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Budric's mountain Valley State Park & golf Club
by Roy Bork
| Links Corner Course Database ID Number - 656 |
Release Date |
CRZ Filesize |
Par |
Course Length |
| 2001-11-18 |
27,482,781 bytes |
72 |
7187 yards |
| Type |
Style |
CRZ Filename |
|
FICTIONAL |
MOUNTAIN |
Budric's Mountain Valley State P.crz |
| Course ID |
Course Key |
| cf7ed93202144a7db5a0bcfb073f1d59 |
07b846d8c685579e345865d9493bc23d |
|
LINKS CORNER REVIEW |
Reviewed by Chuck Clark
January 2002
Background: According to the Read-Me this is the first course released by Mr. Bork. The read-me does not have much further information other than this is a fictional course. I can't give you any further background. I will say however that this has to have the longest name of any course I have seen. Obviously, from the name we expect to play in a mountain valley. Let's go see what we have.
Included/Not Included: Read-Me, Splash Screen, Logo Screen, Cart Paths, Benches, Ball Washers and Clubhouse. There are no Hole Previews, handicaps or Custom Sounds (that I could hear anyway).
Overall Impression: This is an interesting and quirky golf course. It uses the Banff pano to good effect. Despite being 'in the mountains' this is a relatively level course with no major elevation changes. It is not flat though. There are lots of bumps and rolls. There are many lakes sunk below the level of the fairways. Rocky slopes generally surround them. The bunkers are deep and, at times, foreboding. There are huge trees (100 ft high?) that get in your way. It all makes for a fascinating and different golf experience.
It seems like he crowded this course into the terrain though. We are pushing the edge of the plot in a number of places, and the holes are tightly bunched at times. There are a number of tough doglegs to negotiate. And those trees! He has scaled the trees to gargantuan proportions. They reach out and grab shots like crazy. They also seem to be right in your way after a good shot. There are some minor technical errors on this course as well. They include some sharp edges, uneven cart paths and out of scale objects. There is nothing that detracts very much from the playability, just things that jump out at you on occasion.
Good Points: I liked the layout, even though it was a bit quirky and crowded at times. The trees were too severe in places, but you did have to think about each shot before playing it. After two rounds, I started to figure out where to aim and which clubs to hit. I liked the use of split rail fences. They add a strong dose of realism to this course. They crowd the tees too much some times, but they look good nonetheless. The textures are different, which is not totally a bad thing. There are many interesting holes, which require lots of thought. This is a very good thing.
Not So Good: The course was not very playable at times. The trees especially got in the way of good shots too many times. There was not much in the way of undergrowth either. I like a bit of quirkiness, but this course was over the top at times. The course was inconsistent from a technical standpoint too. As an example, the first three tees have just one marker (Red). The rest of the holes have a full compliment. The cart paths are well done in places and (to be honest) not well done in others. There are some out-of-place verts on some of the paths and they change in width from place to place. There were some out of scale objects too. Some tees had 3 or 4 ball washers. There were just a few too many things like this for my taste.
Summary: This was the first effort for Mr. Bork. If you have played this course, this won't come as a great surprise. There are technical errors indicative of a 'young' designer. It is a good course for a first attempt however. I think this course and the designer have a lot of potential. If the course was cleaned up and made more playable it would be a lot of fun. Mr. Bork needs to spend more time working on playability and softening of transitions. He needs to spread his holes out some (use a bigger plot) and use textures that go together better. I believe he can become a top designer with time and hard work.
I am both a player and a designer. I review courses primarily from the standpoint of fun and playability. I appreciate courses that are beautiful to look at, but first and foremost I want a fun experience. I have spent many hours designing courses myself, so I understand the blood, sweat and tears that go into the design process. Any critical comments made here are meant to be constructive and helpful. |
|
CLIPNOTES by Ben Bateson (ousgg) |
Description
Fictional, mountain course |
Location
TBC |
Conditions
TBC |
Concept 4/10
This is another of those courses that doesn't quite know what it wants to be. We tee off on the first amid a riot of pink and orange autumn colours, with pitching, rolling landscape and luscious looking greens. Later, the course becomes more American parkland, the tree colours change, and the other flaws of the course start shining through. This is a bit of a mish-mash that got lost halfway through, to tell the truth. |
Appearance 5/10
There are some lovely views to be had on this course, but the disjointedness doesn't work in their favour. The views over the lake are gorgeous, and the panorama is highly spectacular, if a little mismatched. Misuse of textures doesn't help the close-up views any. |
Playability 7/10
The 18 holes are enjoyable to play, and the variety of challenges on offer is persistent without being wearisome. Par 5s are perfectly gauged to provide a two-shot challenge, and one or two Par 4s are drivable. Combine this with some testing putts, and this becomes a course that, despite its flaws, calls you back for another round. |
Challenge 5/10
While the challenge initially appears to be fair (±2 would appear to be an average score), much of the challenge is artificially created. Greens are open and a fairwayed tee shot will almost inevitably finish close on the approach. However, the greens are fringed with first-cut, which is a monstrous mistake and ruins many short range approach shots. Ugly-looking deep rough lies just off the fairway and is too harsh a challenge. Hence, the too-easies cancel out the too-hards, presenting the illusion of a fair challenge. |
Technical 2/10
Quite a few flaws here need attention. The first-cut-ringed greens are foremost, and the monotonous stretches of deep rough are tight behind. Some elevations look stretched and unnatural. The panorama is unsuitable, no matter how good it looks, and bunkers are misplaced and virtually unnecessary. A lot of planting is repetitive and detracts from whatever overall theme the course has. |
| Overall |
A course with several faults, but if you can overlook the occasional monstrosity, worth a round or two. You don't ever get the impression you're on a real course, though. |
23/50 |
Please remember that Clipnote reviews are the opinion of one person and do not constitute an 'Official' Links Corner review of the course. |
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