| Links Corner Course Database ID Number - 723 |
Release Date |
CRZ Filesize |
Par |
Course Length |
| 2002-01-01 |
36,750,656 bytes |
72 |
7310 yards |
| Type |
Style |
CRZ Filename |
|
FICTIONAL |
MOUNTAIN |
Wrecking Crew Golf Club The Cour.crz |
| Course ID |
Course Key |
| 35eb6befdeec4aebbe748fd7c8c9b809 |
129982f5370f059fea645e8b53d5512c |
|
LINKS CORNER REVIEW |
Reviewed by
Chuck Clark
February 2002
Background: This is the first course released by Mr. Haney, but certainly not the first course worked on by Mr. Harding. From what I understand, most of the work here was done by Mr. Haney, with Mr. Harding in a sort of consultant type of role. I apologize if I am wrong about this. This golf course is meant to be sort of an official club course for the Wrecking Crew links site. I am not that familiar with this group, since I have never really played in on-line tournaments or tours. I don't know too much about these things, so I have no 'baggage' with anybody here. I am quite familiar with Mr. Harding's courses and have to admit that I have never been very impressed. But this is a new course and a new designer, so I will take a look at this course with open eyes.
Overall Impression: This is a woodsy, mountain type course using the whistler pano again. I have seen this pano so many times; I know it better than the back of my hand. But you don't really see it much here, since the planting is so thick and extensive. This course was listed as fictional but I really think it should be logged under the imaginary category. There are a number of fantasy type holes with island greens and fairways (see above). The planting is extensive and dynamic. There are lots of brightly colored trees and bushes, as well as extensive undergrowth and forests of bigger trees (see below). The look is pretty busy to say the least. Some other general impressions include extensive use of extrusions, no fringes around the greens, 150 yard posts in the middle of the fairways and interesting hole previews. There is a lot to see and do here and it is a pretty tough course as well. You need to play this course with the top view on and if you play champ, expect to shoot a high score.
Good Points: Starting with the zip file, there is a lot of stuff included here. There are pictures of every hole, a good read-me with descriptions of each hole and pictures of the scorecard. This is a nice addition to any course. This is a fun golf to play as well. It has lots of interesting holes and unusual shots. It definitely keeps you thinking, which is always a good thing. I liked the planting and I didn't like the planting. It was very well done, but a bit too bizarre in places. There were a number of brightly colored trees and bushes that did not seem to carry any theme. They sure looked good though. I also thought that the layout was pretty good, but it bordered on the fantasy zone at times (see below). There were some pretty unforgiving holes to say the least. I also liked and didn't like the extrusions. We all have our opinions about extrusions. Some people really like them and some people don't. I don't use them on my courses because they are such a lot of work. I do think they look good when well done, but I don't like the weird bounces I get. I thought they were pretty well done on this course, but I did get a bizarre kick off one on the first hole, so it made me pretty mad at the time it happened.
Not So Good: There were some technical errors with this course, the most blatant being the sharp edges of most texture transitions. These were especially bad on the elevated fairways and greens used on the island holes (see picture at top of page). These types of things really detract from the believability of a golf course and should be fixed. When you have many of these it makes the course look like a computer game, not the real thing. I also thought that this course could stand to be a little more playable. It was pretty tough. As mentioned above the planting was weird, the extrusions were unkind and the pano was the same as ever. Another pet peeve was the lack of fringes around the greens. I have never seen a golf course in real life that went from rough to green, without some sort of transition. These are two completely different types of grasses and can't be butted up against each other.
Summary: To summarize, this is an interesting and fun golf course. There are some weird holes and strange planting that detract from the overall experience. However, for a first effort (by Mr. Haney) it is pretty good. It is a large download though. At close to 40 MB we have come to expect a pretty good course. I can not recommend it to guys with slow downloads. It is just not good enough for them to spend that kind of time downloading it. For fast connection guys, you should probably check this one out. It is fun and unusual enough to stand out from the crowd. With a little better work on texture transitions, planting and playability this could be a great course.
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.
Included/Not Included:
Cameo: Yes
Splash Screen: Yes
Hole Previews: Yes
Tee Signs: No
Custom Tee Markers: No
Custom Flags: Yes
Handicaps: Yes
Custom or Added Sounds: No? |
This course is available as a FREE download.
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