| Links Corner Course Database ID Number - 930 |
Release Date |
CRZ Filesize |
Par |
Course Length |
| 2002-06-02 |
20,689,887 bytes |
72 |
7505 yards |
| Type |
Style |
CRZ Filename |
|
FICTIONAL |
PARKLAND |
Valley Lakes C.C..crz |
| Course ID |
Course Key |
| d7808ea8bf5642849d08de5eeb9fb4ed |
bb08306a7e8ecd53927024e52df77d67 |
|
LINKS CORNER REVIEW |
Reviewed by
Chuck Clark
June 2002
Background: This is the first golf course posted at Links Corner by Mr. Robinson. According to his read-me though, this is the second course he has done. Here is what he said in the read-me:
'This is my 2nd course to date. It is a par 72 with water in play on a lot of the holes. It features 2 island green on 11 and 18. I guess hole 7 would be the signature hole, playing at almost 200 yards from the back. It is all carry over water to a semi-redan style green, with heavy grass to catch errant shots that the lake fail to get. There is also a covered bridge to access the green from the cart path. The heavy grass here is also very abundant on several other holes to this course.'
Overall Impression: Well the first impression you get of this course is of the Whistler Pano (again!). Although this is a beautiful looking pano, I (and everyone else) have seen this pano so many times, that it is hard not to say 'oh no, not again' when you see it. This is a mountain pano, but this is not a mountain golf course. It is more like a course you would find in Louisiana, than one in British Columbia. Don't get me wrong, it is nicely done and fun to play, but the pano just doesn't fit this course. There is nice planting done here with high grasses and lots of water. It will be pretty unforgiving of champ level players, but pro players should really enjoy this course. The textures appear to be custom ones, with lots of mower strips everywhere you look. There is a lot of water and some narrow and challenging greens as well. All in all it is a fun course, but it just didn't make me want to come back for more.
Playability: This is a serious issue with this course. It is pretty tough to play. There is lots of water, high grasses and small/narrow greens. Some of the pins were on some bad spots as well. The two island greens were pretty small and shallow. You will post some really big numbers here if you are missing your snap. The high grasses are very unforgiving; you pretty much have to just chip out 90-degrees. This is a fun course for pro players, but I wouldn't recommend it for champ players.
Shot Values: There is a good assortment of shots required here. However, there is very little elevation change across this course. It is pretty flat from tee to green. Considering the pano, I would expect to see a bit more use of elevation here. But this course does test your ability to hit straight drives and precise irons. You have to plan your way around pretty carefully as well. Good Hole Previews would have been nice, but the ones included were just simple screen shots like the top cam (see picture). They didn't give you any information about distances or such. They were a waste of time, since you could just look at the top cam instead.
Visuals: This is a very pretty golf course (see pictures). The deep grasses, the custom textures and the use of lots of objects added greatly to the effect. There were a couple of things that didn't seem right to me though (besides the pano). Many of the trees used were Eucalyptus. Eucalyptus trees are arid country trees you see in Southern California and Australia. I can almost guarantee that you will never see a Euc. in British Columbia. My other big beef is some of the bridges used. There was a couple of places where the bridges were completely out-of-scale; especially on hole #11. On a good note however, I really liked the planter area next to the fourth green (see picture). It was really well done and looked really cool! Of course there were some succulent type plants here that (again) would never grow in the Whistler area; but I guess I'm beating a dead horse by now, huh?
Technique: This course was generally very well done, except for just a few minor glitches. I saw a bad shadow or two, some sharp texture edges and the aforementioned bridges.
Summary: This is a fun and interesting golf course. I enjoyed playing it, but it didn't make a strong impression on me. I would definitely recommend it to pro level players for a fun challenge. I would have to say to champ-level players to probably stay away; it would probably be too severe for them. It is not a real big download though, so it is worth a look-see. It does have some interesting looking and playing golf holes, so should probably judge it for yourself. I really would have liked to see some better Hole Previews and a little better playability.
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
Read-Me: Yes
Handicaps: No
Custom or added Sounds: Yes |
This course is available as a FREE download.
|
|
Download course
|
Please support Links Corner
|
