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Twin Rivers Golf Club
by Steve Avery
| Links Corner Course Database ID Number - 932 |
Release Date |
CRZ Filesize |
Par |
Course Length |
| 2002-06-02 |
39,984,652 bytes |
72 |
7172 yards |
| Type |
Style |
CRZ Filename |
|
FICTIONAL |
WOODLAND |
Twin Rivers.crz |
| Course ID |
Course Key |
| daf3b5dda33a4c43ba8a10ceb5e38c69 |
72239ffb9eefad3416e0aba66b07005c |
|
LINKS CORNER REVIEW |
Reviewed by
Chuck Clark
June 2002
Background: This is the first golf course posted at Links Corner by Mr. Avery (Ex Braves pitcher? probably not). We will let Mr. Avery speak for himself:
'TWIN RIVERS is a fictional course but I hope you find that it plays like a real course. This is my first course design using the APCD and I attempted to create a course that would have the feel of a public course that you might find in any small New England town. I did not imagine it as being a tournament course. It is more the type of course you might find yourself playing some early morning, the only person on the whole course.'
Overall Impression: After reviewing over 50 courses now for Links Corner, it is not often that I am surprised. This course absolutely stunned me! It is fantastic! I loved it! It is beautiful to look at, fascinating to play and a lot of fun. It has found a permanent place on my hard drive and it should on yours as well. Although the designer said it was meant to be a course in a small New England town, it feels to me more like a rural course somewhere in the western U.S. It reminds me a lot of some courses I have played in Idaho, California (in the mountains), Utah and Colorado. It is beautifully planted, fantastically elevated and strategically interesting. Maybe there was a few small errors (according to some people at the Review Center), but I sure didn't notice them. There were one or two holes that had some playability issues, but all in all this is a fantastic first effort.
Playability: This course is very playable and fun for pro level players. I think it should be fine for champ level players as well, except for three or four holes. The eighteenth hole (480 yard par 4) is the primary culprit. This hole requires a perfect drive to be able to get to the green on your second shot (long carry over water). And on top of that the green is pretty small and has water on almost three sides. Most of the rest of the course is generally playable though, so that one hiccup shouldn't detract you. The greens are nicely sloped without being too severe. The fairways can get a bit narrow in places, but not overly so.
Shot Values: This is a fantastic course in this regard; one of the best in my estimation. There is good use of elevations on this course and fine strategic use of planting and trees. On the tenth and fourteenth holes you are required to work a draw off the tee if you want to hit the fairway. The aforementioned eighteenth requires a slight fade. I love the fact that you have to do this on a few holes. If you had to do this on every hole, it would be too much, but for a few holes it is great. The hazards are well placed and keep you thinking. The Hole Previews were well done and had good hints about playing each hole. You definitely had to think about each shot here; and that is such a refreshing change of pace, after reviewing so many iffy courses.
Visuals: This is a beautiful golf course. I love the planting and the fantastic pano used. It seemed to fit the course perfectly and blended in really well. The textures were also very nice additions with one exception. I didn't care too much for one of the rough textures, but this is very minor overall. The hazards were well done including the running water texture. I really liked this texture. I think I have seen it somewhere before (Rio Grande?) but I am not sure. In any event, I think it is the best running water texture out there.
Technique: As mentioned above, some people said that there were a few small errors. Personally, I didn't see anything glaring, so I couldn't tell you what they are. I thought that Twin Rivers was very well done!
Summary: Considering the lack of interest in this course, I was quite surprised by it. It is a fantastically done golf course. It is beautiful to look at and fascinating to play. I heartily recommend it to everyone. It is a fine strategic golf course and really tests your game. I enjoyed it immensely and intend to keep it on my hard drive forever. You should too!
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? |
|
CLIPNOTES by Ben Bateson (ousgg) |
Description
Fictional, woodland course |
Location
The readme intimates this is designed to be typical of New England |
Conditions
You might hazard this at M*/S* or a notch faster if you're feeling brave. |
Concept 8/10
A well-worked course with just a hint of the technical proficiencies to come from this designer, Twin Rivers remains a solid creation today.
The eponymous water comes into play at all the right times, and the woodland is used very effectively to coerce creative shots out of the
golfer. The old-fashioned appearance is a necessary evil, but that shouldn't overshadow the fact that there is a well put together course
under the shell. |
Appearance 4/10
The dated textures are unfortunate, and the rivers in particular are looking dated. But they fit together reasonably well, without hard edges
or extrusion marks. The planting and panorama set some much needed sense of location, although admittedly this is sometimes the case
because the plot is unnaturally flat; indeed elevations look to have been something of an afterthought in many cases. There may be a case
made for this being a 'classic' look, but to most of us it just looks old. |
Playability 8/10
Glorious, shot-shaping, risk-reward challenge throughout, with some excellent long holes which require planning and common sense.
The hazarding is clever, because there's always the promise of a good escape and you rarely feel unjustly penalised. Perhaps the
more extreme swing types might take issue, but the motto of 'practice makes perfect' might have been designed for this course. |
Challenge 7/10
By the standards of courses a similar age, the greens are set up pretty kindly here, although some of them are pretty small, so work on
your chipping game would be well-advised! The fairways, conversely, are pretty accommodating and will set up many a good
approach. If it weren't for the intrusion of the forest, the course would be considered easy, but part of the genius of the design is in the
clever use of trees. |
Technical 6/10
I doubt Steve looks back on this with too much fondness. The visuals certainly are past their prime, but at the time this was an
outstanding piece of design work. Much of that is still evident today in the innate playability and the fact that the greens aren't out-andout
ridiculous. |
| Overall |
Still very playable more than nine years on, this is one blast from the past you
shouldn't ignore. |
33/50 |
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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