Helmsley Golf Links - CC contest

[Deleted]

Welcome to Helmsley Golf Links, fictionally located in Yorkshire, England near the Rye River, blanketed by the shadow of Helmsley castle and weaving through the English countryside.

Designed for the TGC Tours Challenge Circuit design contest, the course is just 6,746 yards from the Blue tees, which is the intended set to be used for the CC judging, but it plays well regardless of clubset used. The architecture of the holes, specifically the proper landing zones or availability of additional strategy, will change based on the maximum length of the clubs being used, as well as any winds that are present across the plains.

One of the neat features of the contest this year was that of required elements, which I enjoyed very much. I chose to fit in as many of the elements as I possibly could, as long as it wasn't forced into the design. Some of the holes actually meet several of the requirements just by themselves! For those that want to track which elements were used, I have added a full list of what I accomplished in the design, while also separating out the three elements I want judged critically for the contest.

There are a few things I've included in this design that aren't required elements, but were decisions I made or techniques I tried for something a little different with a CC course, such as framing the light rough to be a bit more favorable width in areas of common run-off. Hopefully you enjoy those elements that make the course a bit more friendly to the average golfer.

I'm in a season of really wanting to improve my design skills for this game, so ALL feedback is welcomed on this project (and my others, too). Please don't sugar-coat anything for me! If there are things you like, that's great, but if there are things you don't like, or things you feel could have been done differently or better, I invite you to tell me in this thread. Thanks in advance for your insights, and I hope you enjoy your time at Helmsley Golf Links!


These are the required elements that I would like to submit for judging:

At least TWO holes with ZERO bunkers - holes 9 and 18

At least ONE template green complex of your choice - hole 4 (classic redan) and hole 12 (Biarritz), but hole 12 is the one I want judged (based on the Camargo Club's 8th hole)

At least ONE Drive-able par 4 - holes 3, 8, and 16 are all drive-able in the right conditions, but hole 8 is the one I want judged



These are the required elements that I added to the design for fun:

At least ONE Par 3 greater than 230 yards - hole 9, 249 yards

At least ONE blind tee shot - hole 5

At least THREE par 4’s under 400 yards - holes 3, 8, 13, and 16

At least ONE three shot par 5 - hole 2 (could be reached with a huge risk off the tee and favorable winds, but still requires a pretty big left-to-right second shot)

At least FIVE par 3 holes - holes 4, 6, 9, 12, and 15

Total course yardage no greater than 6750 - Blue tees are 6,746 yards

At least ONE hole with elevation change equal to or greater than 125 feet - hole 3, -129 feet

[Deleted]

*18th and 9th greens (double-green) with clubhouse in the background and Rye River in the foreground




*17th hole, sculpted organically into the rolling terrain




*the 16th (left) and 6th (right) greens sharing the ambiance of the small waterfall in the Rye River




*the 8th green sits on top of the bluff, where the 9th tees are nestled into the rocks, with the green in the foreground




*some of the farmhouse residences of the people that work the English countryside land




*the 12th hole takes the shape of the Biarritz template, a highly divisive style among the playing community




*the DAM goats overlooking the play on the 15th green




*overhead view of the drive-able 8th hole, where players need to decide their path before teeing off

[welikeitroughnc]

Tease 😂

[b101]

Got round to giving this a play this afternoon and was nice to do so after spending so long in stream watching you spline a cart path

Went round on pin 4 and loved the greens, as ever. I thought you had a few absolutely breathtaking holes: 6, 9, 15 and 17 were the ones that stood out to me. Really clever 18th that I still hit driver on, even having watched you build it to prevent against that... Also had the fun of a ludicrous two ball par on 8 after I hit a very fast into the water (perhaps the game getting me back for the slow you hit on the 10th at Ganglesee?). Overall, the thing that I really learnt from this course was how to use elevation in a deceptive way - there were so many tee shots I thought I could get, but just couldn't, leaving me with no shot at birdie. Nicely done.

So you're aware, the one issue I had was that the PS4 barely renders grass until you're on top of it, so the course looked quite empty for me . Really looking forward to seeing someone stream it on PC as I'm sure that will make the world of difference. Best of luck, pal!

[b101]

Sheesh those screenshots look amazing as well - great OP, Eric.

[Violinguy69]

Looks really nice Eric!

[meyo]

Just finished my round and really enjoyed the course Eric. This is the kind of course I can relate to, very similar look to the courses around my area. The minimal planting fits very well. The creak and the falls just adds to realism. My favorite hole was the short par 4 8th. Great job bud...

[LFCallum]

Looks great, plays even better. Great course Eric! Can't believe you almost deleted it!

[Terry Grayson]

its gorgeous, its very clean and it screams CC to me

Loved the routing, the hole designs and sculpting....Many options on most of the holes, c

I can see the course playing a lot longer than it actually is, with some headwinds, due to not having ability to cut some of the corners you created with the outstanding routing

Just beautiful work man, I thoroughly enjoyed the course...

good luck in the contest

[MyGolfGameSucks]

Your standards are so high Eric... you rip your course apart before publishing only to present us with this... the irony is that I was pretty happy with mine only to realise Im still not on this level

[digitalbunny]

Well done Eric, the countryside feels very natural and the course fits into it great.

[jimgem]

Very nicely done' Good natural look and feel to it' Gd luck..

[Deleted]

Jul 7, 2019 21:45:15 GMT -5 jimgem said:

Very nicely done' Good natural look and feel to it' Gd luck..

These videos are awesome jimgem

[Deleted]

You are so right Taylor. Jimgem does a great job.

[MyGolfGameSucks]

Ok Eric. Your turn.

I'm doing playthroughs of all  (or at least most of them) while streaming. I am using pro clubs as most of the playthrough streams have been done with master clubs. As a fellow contestant, I am not judging your course or refering to any negative situations. At the same time when posting this vod I will be bumping your course thread back to where it belongs, the first page, as it has been lagging on the 2nd page for a while unnecessarily.
While some have been commenting on the potential winner in this comp and some others have been slapping each other with pats on the back regarding their favorites..........THIS COURSE is in with more than a chance........as it is imo the most apt CC course I have played to date.