|
The Mountain Course at Seneca
by Ed Balaun
| Links Corner Course Database ID Number - 906 |
Release Date |
CRZ Filesize |
Par |
Course Length |
| 2002-05-07 |
36,785,239 bytes |
71 |
7062 yards |
| Type |
Style |
CRZ Filename |
|
FICTIONAL |
MOUNTAIN |
mtnseneca.crz |
| Course ID |
Course Key |
| f73e864087ce4d00afd271627e05228f |
8f3baa48d523a5fae90b9d6bd2a9e4b3 |
|
LINKS CORNER REVIEW |
Reviewed by
Chuck Clark
July 2002
Background: This is one of seven golf courses at Links Corner done by Mr. Balaun. Ed is one of the best and brightest APCD designers around. His work is very well thought of by most everyone including me. I have always loved Firestone North. On May 7th, 2002, he released three golf courses for public consumption. The other two, Misty Mountain Hop and Castaway Island were both very good. I reviewed Misty Mountain Hop and just loved it. I am expecting more great things from this course.
Overall Impression: This course was built around a pano done by Dan Kilbanks. It is an interesting and colorful pano. The course that Ed built matches it very well. The Mountain Course at Seneca is a very colorful and appealing golf course. There are numerous rock outcroppings, lakes and colorful trees. The textures are custom ones with a bluish tint. This is generally a course for pro clickers. It is a bit too tight for champ players, especially off the tee. There are some tight fairways and a few quirky dog-legs. The planting is very well done and the APCD work is almost flawless. I enjoyed this course quite a bit, but was not completely thrilled with it.
Playability: As mentioned above, I think that the fairways are a bit too confining for champ level players. They may be frustrated with some of the dog-legs. The greens are nicely sloped however. A few of them are a bit small, but all in all this is a good set of greens. There are lots of hazards to get into here, and you could run up a high score if you are missing your snap. For pro players this is a good and challenging golf course. Champ level players may get a bit discouraged here though.
Shot Values: A really good course for testing your game. You need to work the ball off many tees and aim carefully to avoid the bad areas. The bunkers and hazards are well placed and need to be considered. There was a couple of great short par 4's; which I just love on a golf course. The fifteenth especially was a really fun and interesting hole; you had a real good opportunity to make eagle here with a great tee shot.
Visuals: This course is very colorful. In trying to match the pano, Ed has used some very colorful flowering trees. These are generally well done and not too obtrusive, but there were one or two which didn't fit in. The rock outcroppings are out of the ordinary too and add to the visual agenda. There is a lot to look at here and the course isn't too bad either. The hazards are well done and the planting is top notch. The one thing I didn't like visually was the textures. They seemed to have a bluish tint to them which I didn't care for. But this is just a personal preference, you may really like them.
Technique: The course is very well done technically speaking. The only small problem I saw was a few sharp texture transitions, especially around the fifteenth green. The work with the rock outcroppings was unusually well done. It is hard to work with these textures because they almost invariable don't tile very well. If you get them looking good up close, then they usually don't look good in the top cam; and visa versa. Ed seemed to walk this tight rope very well here.
Summary: As like all of Ed Balaun's courses, I really enjoyed this one. I didn't quite like it as much as Misty Mountain Hop or especially Firestone North. But it is very well done nonetheless. I heartily recommend it to just about everyone. I would caution champ level players to expect a tough challenge though. It is an interesting and colorful golf course. I would think it would be worth your time to download it and check it out.
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: Yes
Custom Flags: Yes
Read-Me: Yes
Handicaps: Yes
Custom or added Sounds: Yes |
|
CLIPNOTES by Ben Bateson (ousgg) |
Description
Fictional, mountain course. |
Location
TBA |
Conditions
TBA |
Concept 8/10
A good model of restraint in building such a course, Seneca employs
many of the mountain course trademarks, but calmly plays some highly
decent and uncontrived golf around them. The autumn oranges make a
welcome contrast to the pine planting - indeed the course is exceptionally
well planted - and the holes are laid out convincingly and utilising a wide
variety of ideas. It won't stick in the memory, but it's a very strong and
convincing construction. |
Appearance 7/10
This is an old course, and the hallmarks of harsh transitions and some odd mapping (particularly on the rock work) stand out.
Thankfully, these are only occasionally to your detriment and the beautiful panorama and top-quality planting hold up the appearance
beautifully. |
Playability 7/10
Thanks to a lack of gimmickry while maintaining an impressive hole design, Seneca plays impressively well. It's open and
accommodating while maintaining a stiff challenge through the elevations. There's thankfully little repetition and, although the fairways
are a little too easy to land, the approach shots really call on all your ingenuity. |
Challenge 10/10
Nigh on perfect, I'd say. Pars are never a given, and the close proximity of bunkers and deep rough will call on plenty of ingenuity.
You'll work for birdies, as should be appropriate and - best of all - holes of all lengths provide an apt and equal challenge. A rare thing
indeed. |
Technical 6/10
A cracking use of textures and panorama helps this course, and little touches such as the bunker walling and planting around the
green obviously state the designer's attention to detail. But those damn texture transitions do too much to draw attention to
themselves, and there's the nagging feeling that this course could really use an update. |
| Overall |
On a graph of age against quality, this would surely be among the leaders. A little
old hat now in terms of the design, but there's still some magnificently understated
golf. |
38/50 |
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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