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Coal Creek Canyon
by Frank Coat
| Links Corner Course Database ID Number - 941 |
Release Date |
CRZ Filesize |
Par |
Course Length |
| 2002-06-13 |
23,077,476 bytes |
72 |
7182 yards |
| Type |
Style |
CRZ Filename |
|
FICTIONAL |
MOUNTAIN |
CoalCreekCanyon.crz |
| Course ID |
Course Key |
| d5e8bbc83b5045db85336630aa5dcf0a |
b225a15d5f53fd75aa24580da73e70a3 |
|
LINKS CORNER REVIEW |
Reviewed by
Mike Nifong
July 2002
Course type: Coal Creek Canyon is a fictional, mountain valley style course which is geographically located in the Laurel Mountains of Southwest Pennsylvania, and temporally situated somewhere near the peak of the autumn season.
Historical perspective: Coal Creek Canyon, which was released on June 13, 2002, is the third of Frank Coat's APCD creations, following Mackenzie Mountain (October 2001; a more traditional fictional mountain course that uses the Whistler pano) and Villa de Santa Rosa (March 2002; a fictional California coastal course in the Pebble Beach mould). The three courses have been received with remarkable consistency by this community, each having received a 3-star user rating (70-79%). With this course, as with its predecessors, that rating seems a bit on the low side. Each features Frank's trademark bird houses (there is probably one on every hole, although I would not swear to that), and all three have found places in my permanent collection.
I would also note that each of Frank's first two courses is currently in its second incarnation. The second version of Villa de Santa Rosa addressed, if memory serves, a few rough edges and some long rendering times; I cannot recall the reason for version two of Mackenzie Mountain. For those of you who worry about such things, I did not find anything to suggest that a second version of Coal Creek Canyon will be necessary.
What is included: At 21.8MB, this course is less than half the size of Frank's first course and only about 80% as large as the current average. As you might expect, this tidy file size comes at a price: in addition to the de rigueur splash screen and cameo, the only other inclusion is a brief read-me explaining the course origin and containing a dedication and acknowledgements. Most conspicuous by their absence are hole previews - some may dispute their usefulness, but in my opinion they add a significant if not precisely quantifiable touch of personality to a course, to the extent that I expect that they will be included with the best courses. Not a reason (for me) to dismiss a course outright, but most definitely an opportunity missed.
Technical merit:
Very nice work here. I found no mesh shadows, no bad edges, no awkward elevations.
That having been said, there was something of a rudimentary quality to the bunkers, which are lipless in the pre-APCD Access tradition. It is not that there are obvious errors, and this may have been a conscious design choice given the overall smoothness of the course, but much more can be done with bunkers these days - and usually is.
Artistic achievement:
I will confess to being a little leery of any course that sports an autumn pano. It seems that those vibrant fall colors often inspire designers to attempt to make the foreground compete for attention rather than allowing it to appear in more subtle contrast, and the results can sometimes be a little too much. For the most part, Frank has avoided such excess in Coal Creek Canyon. There are one or two places where the foreground colors seem a touch too vivid in tone, or where the proliferation of colorful trees threatens to overwhelm the overall balance, but on the whole the color choices are tasteful and reasonably realistic. When considering factors other than color, the overall planting scheme is quite effective. One does notice the occasional lone tree that, for want of under planting, sticks out a little too starkly, an effect that should be greatly lessened with the much-anticipated return of shadows later this year.
The grass textures have a very smooth appearance - arguably too much so, although certainly in keeping with the texture properties chosen. There is, for example, no first cut on the fairways as one usually thinks of it, where it forms a transition zone a few feet wide between the fairway and the rough. Instead, Frank opts for a much larger expanse of grass with first cut properties in the places one would normally expect to find the rough (a texture that, as such, appears to be totally absent). The smooth appearance extends to the lipless bunkers, although perhaps a little less smoothness would have been in order here. There is no denying, however, that the cumulative effect of all these design choices is an absolutely lovely course.
I was a little surprised at the absence of a cart path, which I more or less expect on all but fantasy courses. Not a major shortcoming, to be sure, but not completely consistent with a course that is otherwise so meticulously maintained, either.
You might expect that a course named Coal Creek Canyon would prominently feature Coal Creek. That turns out not to be the case; indeed, there is not a creek to be found (perhaps it runs through another part of the canyon). The water on the course consists instead of a series of small ponds lined with rock walls. Some of these ponds are rather creek-like in appearance, as if they were laid out along the course of some ancient but no longer existing stream. I do think that you will find these water treatments, however much they may vary from your expectations, to be absolutely beautiful, adding tremendously to the visual appeal of the course.
Play value:
I am going to just come out and tell you here at the outset: this course simply plays too easy to provide much of a challenge to the average pro clicker. How easy was it? My first round, played b/m/m/m, I was -9 (10 birdies, one bogey when I caught both a fairway bunker and a greenside bunker). My next round, played b/m/m/d, I was -12 (10 birdies and a hole-in-one on the par-3 #8 - my first in Links 2001). And it was not just me. Playing under benign conditions (b/m/m/m) my computer foursome of Garcia, Tanaka, Forsman and Weir were a combined -35 (-6 to -10), hitting 75% of the fairways (50-92%) and 83% of the greens (72-94%), which was one stroke better than the previous low I had recorded using this evaluation technique. But when I tried to make it tough on them (w/f/f/d, a setting that on average results in a combined total about 17 strokes higher in my tests), they scored even better: a combined total of -36 (-8 to -11), FIR 70% (57-85%), GIR 80% (66-88%). Needless to say, it was the first time that had happened.
I am not certain why this course does not present more of a challenge, but I suspect that the previously mentioned fact that the majority of the rough area is assigned first cut properties, extending the area into which you can hit without suffering a really punitive lie a considerable distance on either side of the already generous fairways, is a major factor. Even where the thick grass texture is employed, it often consists of just a narrow swath, not much wider than a cart path, followed by a return to the first cut texture, so you pretty much have to hit the ball into the water or the trees to wind up in real trouble. This lack of trouble off the tee further translates into removing some of the teeth from the greens (which, considered on their own, are nicely designed to provide a challenge without being unfair): since you will almost always find yourself hitting out of a good lie, you can take your approach shot right at the pin. With the exception of #10 (where I was always on the green after my tee shot anyway), I found that I was rarely faced with a putt of more than 15 feet, and most were less than 10 feet. Even I can hit a fair share of those.
I should also point out that there is a substantial differential in difficulty between the front and back nines, with the front nine being much the easier. This is not necessarily a problem, but it is something you will likely notice. The aforementioned computer foursome was -24 and -25 on the front, -11 both times on the back; my own experience was comparable.
The four par-5's are not generally reachable from the back tees, at least under normal circumstances. A favorable wind may sometimes allow you to reach on #9 and #17, but these holes are probably most propitiously thought of as good birdie opportunities rather than chances at eagles. The computer players, incidentally, did find an alternate approach to #14, which is absolutely unreachable as laid out. Although risky, it may be worth trying if you need to make up some ground fast: off the tee, fade a 5W around the trees on the right to the beginning of the fairway on #13 (if you miss the fairway, you will be in a very playable first cut texture, but if you do not fade your shot enough you will probably be in the trees); successful execution will leave you about a 3W (perhaps up a click or so) directly over the trees on the right side of the green to reach in two (if you miss your approach shot in either direction, however, you will find trouble - a bunker to the left and water to the right).
As partial compensation for the mostly unreachable par-5's, Frank does give us a drivable par-4 in the 297-yard #10. The green is reachable under just about all circumstances, but you should expect your first putt to be a long one; in other words, a good birdie hole on which eagles will be rare.
The bottom line: Well, you know I am going to keep it because of that ace. And I would probably also keep it because Frank comes across as a good guy in the read-me. But the reason that you should give it a try is that, degree of challenge notwithstanding, this is a very attractive and well executed course that may prove to be just the ticket if you prefer to play at the more difficult levels, or if you just want to enjoy a relaxing round in a lovely setting.
Course Statistics :
Par 72; 5 sets of tees; 7182 yards from back tees; holes are handicapped. |
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CLIPNOTES by Ben Bateson (ousgg) |
Description
Fictional, farmland course. |
Location
TBC |
Conditions
TBC |
Concept 6/10
The overwhelming impression from the first tee at Coal Creek Canyon is of colour. Vibrant pinks, oranges and yellows make a mind-blowing visual, and to be honest it's likely to be a bit much for some. But I would urge anyone to at least give the course a test drive. It's formulaic at times, but at others there are some inviting little nooks and hideaways which are just that little bit special. To be honest, the flat terrain tends to undermine the course's aspirations to be a mountain course, but the designer has lent the landscape sufficient charm to carry things off nicely. |
Appearance 6/10
It largely depends on whether you can stand the bright colours in the trees and panorama, and I have to say they're not particularly to my tastes. The panorama does little to help, although some sensitive grass planting belies the age of this design. Elsewhere, although the surface has been handled gently, the green textures are in stark contrast to the top layer, and there are a few extrusion marks visible. |
Playability 6/10
There's a nice variety of holes here, without ever giving the impression that they've been tricked up. The challenges are moderately engaging, although to be honest I'm unimpressed by the lack of complexity in the green surrounds - I holed four chip-ins during my test round. With some fairly unimpressive bunkers, it could be argued that the course lacks variety, but it's fun enough once in a while. |
Challenge 4/10
Coal Creek Canyon is an odd combination of the easy and the impossible. Some shots will come close, others will be just frustrating. It's far from ideal, sadly, and your score appears to be more reliant on pure luck than on skill for your part. To counterbalance this, there are some open fairways and surprisingly acceptable greens, but it's really all just a big gamble. |
Technical 5/10
In its time, Coal Creek Canyon was a top course. There's some impressive 3D work and grass planting which still holds up well today. The impression now, though, is that it's adopted a bit of a scattergun approach, plus of course is pushing its boundaries of taste with the array of colours. |
| Overall |
Worth playing for an almost Easter-egg-like quality to some of its visuals. Wear sunglasses. |
27/50 |
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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