| Links Corner Course Database ID Number - 97 |
Release Date |
CRZ Filesize |
Par |
Course Length |
| 2001-02-10 |
16,131,033 bytes |
72 |
6777 yards |
| Type |
Style |
CRZ Filename |
|
FICTIONAL |
TROPICAL |
Everglade C.C..crz |
| Course ID |
Course Key |
| dbf78104ff3411d4973300104c122bbb |
c1e1cffe3d501cdbafa3dd84604fa9f1 |
|
LINKS CORNER REVIEW |
Reviewed by Dave Campbell May 2001
Expectations: I have a soft spot for tropical courses and this is what I expected to find with Everglades C.C.
First Impressions: This course is the second of three releases to the Links Corner by Monte, his first being 'Wicked Desert' and the last called 'TPC @ Mountain Pass'. After reviewing this course I'll have to make sure I check out his others because I liked what I saw with this offering. It's a fictional tropical setting and is a par 72 that plays 6,777 from the back tees but seems MUCH longer.
You can get in trouble with virtually every shot. Water is ever present and there are bunkers galore. Deep grass butts right up to the fairway and there are patches of unplayable wild grass in several places. It is a real open, inventive layout though and has the feel of a real golf course. There are objects strewn about the course that give it a resort feel. There are trashcans and ball washers on the tees, golf carts, cart paths, picnic benches, birdhouses, a satellite dish, a boat, all types of houses and what looks like a resort hotel (or perhaps clubhouse) visible from the 9th and 18th holes.
The place to start is the water. It is on every hole and comes into play on almost every shot. You have ocean and inland lakes. Many island or semi-island greens and quite a few drives with water lining both sides of the fairway. Usually you have some fringe or rough to help keep your ball playable but you really have to make sure your snap is on. The most interesting thing Monte did was to have a calm water ocean area. At first I thought this was an error and it doesn't look perfect but soon decided that this was his intention. I used the attached screenshot to hopefully give you a look. He uses the wavy ocean texture and then as it gets closer to the shore, or comes into a bay, he uses the reflective property. Have to give him credit for trying something different.
The greens played fair and were done pretty good for the most part. I noticed a few hard angles and some sharp texture seams but nothing too bad. Nothing easy about the greens, they were a stern test.
The bunkers were OK, nothing spectacular. Most had an extruded wall that had very sharp edges in most cases, with a dirt texture mapped to the walls. Most importantly they played realistically. Unfortunately I tested this regularly, particularly the greenside variety.
Drawbacks: Although the water was a beautiful and strong presence on this course I did noticed quite a few reflection anomalies, from the back tees on the 16th for one. There were several more throughout the course but were few and far between. I might not have even noticed some of them if I wasn't reviewing.
As I mentioned previously the bunkers could have used a little more polish. So many course releases now have spectacular bunker work that they becomes very noticeable when not finished properly. I also noticed a red line at the bottom of a bunker wall in the 10th fairway.
This course, and some of the holes in particular, could be considered too tough. The par 4 13th hole has a large pond right in the middle of the fairway (ala the sand bunker in the fairway at Doral Blue). To make matters worse there is water lining both sides of the fairway with little but rough to catch your ball on both sides. Looked good but very hard. FYI, I hit into the deep grass on the left side (better than water :0). That is probably the most extreme example but there are many such choices presented to you during the round.
Best Hole: I like the 599-yard par 5 15th hole. It is very reminiscent of the 10th at Key Biscayne except even tougher. The hole has a zigzag layout that ends up with a third shot approach to an island green. Many were great; the par 4 9th is a big island green that could be driven if you have the stones (balls) and offers a great view. My screenshot shows an approach to the 11th green to hopefully illustrate the ocean water I alluded to earlier.
Comparable courses: Links of Key Biscayne and Doral's Blue Monster by John Anderson, Xilver Lagoon by Rick Weathers in looks but not quite the same quality.
Overall: I like this course a lot. The comparisons to John Anderson's and Rick Weathers' courses are in look and feel only since this course falls a bit short from a technical standpoint. The layout is marvelous and I enjoyed my rounds from beginning to end. I plan on keeping this course and recommend you download and try it for yourself, the size is right. If this course was reworked it could be top flight but is very enjoyable as is. Good job Monte, I'll be keeping an eye out for your next one.
Filesize 10MB
Course Info :
Splash Screen? Yes
Cameo Screen? No
Text file? No
Hole Previews? No |
This course is available as a FREE download.
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