
			Drift-Wood G.C. by Mike Jones 
		---------------------------------------------


Feb 17 2001

Hi , My name is Mike Jones and to give you a bit of background , I am a real life! Professional golfer.Ive been a pro for 11 years the highlight of which was playing in the PGA cup for Great Britain against the U.S.A at the Broodmoor, Colorado. I must have played around 500 courses around the world from the U.S to Sweden to South Africa and hope by now I have an understanding of what makes a good golf hole both in real life and in computer golf.

This course is my attempt at creating some nice testing holes that are both tacticaly and visually atractive.

The course was completed about a week ago and has been beta tested with some of my friends.
Here are some of the things found and the action taken.


			Beta test conclusions.
		----------------------------------------


*Pins too close to the edge of greens:

-now fixed with the closest being around 9 or 10 feet from the edge

			-----------------------

*Lack of colour ie:too much green in the planting:

-Tried to make it a bit more colorful with bushes etc
I saw a great pic recently in Golf International magazine of the 12th green at Augusta. The colours behind the green look great and ive now tried to incorporate some of this in the planting.		

			
			-----------------------
*No custom flags:

-Tried to do this but the flags ended up looking jagged for some reason so I ditched them.

			-----------------------

*Ball sometimes is hard to play right up against bunker lip:

-Happens in real golf sometimes ie: plugged ball under the lip,
The only real way around it is to make bunker slopes artificialy steep or make smaller extrusions of the lip.Both of these seem to be visually unapealing so i didnt change the lips.

			------------------------

Some minor tweaking of the mesh to avoid the occasional sharp edge.
My thoughts on the mesh are that it is more important to have a good looking golf course than to have a perfect mesh. For me the the mesh is just a means to an end. 


			========================


Credits : All those who have made a course and uploaded it for others to play - Nice1

Links corner and all the guys involved there - IMHO THE BEST site for computer golf on the net.

Eric Loft for his Zanzibar masterpiece and also Lacy , Guenter and Southfla too for their great courses.In fact all those who give there time freely for the benefit of computer golfers everywhere.

Chris Parry for showing us what bunkers should look like and Bomber for bringing the APCD to life with his tutorials.

			=========================

I have been asked by a few people to put in the readme a discription of the holes and some of the real holes that inspired them , so here goes!


			Hole by hole description
		---------------------------------------

Hole 1  -  To ease those first tee nerves a wide open drive to a fairway that cant be missed!!!(St.Andrews Old course hole1 is the same) To make the short second shot easier though youll have to pick the best angle to attack the flag. Those guardian bunkers are just waiting for a slip.

Hole 2  -  Tight drive if you choose the driver. A 3 wood will make the tee shot easier but then youll have a long second shot to a narrow green. The approach was inspired by the par 3 second hole at the West course Wentworth.Anything short will roll back down the hill to leave a tough pitch or bunker shot. Ive left the slope short of the green as fairway to exagerate this effect.

Hole 3  -  A good long drive is needed here to leave yourself with a good view of the green and a level lie. A shorter drive will leave you with a semi-blind view and a tricky lie for the short iron aproach. 

Hole 4  -  Straightforward drive past the bunker on the left will leave a chance at getting home in 2. However the lie wont be easy and youll need to be carefull to avoid the rough stuff that cuts in before the green or what should be an easy birdie could become a bogie or worse. A layup might be the wiser choice.

Holes 5 and 6  -  The 2 longest par 4's on the course back to back. Hitting straight and true is the only way to play these testers. The inspiration for these holes came from Royal Lythams 14th and 15th holes. Little margin for error here. 

Hole 7  -  The first of the par 3's. Shooting for one of the tight pins here could mean disaster, but if you want a birdie it could be the only way. Mess up here on the tee and your going to need short game skills plenty to escape with par!

Hole 8  -  Decision time. Depending on the wind, the carry over the right hand trap can be right on the limit of a good drive. If you lay up though you might find the second shot too tough to handle and par would be as good as it gets. The 6th hole at Royal Birkdale has the same challenge off the tee.

Hole 9  -  I cant think of one fictional course that doesnt have some homage to Augusta in there somewhere, this is mine. A short iron to an angled green could lead to an easy birdie but mess up and you may need to check your ball supply.

Hole 10  -  Easy tee shot, but have you got the nerve to go for THAT pin?

Hole 11  -  Unless you eat 2 cows for breakfast and lift weights all day , this will be a 3 shotter to reach an undulating green. Distance control will be tested as you try to get your aproach onto the right level of the green.

Hole 12  -  Unless its into a gail force wind, the carry over the sentinel bunkers wont be a problem but the second shot might leave you with a trickier putt than you can handle. Oh and if you get a flyer and overshoot, reach for another ball.

Hole 13  -  Bite off as much as you dare off the tee here, just dont overdo it. A good tee shot will leave a testing shot if the  pins tucked to the right half of the green. The guarding bunker has a ball magnet burried in it.

Hole 14  -  Have you got a soft left to right fade going yet? You might need it here if the pins tucked away. Generous green for a mid to long iron tee shot.

Hole 15  -  If you find the fairway of the tee you might be tempted to be bold with your second shot. If your bunkered off the tee though you might be as well to ignore the tempting shot over the water from the shallow traps. Unless its a perfect strike youll be needing a snorkel for you 3rd.

Hole 16  -  Munch on your drive and youll be well within reach of this par 5. Its up to you to decide whether that carry over the guarding stream is worth the risk. GO ON.....you know you want to :) 

Hole 17  -   Inspired by the 17 hole at Crown Mines in Johanesburg,SA ,This hole requires you to carry a host of trouble off the tee. Even when your over the quarry you might find yourself bunkered. Like Gary Player once said " Dont be frightened of the sand.... be like Lawrence of Arabia...live in it " :)

Hole 18  -  Easy elevated tee shot to quieten the last hole nerves. The second shot wont be so easy especially if the pins tucked behind the trap. The sloping green has led to many a 3 putt disapointment.

Hole 19  -  Short walk up the path to the clubhouse should leave easy aproach to the bar with a cold one within easy reach:)


			============================ 


I hope you enjoy playing the course as much as I enjoyed making it. Good Golfing.
																					Mike.







































