|
Glen Abbey (Fall)
by Len Kroese
| Links Corner Course Database ID Number - 938 |
Release Date |
CRZ Filesize |
Par |
Course Length |
| 2002-06-09 |
75,110,647 bytes |
72 |
7179 yards |
| Type |
Style |
CRZ Filename |
|
REAL |
PARKLAND |
Glen Abbey (Fall).crz |
| Course ID |
Course Key |
| 847208827b0f11d69f1f0000e87eefe3 |
c534028a596ea10dedf6ace8c2a3ccaa |
|
LINKS CORNER REVIEW |
Reviewed by
Nilkas Oscarsson
July 2002
From the readme file:
"Glen Abbey is the first public golf club in Canada to be specifically designed for major tournaments with the spectator in mind. It took the expertise of designer JACK NICKLAUS to build this magnificent championship course which challenges the world's best golfers each year during the Bell Canadian Open.
There are 4 lakes, 3 on the upper level of gently rolling fairways, and 1 in the spectacular valley with its steep canyon walls, magnificent trees and menacing 16 mile creek. The eleventh hole leading into the valley is one of the most beautiful holes in all of golf.
Glen Abbey is one of only a few courses in the world that hosts a PGA Tour event and is open to the public."
First impression: The first hole is a very long par 4 that goes slightly up hill. There is a lake to the right of the tee, which doesn't come into play on this hole, but it will later. A big tree on the right side is covering a part of the fairway. You may want to fade around it. The tree colors range from green to red and some trees have already lost their leafs. Maybe not quite a credible combination, but still pretty to look at. The overall look is open and park-like. There is a fairway bunker on the left side and I decide to take a closer look at it. Around the bunker the designer has put sprays of sand and some of the nearby trees have leafs on the ground. All this is done by using custom textures and it looks excellent. The first hole is actually the longest par 4 on the course. A really tough beginning where I had to use my 5 wood to reach the green.
A walk through the course: Pretty much everything but the cart path is extruded as it seems. It probably would have been better the other way around. The problem with extrusions is that they can affect the play negatively. I do think it adds depth, realism and beauty though. The best compromise is probably to use extrusions only where they are unlikely to come into play, like on tees and cart paths.
This is clearly a championship type of course. I frequently found myself hitting middle or long irons into the green. Birdie opportunities will come on the par 5's which are all reachable. Fairways are fairly wide to begin with, but they will narrow down gradually towards the green. There are few unusual or spectacular holes on this course (#11 has a pretty extreme drop though). It's obvious however, that a great deal of thought has gone into the design. The greens are either offset or in an angle relative the fairway. Fairway bunkers are frequently protecting the opposite side to the green bunkers. What does this mean? Well, the green offset/angle dictates how your approach shot should be. It seems Jack Nicklaus has a preference for faded approaches. In order to get to the best position for the approach, one has to flirt with the fairway bunkers. You can play safe to the other side of the fairway, but it means a more difficult approach shot. Weaker players have a possibility to bump and run into the green as mostly one side is open. It may leave you with a monster putt though. The greens are fairly sloped, undulated and difficult The challenge isn't over until the ball is in the hole. I found one flag position on #15, that I thought to be on the border of fairness. Plan the first putt, so you'll have an uphill second one and you'll be all right. The bunkers are a delight to look at and they are cleverly placed so that variation and shot making is guaranteed. The last two holes change character and have plenty of bunkers on both sides. Not much to think about here. Perfect drives down the middle are required. A worthy and typical finish to a championship course.
A lot of work has been put into this course, that's clear. Custom textures and 2D objects all over the place. It's hard to believe that this is a first time effort. I would especially like to mention the hole previews. They're just about as good as it gets. One or two sounds could have enhanced the experience maybe, but that's just about all I can think of.
The verdict: Len has made an excellent job of capturing the beauty and difficulty of this course. I loved playing it. I had no problems with extrusion ricochets, but I know it has been reported on the web board. Greens are difficult, but are intended to be that way. The only real gripe I have about this course is its enormous download size. Un-typically, the size does not come from excessive planting, so the rendering times are surprisingly good. So why is it so big? I can only speculate that it's the many custom textures that take up the space. I know Len is working on a summer version of this course and maybe that's one thing to control, if really all textures are necessary/used. I'm really looking forward to the summer version. It could be a classic.
I heartily recommend this course to all types of players, provided you have a decent Internet connection.
Good luck with your future work Len and say hello to your 'Mean Irish Woman'.
|
|
CLIPNOTES by Ben Bateson (ousgg) |
Description
Real, parkland course. |
Location
TBC |
Conditions
TBC |
Concept 5/10
It's hard to know what to make of this course. No matter how realistic this representation, it does present the feel of being somewhat randomly scattered across the landscape. Only on a handful of holes does it gain a real coherence. Having said this, several additional holes have a typically-Nicklaus cunning design which isn't always apparent until too late. |
Appearance 5/10
I have issues with the tree colours, which are not always consistent with the intended time of year, and with some pretty poor extrusion edges left around nearly all the objects. Custom textures are used throughout, but make the course look inexplicably dark. You have to look closely to find the real bonuses in terms of appearance: the sand 'splashes' next to bunkers, the handsome road bridge, and the custom objects off the line of play are excellent. Sadly there are too many flaws for them to hold the course up. |
Playability 7/10
Generally, Glen Abbey plays quite smoothly, due to a variety of options on most holes, and the unusual arrangement of pars on the back nine. The frustration sets in when you miss the fairway, as the first-cut is very penal, and some woodland lies require a punch shot escape, which is generally quite unpredicatable. It's the sort of course that plays better on repeated rounds, as you discover new lines and objects, so make sure you go for it more than once. |
Challenge 8/10
Glen Abbey is a reasonable challenge, thanks to a multitude of risk/reward holes, and an excellent variety of Par 3s. The greens are tough without being unrealistic, and hazards are well placed. Perhaps, to make it a more realistic imposition on the golfer, some of the rough needs to be toned down, but then that might just make it too easy! |
Technical 4/10
Several aspects need work here. The extrusions look poor, and the greens occasionally look painted up rather than artfully constructed. The custom textures are carefully used, but could do with being a lighter shade overall. The planting at certain points looks random and unrealistic. It's a shame, but a course with so much good customisation still needs more work. |
| Overall |
Certainly a different course, in terms of visual appeal and playability. It might take some time to get to grips with, and occasionally looks a bit amateurish, but it presents some good gameplay if you persevere. |
29/50 |
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
|
|
|
