Links Corner Forum

Version 3.2 - January 2013


Many thanks Ben



Download here

Just discovered this list. What a great reference! It will help me discover new courses to play, which I am always doing (in Links and real life).

-dh

Thanks Andy this is an excellent resource and the pdf in particular is great - hours of browsing there!

I couldn't find a key for the abbreviations used in the Style (or type) column of the Course Data excel sheet.

This may be well known to all but wasn't to me! I have created one using the pdf document as a guide and included it here just in case it is of use to anyone in the future.

Type:

R Real
F Fictional
I Imaginary
U Unknown

Style:
Ca Canyon
Co Concept
De Desert
Du Dunes
E Estate Course
Fa Farmland
Fo Forest
H Heathland
La Lakeside
Li Links
Ma Marshland
Mo Mountains
O Ocean
P Parkland
S Shorter course
T Tropical
W Woodland

Clip Notes Course Reviews
Ben Bateson

I can't even imagine how much time and effort went into preparing the Clip Notes! Labor of love, I'm sure.

Ben's excellent collection of reviews are dated 2013.

I'd be interested in people's thoughts on whether there have been any new courses developed since 2013 that would warrant a spot in Ben's top 150 (that might score around 40 plus according to his scale)?

Thanks!

Well since you ask...

Course evaluations are subjective though, and its pretty difficult to predict what Ben might have thought of any given course, especially since a big chunk of his overall scores were based on what he thought of the layout itself rather than the APCD craft, but there are probably at least 50 courses that had a good chance of making into his 40s since 2013. I have far from played all the fictional courses since then but if you're looking for course recommendations (since around 2013) I can give of those I've played, that I think would have had a decent chance to break his 40s:

Fairview GC (fictional) - scored 41 by him but isnt on the .pdf
Torrey Pines south 2013 - scored 42 by him but isnt on the .pdf
West Coast Links (fictional) - scored 41 by him but isnt on the .pdf
Six Mile Lake Golf Course 2014 (fictional)
Diamond CC
Masson Moor GC (fictional)
Sapphire Lake GC (fictional)
East Coast Links (fictional)
Royal Montreal - Blue (2014 version)
Zeitsbergen (fictional)
Lenton Heath Memorial Golf Course (fictional)
Blackwolf Run - The River Course
Kapu Moku (fictional)
Campo El Punetero (fictional)
Monument Golf Club V2 (fictional) (havent played that version in particular but pretty sure its the superior one)
Valhalla Golf Club - PGA Edition
Plainfield Country Club
Bay Hill 2016 - Tournament Course
PGA National Golf Club - Champion Course
Firestone C.C. - South Course 2016
Baltusrol Lower - Members Course 2017
Cherry Hills Country Club
Scioto Country Club
Rabat Rouge
Redstone Golf Club (Tournament Course)
Bro Hof Slott - Stadium Course Final
Liberty National Presidents Cup
Banff Springs Golf Club (Thompson 18)
Celtic Manor Golf Resort (Ryder Cup)
Wade Hampton 2021 FINAL
Cypress Point Club
The Links at Rolling Hills
Kohanaiki Golf Club
The National GC of Kansas City
The Point (fictional)
Valley Pines Golf Club (fictional)
Wakonda Club
The National-Old Course 2021
Wahat Al Sahraa (fictional)
The Links at Teton Peaks
Coomealla Memorial
Old Head Golf Links HD
Lambton Golf and Country Club
East Lake Tournament Course
Atlanta Athletic Club - Highlands Course
Blue Waters Golf Club (fictional)
Close House Colt Course
Peachtree GC Final
Waialae CC 2021

Loads of the courses on his list have seen updates since 2013 as well that are worth checking out, some examples just to name a few: Pinehurst, Colonial, Wentworth, Harbour Town, Glen Abbey, TPC Sawgrass and many of Mike Jones' HD updates.

[Edit: Noticed I had put The Links at Rolling Hills incorrectly as fictional - fixed]

I was just looking through the excellent Clip Notes (and DL'ing some of the top-rated courses I don't have), and I noticed a few so far that appear to never have gotten beyond Beta status, Oakmont, Stansbury, and Casten Acres, for example. Are there final versions of these courses somewhere? (Just noticed Jacob's Creek doesn't appear at all, even as Discontinued. And "Valderrama by John Aherne" shows up as a course by Microsoft)

alphington wrote: ↑March 5th, 2021, 4:48 am This may be well known to all but wasn't to me! I have created one using the pdf document as a guide and included it here just in case it is of use to anyone in the future.

Thanks, very useful!

Adelade wrote: ↑March 6th, 2021, 3:49 pm Well since you ask...

Course evaluations are subjective though, and its pretty difficult to predict what Ben might have thought of any given course, especially since a big chunk of his overall scores were based on what he thought of the layout itself rather than the APCD craft, but there are probably at least 50 courses that had a good chance of making into his 40s since 2013. I have far from played all the fictional courses since then but if you're looking for course recommendations (since around 2013) I can give of those I've played, that I think would have had a decent chance to break his 40s:

Many thanks Adelade, this is more information than I could have hoped for and a great signpost to some of the best of the more recent creations.

Left to my own devices I might have chanced upon some of these but it definately would have taken me ages!
So it's more DL for me and then the many hours of discovering new courses.

It's a testament to the game that it has a flourishing community more than 20 years later and also a testament to that community. Thanks for taking the time to compile the list.