|
Redhawk Ranch at Monument Valley
by Jeff Sanders
| Links Corner Course Database ID Number - 925 |
Release Date |
CRZ Filesize |
Par |
Course Length |
| 2002-05-31 |
49,194,561 bytes |
72 |
7306 yards |
| Type |
Style |
CRZ Filename |
|
FICTIONAL |
DESERT |
Redhawk Ranch.crz |
| Course ID |
Course Key |
| 806408a1743011d6ab0000036d1b9e56 |
98860f523b566ce218683c173b03e125 |
|
LINKS CORNER REVIEW |
Reviewed by
Chuck Clark
June 2002
Background: This is the fourth golf course released to Links Corner by Mr. Sanders. His first three were FUBAR, A Desert Oasis and An Ocean Bluff Country Club. I must admit that I have never played any of these, but after looking at the review of Ocean Bluff, I think I may give that one a try. It looks very interesting, to say the least. I am a fan of well done Imaginary courses, so that one deserves a look. As for Redhawk Ranch, I will let the designer speak for himself:
'This is a fictional course that exists solely in my mind. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have bringing it to life. Although this course is fictional, it was my desire to place this course in the High Deserts of Northern Arizona in Monument Valley National Park. I did my best to design this course with all types of players in mind, from Pro Clickers to Champ Power Strokers.'
Overall Impression: This is a beautifully done desert golf course, with a fantastic custom pano. Dluny has done it again (Way to go Ape)! You feel like you are really playing golf in Monument Valley, Arizona. The course itself is very well done too. The textures are rich and colorful. The layout is fun and interesting. The greens are fascinating and difficult without being overly sloped or unfair. I really enjoyed my round of golf on Redhawk Ranch. I did have one or two things I didn't like too much, but they were minor in comparison to all the good things about this course.
Playability: A very fun and playable golf course. It is pretty challenging for pro players, but not too tough for champ players. As mentioned above, the greens were really fun and playable. They had all kinds of interesting slopes and swales in them, but the pins I played with were never on any steep slopes. The areas around the greens usually had some interesting swales and hills. This made for some fascinating chips and pitches around the greens. Water doesn't come into play until the 14th hole, so you can pretty much grip-it-and-rip-it until then.
Shot Values: A very interesting golf course under this criterion. There are many tricky dog-legs, which force you to plan your distances. The slope and elevation around this course is subtle, but definitely needs your attention. Slightly off-line approach shots can be deflected away from the greens by the sharp drop-offs and elevated fronts. The greens are the best part of the course, with many interesting aspects.
Visuals: Well, if you can force yourself to look away from the fabulous pano, the rest of the golf course isn't too bad either. There are many interesting custom objects to find here including old wagon wheels, hitching posts and plows. Just the kind of stuff you would expect to find in the old west. The planting had an interesting theme as well. There was actually very little planting on the grassy areas; just an occasional tree and such. The desert areas were separated from the grass areas by low rock walls. Behind these walls was normal desert scrub and cactus. It was almost impossible though for a pro clicker to get into these desert areas, so the course really didn't play like a desert course. There were no arroyo's to cross or raw desert areas to avoid. I guess that the champ player who was missing his snap, might find the scrub on occasion, but I sure never did. But it all looked great to me except for one small detail. I didn't like the texture used for the bunkers. It was sort of lime green looking to me. I live in the southwest and have played many desert golf courses (I just played at Ventana Canyon in Tucson two weeks ago). I have never seen sand quite that color on any golf course, especially one in the desert. But that is pretty small potatoes in comparison to the rest of the golf course, which is quite beautiful to look at.
Technique: If there were any technical errors on this course, I sure didn't see any. Beautiful construction!
Summary: I highly recommend this course to just about everyone. It is a pretty large download, so that may be the only detraction. I really enjoyed seeing and playing this course. I would have liked to see a little more use of elevated tees and maybe some desert areas coming into play. In addition, I didn't really care for the sand texture, but again this is just my personal preference. All in all this is a fantastic golf course and I am sure you will really enjoy a round or two here.
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, desert course |
Location
TBA |
Conditions
TBA |
Concept 7/10
A really isolated desert course, Redhawk Ranch would terrify an
agoraphobic with its low-planted surrounding and desert panorama
stretching out unto infinity. It plays surprisingly links-like, though, and it
would have been nice to see the red desert brought into play more. The
designer hasn't gone overboard with trickiness until the outrageous final
hole, which may or may not be a good thing, depending on your
preference. |
Appearance 6/10
There's not a huge amount to see here, given the flattish landscaping. Only the monument-studded panorama (sadly the monuments
do not come into play) is of real interest. It would have been nice to see some altogether more yellowing grass textures, but the
bunkers are inspiredly cast out of gravel-ridden sand, and the sandy paths matching the surrounding desert are a smart touch. |
Playability 7/10
Many doglegs call for precision length of drive, and thankfully are not too closely guarded. Approach shots, too, will often need care
and judgement. It's not always riveting stuff, but a round passes pretty inoffensively, thanks to some surprisingly good variety around
the fairways and the challenges created by the hillocks in the rough. |
Challenge 4/10
Disappointingly, given the stern reputation of too many desert courses, Redhawk Ranch is something of a pushover. There are just too
many flat lies into open greens, and putts are often quite readable from 20 metres upwards. Gratifyingly, all the Par 5s are reachable
with careful and unaggressive play. Birdies should almost be taken for granted. |
Technical 8/10
Very sound indeed. A few hard edges mark the edge of shapes, and just a few things seem a bit too taken for stock, but there is a
pleasing (and surprising) amount of customisation, and the elevations have been skilfully handled without shooting the course out of
type. The atmospheric panorama really is the finishing touch as far as setting the scene goes. |
| Overall |
One of the better desert courses, thanks to some restraint and cleverness on the
part of the designer. |
32/50 |
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.
|
|
Download course
|
Please support Links Corner
|
|
|
