St. Cyrus [CC Design Contest] and St. Cyrus Putting Course
Jul 7, 2019 10:20:29 GMT -5
SAM, theclv24, and 12 more like this
Post by PithyDoctorG on Jul 7, 2019 10:20:29 GMT -5
St. Cyrus is a links course inspired by the classic links such as St. Andrews, North Berwick, and Carnoustie. Like many of the old links, the course begins and ends in the heart of the old town, with the town coming into play in the form of OB on holes 16 and 17. The course is also routed around the ruins of an ancient cathedral from the 11th century (the cathedral grounds serve as OB on the 10th hole). The course is also routed around an ancient rock wall, which prominently comes into play on the 8th hole. Hole 11 begins a stretch of five holes along the beach. Finally, this magnificent piece of linksland is bisected by a burn, which is crossed several times. After finishing on 18, you may want to head to the putting course to settle your bets (just be sure to give golfers teeing off on 18 the right of way). Finally, you'll want to walk through town and head to the pub adjacent to the 16th green, where you'll find that your friends in the Dirty Ankle Mafia have already ordered your first pint for you 
You may notice that, unlike the famous links courses of today, the burn is not contained by a retaining wall and the bunkers are not sod-walled pot bunkers. I tried to recreate the look typified by St. Andrews and Carnoustie in the early 1900s, before their hazards became more “formalized.”
The course is not long (6880 yards from the tips, par 71), features wide fairways (a few of which are shared by two holes) and very large greens. Indeed, there is ample opportunity to score well. However, the greens are significantly contoured and often are best approached from a particular angle. If you speed through on “auto-pilot” you may find yourself frustratingly racking up pars.
Course information:
Yardage: 6880 (blue), 5978 (white)
Par: 34-37=71
Important judging note: This course is designed for very firm fairways and greens. However, the highlands theme defaults to soft fairways and firm greens. Please manually set the green and terrain firmnesses to very firm. All other settings may be left as default.
Required elements for judging:
A three shot par five (Hole 11)
A drivable par four (Hole 3)
A template green complex (also Hole 3: Biarritz; real life inspiration is the 16th green at North Berwick)
Additional required elements:
Five par threes (Holes 2, 7, 9, 13, and 18)
Par three greater than 230 yards (Hole 7)
Two bunkerless holes (Holes 8 and 12)
Three par fours under 400 yards (Holes 3, 8, and 12)
A blind tee shot (Hole 12)
Bonus template green (Hole 14: Lion’s Mouth; see Hole 16 at C.C. of Charleston)
A couple of “bonus quirks”: a) the three finishing holes have pars of 5-5-3; b) two double greens
You may notice that, unlike the famous links courses of today, the burn is not contained by a retaining wall and the bunkers are not sod-walled pot bunkers. I tried to recreate the look typified by St. Andrews and Carnoustie in the early 1900s, before their hazards became more “formalized.”
The course is not long (6880 yards from the tips, par 71), features wide fairways (a few of which are shared by two holes) and very large greens. Indeed, there is ample opportunity to score well. However, the greens are significantly contoured and often are best approached from a particular angle. If you speed through on “auto-pilot” you may find yourself frustratingly racking up pars.
Course information:
Yardage: 6880 (blue), 5978 (white)
Par: 34-37=71
Important judging note: This course is designed for very firm fairways and greens. However, the highlands theme defaults to soft fairways and firm greens. Please manually set the green and terrain firmnesses to very firm. All other settings may be left as default.
Required elements for judging:
A three shot par five (Hole 11)
A drivable par four (Hole 3)
A template green complex (also Hole 3: Biarritz; real life inspiration is the 16th green at North Berwick)
Additional required elements:
Five par threes (Holes 2, 7, 9, 13, and 18)
Par three greater than 230 yards (Hole 7)
Two bunkerless holes (Holes 8 and 12)
Three par fours under 400 yards (Holes 3, 8, and 12)
A blind tee shot (Hole 12)
Bonus template green (Hole 14: Lion’s Mouth; see Hole 16 at C.C. of Charleston)
A couple of “bonus quirks”: a) the three finishing holes have pars of 5-5-3; b) two double greens
Feta cheese featured with every appy. 
Seriously, great course. Good luck. 
