheep off and custom benches and objects that reflect the period.
Stuart's bunkers have improved beyond measure from the early days and are some of the best around now, he has a certain style and the custom texture used for the sand is gritty and believable.
The sounds are excellent from the sheep to the bell warning you when you are on the tee of several holes and goes off after you have placed your mark in fact it's more of a gong then a bell.
There are some small lakes/ponds around and these have rushes around the edges, I don't suppose you are going to get an abundance of water in a place like this!
There are ball washers, benches, cart paths, sheep, crops being sprayed, tractors and all in harmony with their surroundings and in scale.
The greens are Stu's favoured texture and they deviate cunningly to make you wonder how you missed when you thought you had read it dead right.
Best Hole: There is no best hole, they are all excellent, none stand out particularly from the tee in my opinion due to the bleakness of the place but there is beauty all around from all areas.
Overall: I can safely say that this is one of the most, if not the most, original course available, it is never going to be the sort of course a championship is going to be held at, unless it is the Sheep Shearer's Classic! It has been excellently put together and is a real challenge if you do leave your woods behind.
This is not what you could call a beautiful course, in the sense of its location etc, its beauty is in its ruggedness and skills in the APCD and yes I suppose because of it's backdrop in an arse about face sort of way.
This is a quirky course but one that grows on me the more I play it, a definite download and also a ridiculously small one too, keep up the good work Stu, I wonder what will be in store for us next?
Filesize 12MB
This review will be based on playability, aesthetics and originality. Please keep in mind that this is only my opinion following my play-testing of the completed course.
I fully understand the hard work and immense skill that is involved in the designing of these courses and my comments will try to be constructive and without bias.
Tested on classic swing Pro level from the back tees |
|
CLIPNOTES by Ben Bateson (ousgg) |
Description
Fictional, farmland course |
Location
TBA |
Conditions
TBA |
Concept 7/10
It's pretty certain that no-one before or since has thought of locating a
golf course on a sheep ranch, but that's just what The Heritage course
tries to pull off. I say 'tries' because, sadly, it's only a partial success.
The plot is crowded and too small, and the holes feel cramped together,
rather than flowing naturally into the space. Full credit to the designer's
ambition, though, and to the sheep which turn up all over the place and
- well - try their best. |
Appearance 4/10
Despite a beautiful, authentic and deep panorama and a good selection of planting and fence-work, there are some glaring problems in
the mesh and the textures, which look old-hat and mismatched. The customisation is nice, but it's not really quite enough to account
for the course's other flaws. |
Playability 8/10
Certainly a difficult call, this one. There are plenty of indicators that one should certainly not go out and play The Heritage. There are
blind tee shots aplenty, some almost unplayable greens, and hidden, unmarked hazards. Surprisingly, though, it's easy to accept a lot
of this as part of the course's conceit to originality, and there is plenty of enjoyment stemming from novel hole design and the unique
location. |
Challenge 5/10
In some ways, it's much easier to shunt the course's shortcomings into this section. The ridiculous greening and array of hazarding will
inevitably cost strokes, a balance which is little redressed by the occasional short Par 5. Those playing on fast speeds need to steer
clear. |
Technical 4/10
There are just too many gaps here: poor colours, iffy elevations, and green-work that looks thoroughly untested. I'm sure I'm not the
only one who would enjoy a re-working of this great concept; in its original state, though, it looks rather primitive. |
| Overall |
A lovely idea for a course, and one that makes for an involving and diverting round
of golf. An idea not quite brought to fruition, though. |
28/50 |
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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