|
Golf de la Baie
by Max Deschamps
| Links Corner Course Database ID Number - 998 |
Release Date |
CRZ Filesize |
Par |
Course Length |
| 2002-08-07 |
31,319,022 bytes |
72 |
7578 yards |
| Type |
Style |
CRZ Filename |
|
FICTIONAL |
OCEAN |
Golf de la Baie.crz |
| Course ID |
Course Key |
| 7a332a0fa20140379a35e870696eeecc |
c7b4d6c12d46fca3b3e2bbf4c7efd348 |
|
LINKS CORNER REVIEW |
Reviewed by
Robert Rundel
September 2002
Mont Saint Michel is a well-known historical site, and tourist attraction, just off the Normandy Coast of France. It is a rocky conical island, completely covered by a small village, with a 13th century Benedectine abbey at it summit. A modern causeway connects the island to the coast. The bay around Mont Saint Michel is very shallow, and the tide comes in, and goes out, a very long ways.
Golf de la Baie du Saint Michel is a fictional course set along the coast near the Mont. It is somewhat reminiscent of Kanal New Course, which is also set in low flat country in the polders of the Netherlands. I would term both of them Lowland courses. This course is the second from Max Deschamps; his first course, Golf de L'ile de France, received a rating of 68%, with the comment, 'I would love to see this designer in another course or two and see what he has learned.' The answer, in my opinion, is quite a bit!
There is a brief readme file, in French, with a lovely photo of the Mont, a map, and course specifications.
The front nine plays through a territory of low-lying vegetation, with a number of smallish trees. The planting is excellent, and the well-chosen colors are true to this region. Most holes feature large sand traps in, rather than adjacent to, the fairways, so a decision is necessary whether to drive short of, or beside, or over, the bunker. Since many shots are blind, the course is very challenging to play without a top view. Greens are very large, with many slopes and ridges, and produce some interesting putts, especially with fast hard greens. Mont Saint Michel makes a few appearances in the distance, but it is on the back nine that the Mont comes to dominate the panorama.
The back nine runs right along the coast, and is dominated by canals, which break up the fairways into islands. Each island is connected to the next by a small wooden footbridge; these bridges are a great asset to the look of these holes. On the drive, you must decide which island to aim for, and how much club is required. Views of the Mont abound, the best being from the 13th tee. The tide is clearly out, and there are great stretches of sand in the distance, with a few beached boats. There are nice custom sounds of gulls and flowing water. Hole 14 has a herd of sheep, complete with shepherd, in the first area of rough just after the drive landing area.
Technically the course shows an excellent grasp of the APCD. The only errors I saw were a few straight edges and sharp angles on some of the more ambitious bunkers, particularly the one fronting the 18th green. I really miss having hole handicaps-I wish designers would consider them to be a required feature.
My favorite holes are the 13th, a long par 3 with a great view of the Mont, and the 17th, a 450 yard par 4 where your drive must clear a line of tall but wispy trees
The course is quite long, over 7500 yards. None of the par 5s is reachable in 2, and most of the par 3s require a 3 wood off the tee, such as the 13th hole shown in the first screenshot. The greens are quite large and never level. I usually play with Arnold Palmer, to see how a course stands up to a real pro; Arnold shot 69, 3 under, which is a poor score for him. This is a very challenging course! But I enjoyed playing it very much, and it will stay on my hard drive for quite a while. It is very much a European course, with great atmosphere. I look forward with interest to Mr. Duchamps' next course offering.
Summary :
Details: Fictional Lowland course, par 72, 7578 yards, 4 par 3s, 4 par 5s, 3 tees per hole. Includes cameo, a lovely splash screen, hole previews, custom panorama; no hole handicaps. |
This course is available as a FREE download.
|
|
Download course
|
Please support Links Corner
|
|
|
