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Pebble Beach Classic (ver 1.1)
by Les Wellard & David Russell
| Links Corner Course Database ID Number - 874 |
Release Date |
CRZ Filesize |
Par |
Course Length |
| 2002-04-24 |
52,062,612 bytes |
72 |
6800 yards |
| Type |
Style |
CRZ Filename |
|
REAL |
OCEAN |
PebbleClassic.crz |
| Course ID |
Course Key |
| 785d617edfe1452080c07218e2a4e89a |
6e7b01c5f5d1aff7142a67831a9e32b1 |
|
LINKS CORNER REVIEW |
Reviewed by Joe Turner `Loner' May 2002
I have included some of the history and notes from David's two readme's for your approval:
The History
Jack Neville and Douglas Grant first laid out the Pebble Beach course in 1919, along the Stillwater cove. In 1922 William Herbert Fowler transformed the 18th hole from a 379-yard par 4 to a 548-yard par 5 that is quite simply now one of the very best finishing holes in golf. In 1929 in preparing for the U.S. Amateur Championship, H.Chandler Egan reshaped and rebunkered each green, and moved the 1st tee to create today's opening hole which doglegs right. He also reconfigured the 10th hole, added length to the 2nd, 9th and 14th holes and moved the 16th green to a natural depression behind a grove of trees, extending the hole more than 100 yards. Later, in preparation for the 1992 U.S. Open, Jack Nicklaus was hired as a consultant on a project that included rebuilding the greens at holes 4, 5 and 7. Finally in 1998 the 5th hole was reconstructed again by Jack Nicklaus.
The Open Championships
In 1972 Pebble Beach hosted its first U.S. Open golf championship which was won by Jack Nicklaus. In 1982 The U.S. Open returned, and featured one of the most talked about shots in golf, the battle between Tom Watson and Jack Nicklaus. In a tight contest Watson completely missed the 17th green with Nicklaus safely on. Watson then went on to sink his chip shot to take a one shot lead, and went on to birdie the 18th to win the title. 1992 saw Tom Kite was out on the course at hole 7 and in trouble in deep grass. He then pitched his ball out of the deep grass and in a moment reminiscent of Tom Watson's 1982 chip shot on 17, it dropped right into the hole. Kite then played a solid finishing round for a two-stroke victory and his first "Major" title. In 2000 Pebble Beach hosted the U.S. Open for the 100th anniversary of the championship. Tiger Woods captured the trophy, beating his nearest competitor by a massive 15 strokes.
Background
Pebble Beach Classic is not a brand new course design but an update to the Pebble Beach 1930 edition.
I originally worked with Les Wellard on the 1930's course as a consultant and assisted with strategy and general planting and lay out ideas. The full credit for the apcd work on the original course rests with Les, and ultimately this will always be his design. However, following its release we both agreed there was room for an update and the idea for the 'Classic' course was formed as a joint venture.
I made progress on the update until sadly Les left the Links scene and my work then went unfinished for a long period. However I eventually decided that the course really should be completed, and I enlisted some help in certain areas to complement my own skills.
The amendments are listed below :
New Cameo Screen, Start up Screen and Hole Previews
Custom Flags
Sea Panorama
Grass Textures
Elevations
Ground Level Replant
Tree Replant / Resize to improve course strategy
Fairways and Greens Resized in places
Rough properties amended to play as deep grass, 1st Cut plays as normal rough to reflect the US Open conditions
Wildlife Added
The course importantly retains the same lay out and concept of the original. It is still an interpretation of the course from a time gone by, before it became more built up.
For me to tell you how to play or what Pebble Beach looks like would be presumptuous. It has been a classic among classics for links and other golfing Sims for years. The eighteenth hole is legendary in golf, most likely the most famous and most recognized hole that exists and it has been beautifully recreated for this course. His colors, planting and overall treatment of this course shows us what it must have looked like before the surrounding areas were developed. The small touches, the bird perched on the bench on the # 1 tee, rakes in the bunkers on # 4 and # 16, the ocean sounds and yes even those annoying but very familiar trees that seem to jump in your way on holes # 1, # 3 and # 14. Fades, draws and the occasional 3w off the tee give you the feeling of the true course. The elevations and the caddie work beautifully here and the putting has just the slight 'bite' that you would expect from Pebble. I played it in beta and I've played it a number of times before playing it for this review. This is a course that I've played as many times as all of you and this is a marvelous rendition of it. This isn't only a keeper but a required course for your hard drive collection. Download and play it over and over, you'll never tire of it.
Reviewer Note
I am a player not a designer and therefore rate a course as a player for other players.
Summary :
Included: readme (2), cameo. Splash, hole previews signs and numbers, custom flag, cart path, ball washers, crowds, leaderboards and other objects.
Not Included: recorded round or custom tees.
Statistical Information: par 72, 6800y, 3 sets of tees, 4-3 pars, 10-4 pars, 4-5 pars. |
|
CLIPNOTES by Ben Bateson (ousgg) |
Description
Real, ocean course |
Location
TBA |
Conditions
TBA |
Concept 9/10
Never mind golf courses in space, in the dark, and in imaginary lands.
Why not try and recreate a course as it was 70 years ago? That's the
simple premise behind this course and it actually succeeds in the large
part. There is endless entertainment in playing both the 'Old' and 'New'
versions of Pebble Beach and spotting the changes (a couple of holes
have been moved completely), and strangely you do actually get the
impression of being taken back in time. The course doesn't quite have the
refinement, length or challenge that features today, hence it doesn't quite achieve full marks. |
Appearance 8/10
Perhaps this hasn't been quite as refined as the modern Pebble Beach. There are still some hard edges remaining, the rock work
around the ocean has suffered, and just a couple of less believable changes in the terrain. But there's still some sumptuous planting to
look at, and the ambience that comes from the lack of concrete roads and modern resort buildings. |
Playability 7/10
Golfers in the 1930s were a pretty undemanding lot, and to some extent this course reflects that. The rough is less demanding; the
fairways more receptive, and there'll be less ingenuity required out on the course. There's masses of curiosity value, though, and this
course certainly shouldn't be neglected because of that. But perhaps it's not quite as in-your-face exciting as the modern version. |
Challenge 6/10
It's incredible how essentially the same course has been developed over the course of years to become so much harder. The rough is
only part of it, for in this version the hazard boundaries are pushed back, the greens seem infinitely easier, and of course the trees are
quite a bit less intimidating. The course feels much more open and relaxed, and you'll undoubtedly see your score improve as a result. |
Technical 9/10
A lot of work has gone into designing and refining here. It's not 100% perfect, there are some elevation problems to iron out, the
coastline is still short of the very highest standards, and I don't think the textures are a patch on Chuck Clark's Pebble Beach. But there
are big ticks in all the right places, and other than those quibbles this is technically a very fine course. |
| Overall |
A great idea, and one that needs to be repeated with other courses. It's interesting
to see how the course has changed, but even the nostalgia buffs will accede that
the present-day course wins hands down. |
39/50 |
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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