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Cadmium Greens
by Joe Volk
| Links Corner Course Database ID Number - 487 |
Release Date |
CRZ Filesize |
Par |
Course Length |
| 2001-07-22 |
36,404,602 bytes |
72 |
6955 yards |
| Type |
Style |
CRZ Filename |
|
FICTIONAL |
MOUNTAIN |
Cad Greens.crz |
| Course ID |
Course Key |
| 6f7320afca9641b99e90ab64dc52aaaf |
840bf4d825df2ef75c472e6f60ffb3d2 |
|
LINKS CORNER REVIEW |
Reviewed by Pete Dixon
October 2001
Whistlers Mountain, extruded edges must be a bit of a no hoper you might think. Well as the old saying goes 'Followed a muck cart and thought it was a wedding' is what you get if that's what you think!
This is the first course by Joe, who calls himself a course architect and I can't see any reason why he shouldn't have that title after playing this gem of a course.
As I have said it is a mountain course with water a plenty but it has been so wonderfully crafted that it looks fresh and original throughout and a joy to play.
The edges are extruded between textures, this is something you either like or don't, I happen to think it looks fine when done well like it has been here, some people don't like the odd bounces you get when you hit these extrusions but I didn't suffer that here when my ball went over these areas.
Anyway, the course. This is a beautifully planted and presented course and no push over either. Everything flows and works in harmony, the streams meander throughout and enter/exit larger water hazards, the planting has been sympathetically placed and a big bonus for me is the way the trees have been planted, one of my pet hates is to see trees 'floating' because there is nothing around the base to eradicate this look. Here lone trees are placed in a base of mulch, which works brilliantly, or they are in amongst a mass of vegetation. Woodland plants fit the surroundings and large rocks also play a part in the background.
Elevation changes look good and need to be as this is a hilly undulating course, the bunkers are deep and have a mud face and also look good although could be improved upon a little as far as rounding off goes.
Best Hole: I have opted for the shortish par 4 11th which needs a 3 wood or iron off the tee to avoid the lake in front of the green and then a well-placed chip over trees and water to the green.
Overall: An excellent first effort with the big plus points being the planting and neat touches around and about which keeps your interest up. Minor niggles are a little untidiness around the edges and also the tendency to be maybe a bit too clever instead of keeping it simpler in the hole design. With all that in mind this is a very enjoyable course to play and one that bodes well for the future with his next design.
Filesize 34MB
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 |
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CLIPNOTES by Ben Bateson (ousgg) |
Description
Fictional, mountain course |
Location
Could be in Canada - just a guess, looking at the landscaping and pano. |
Conditions
S*/S* is as fast as this one plays |
Concept 6/10
Somewhat old-fashioned and cursed with the designer's unwillingness to use anything that wasn't APCD stock, Cadmium Greens
nevertheless has been made to look reasonably convincing, and there are some excellent strategic holes along the back nine, none of
which are over-blown or silly. The lack of hole previews is a sore omission - not least on the likes of the 13th - and the atmosphere is
not really helped with another use of the good old Whistler panorama. |
Appearance 6/10
Well, no marks for the antiquated textures, but the designer has done his best with the planting, including a mix of rocks, grasses and
small plants which add tone. Sadly, the work on the mesh hasn't had the same attention: a lot of bunkers look like an afterthought, and
there are some pretty horrible extrusion marks all the way from 1 to 18. |
Playability 7/10
Despite being an old creation, there is some still some charm retained here. As long as you play with reasonably benign conditions,
there's a lot of opportunity to sit back and enjoy the creativity and style of the designer in presenting this very credible course. There's
no ambient sound, though, and it's likely that some of the greens will drive you to distraction. |
Challenge 5/10
It's very hard to justify the extremely difficult green slopes and pin positions, and even on the slowest Mod settings, they are just too
tough. Elsewhere the course uses the mountain elevations very effectively, and it's clear to see some influence on later and greater
designs such as Kylane and even Crystal Pines. But the greens are very artificial in preventing low scores, which undeniably counts
against the course |
Technical 4/10
Very much of its time, and there is some very rough APCD work here. But if you can overlook the poor shape insertion and
unimaginative textures and panorama, there is a course underneath which has clearly had a lot of time devoted to it. |
| Overall |
Stymied by technical flaws, but not to the extent where you couldn't go out and
enjoy some creative golf. |
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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