|
Northern Dunes 2.0 (The Open)
by Mike Jones
| Links Corner Course Database ID Number - 481 |
Release Date |
CRZ Filesize |
Par |
Course Length |
| 2001-07-20 |
36,322,576 bytes |
72 |
7513 yards |
| Type |
Style |
CRZ Filename |
|
FICTIONAL |
LINKS |
northerndunesVer2.1.crz |
| Course ID |
Course Key |
| d8c068007d0e11d5a4e744455354616f |
142b47a93bad4c15407efd4e40e2e1f3 |
|
LINKS CORNER REVIEW |
Reviewed by Dave Campbell
July 2001
Expectations: Mike Jones reputation as one of the top APCD designers precedes him. I'm expecting a more player friendly version of the original.
First Impressions: The Open version of Northern Dunes was made available for download on 7/20/01 and is a fictional seaside links course. It measures 7,513 yards and plays to a par of 72. There are 5 tee choices that can shave as much as 600 yards off the yardage total. Mike's other designs in order of release are; Driftwood G.C., Northern Dunes (the original) and El Escorpion. Each of these courses has won 'Course Of The Month' honors here at The Links Corner, and a case could be made that Mike is the premiere APCD designer, judging by the quality and quantity of releases. He is certainly on a short list of the very best in any event. This is an awkward review for me being that Mike is a friend I've played many online matches against and had long chats with. I've also been a rather outspoken critic of Northern Dunes in the past. I believe my comments were something to the effect that it 'Seems too much like work when I play this course'. I think most would agree that the original is an incredibly hard, testing round of cyber golf.
This is a revamped version of the original Northern Dunes with the hope that some of the fangs in the first version have been removed, or at least filed down a bit. In keeping with 'The Open' theme he has also added crowds. Many other tweaks and changes are catalogued in the very nice readme file provided. He has also included several jpg's, including the splash and cameo pictures.
Playability: I guess the question is 'did this course convert me'! To this I give a resounding YES. It is still plenty tough (check my test round) but plays much more realistic now. I love the crowds and tournament feel but I don't use a tourney sound script, just crowd noises. I just let the planted seaside sounds set the mood. Mike planted these sounds perfectly; the crashing surf fades as you get away from the coast and slowly builds as you near the coast again. That, the screeching seagulls and the occasional blowing wind is all you need. I should also mention the dynamite hole previews that not only show you the layout but give you a little friendly tip from a humble golf pro.
The course looks real, almost like you are glimpsing a photo at times. The textures have all been changed and the course was completely replanted. The tees are well crafted with in-ground tee markers. You'll hit to fairways that have been widened a bit in places and even without a top cam opened and using the hole previews, I could always figure out where to place my drive. The fairways are undulating with wavy elevations and no 1st cut. Fortunately there is a semi-rough before you get to the real danger, the deep grass covered with gorse and ground planting. This stuff can be deadly and if a patch is in your way then rotate and just get it back on the fairway. It's better to take your medicine (and one extra stroke) than end up in the deep stuff again. I was in this a few times during my test round and if you visually have an opening then you can shoot toward your target. If you see that little patch of hay there you're going to have trouble, even a flop may not work. The major difference in this course from the original is you now have fairways running right up to the green on most holes, which also removed some hazards fronting the greens. This is the number on thing that improved playability in my opinion.
The greens look old and windblown and very fast, just as they should. Elevations aren't outrageous but are ever present. I only had 26 putts in my test round (and I turned off the grid too) but I think that has more to do with me chipping to within gimmie distance than my stellar putting. I did sink a 50' breaking putt to save par on the 3rd.
The hazards, oh my! I talked in length about the tall grass but that's only the beginning. There is a creek fronting the 17th green that you have to be careful about, particularly with a front pin position and fast greens. And several coastline holes have a cliff drop down to the beach and ocean but you'd have to miss your snap pretty bad to hit it there. The bunkers are the hazard to be wary of. They are all of the layered, pot bunker style and if you find yourself in the fairway variety you might as well pencil in an extra stroke on your card. With the momentum you carry into the trap you inevitably end up against or near the front sod wall. Take your medicine and explode out sideways or backwards into the fairway because if you try and get cute, you might be penciling in two extra strokes. I even had one greenside bunker that forced me to change my angle so much that I ended up on the green, but as far away from the hole as you could be. Don't even get me started on the 'Hades' bunker that you see from the 15th tee. It's easy to clear but an imposing sight nonetheless. They are all spectacular in appearance and you won't find a more realistic looking trap on any other course, period. Mike's readme does say that he lessened the depth on some bunkers, and to me it looks like many have a bevelled lip now that should divert your ball away when it's rolling by. They are all over and if you play this course enough expect to land in one sometime. In my case it was several times in one round.
The coastline received a thorough overhaul as well. The cliffs look gorgeous and the surf now has visible waves. I'm not sure but I think the ocean texture may be different too. I didn't play the original again before I wrote this so I'm not sure. The par 4 13th was reworked and is one of the nicest seaside holes you could ever see, as your approach will now have to carry over a bay to land on green perched on a beautiful rocky outcrop. The approach on the par 4 10th is one of the nicest looking sites you'll ever see on an APCD course.
Drawbacks: I may have to get real picky here looking for the smallest blade of grass out of place. I'm not the APCD expert but I think it's safe to say this course is sound in that regard. I'm not a fan of links type courses normally and they usually look too stark and bare for my tastes. This is not the case with Northern Dunes as it is subtly planted and the coastline shots are pure eye candy.
I also think the pot bunkers are too penal but I guess that's the way they are in real life so I'll just take my lumps along with everyone else. They sure are well done though.
Best Hole: The whole course is superb. I already mentioned the two par 4's at 10 and 13. The par 4 7th is also one of my favourite holes, long but very strategic in design. The 1st is a great opening hole and the 17th is a short but dangerous par 4. I'll give the nod to the dogleg right par 4 16th, if for no other reason than it's named after Bobby Jones. Mike's readme says this hole is modeled after Lytham's 17th and there is a hidden plaque commemorating Bobby hidden along this hole (can you find it in my screenshot?).
Test round stats: +1 66%FIR 44%GIR 26 putts. I've had better and I've had worse but I actually feel like I played well this round. These were in the above conditions and without grid or top cam turned on. I think it's safe to say that you could add 3-4 strokes once it gets windy and the greens get fast.
Comparable courses: Northern Dunes by Mike Jones, Gooseneck Bay by Randal Queen, Cuckmere Links by Jim Gates
Overall: Northern Dunes (The Open) is as well conceived and constructed as any course available to date. The slight, but well thought out changes Mike's made has transformed this course into a tough but believable layout. Simply put this is as good as it gets and should be a permanent addition to everyone's course library. If I like a links style course then you know it has to be good.
Filesize 37MB
Course Info :
Splash Screen? Yes
Cameo Screen? Yes
Text file? Yes
Hole Previews? Yes
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 Power Stroke swing - Champ level - from the back tees - N/M/M Mod
PIII 667 / 256 meg memory / 32 meg GeForce2 MX video card / Hardware Rendering |
|
CLIPNOTES by Ben Bateson (ousgg) |
Description
Fictional, links course |
Location
The name and readme both hint at Northern England. |
Conditions
M*/S* is as fast as you realistically need to be going. |
Concept 10/10
A brilliant coastal links at its inception, and still fairly impressive now, Northern Dunes probably holds its place in history as the first (and
only?) APCD crossover course: that which was created by an amateur and adopted (presumably for some payment) by Microsoft for
official releases. The course design still holds up incredibly well today, even if we've seen Mike Jones re-work the theme three or four
times. The hazarding and use of rough is absolutely what a links course demands, and the whole package - even if it does become dated
- should be regarded as a celebration of how courses can be created. |
Appearance 7/10
Well, it doesn't look all it did, that's for sure. The textures are terribly dated, and there are a fair few clones - not in the grasses but in the
gorse and bush planting. But there's a lot still to love. The coastline has retained its authenticity, even over many subsequent imitators,
and the colour set is awesome - a proper evocation of authentic grassy links. |
Playability 8/10
With the emphasis on outstanding course design, as you'd expect from any Mike Jones course, Northern Dunes has lost little of its
panache. Certain holes - including nearly the whole stretch from the 9th through to the 14th - are gripping and intense: it's not
nicknamed 'the Open' for nothing. Excellent natural sound effects usher you on the way, although I found the hole previews to be
somewhat opaque and uninformative. |
Challenge 9/10
Regardless of the green speed, this course has retained all its challenging qualities extremely well, which is a sure indication of the
skill of the designer. With the rough providing some horrendous lies, and the pot bunkers usually only offering a 100-yard escape at
most - this mirrors the links golf that we are used to: a trait which can't be put to many fictional courses. |
Technical 7/10
It's definitely old-fashioned by the hyper-realistic standards of today's APCD, but there is still enough at Northern Dunes to put it years
ahead of all its contemporaries. Ignore the hard-edged textures and somewhat awkward planting if you can, and admire the
effortlessly-neat coastline and beautiful compilation that marked it out as something very special. |
| Overall |
A must-own, despite its age, this is perhaps the course that did more to keep the
Links genre alive than any other. |
41/50 |
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.
|
|
Download course
|
Please support Links Corner
|
|
|
