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Post by b101 on Jul 15, 2019 2:16:10 GMT -5
N.B. Very much a working title. I don't really have a time frame with this; I intend to enter the rookie contest, but this can just be a longer term side-project if need be.In the wake of my contest course, I wanted to do something very different and stretching my comfort zone a bit, whilst still allowing me to do some of the things I think I do quite well (big views/scenery, hole variety, fun greens). I have had an idea bumping around for ages and started putting it to paper over the last week or so. So, this course will do a number of things I've not tried before, namely: - Have a par of less than 70 - Be based mostly on template holes, but not in any way with the geometric style. Kind of inspired by Doak's Old MacDonald at Bandon Dunes. - Include some waste bunkering (if it fits) I also decided that I would sketch out the entire routing and hole designs first. Mostly because I needed to get my head around the template designs and how the strategy works to allow me to get the options and plot right. From there, I popped them on a plot and came up with the idea that, rather than lots of bunkering, I'd try to incorporate one big overgrown creek to have a sort of delta/tropical vibe. This really came from opening the designer and noticing that the delta trees look quite cool when submerged, so we've gone from there. The plan is very much to take what the designer gives me whilst working these planned holes into the landscape. Basically, I'll go with this, but if I see something interesting, then I'll incorporate that. Some pictures Routing:Holes 1-6: Holes 7-12: Holes 13-18: As things stand, I've got the plot roughly sorted in the designer and I'm tweaking the routing a bit to fit the plot better - for example, 14 is now coastal, then 15 heads back up as it meant things got a bit cramped nearer 17 and 18 otherwise. In-game, I've just been checking that the spacing between holes works and doing some work routing the creek so that it runs pretty much in the right place. Two teaser shots: Hole 8 - Short.
A good example of tweaking routing to fit landscape, my 'short' was originally going to be hole 2, but this setting works so much better for a hole that now plays just 103 yards. Devilish little green and I just adore the look.Hole 5 - CapeGives a good feel for the overgrown creek that will be the central focus of the course - if the plant meter lets me do it how I want (I am already a little worried...). You also get a great view of the 9th green in the background.
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Post by b101 on Jul 15, 2019 11:58:04 GMT -5
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Post by hoosierhoops24 on Jul 15, 2019 18:46:49 GMT -5
This looks really good so far. The planting looks great, I really like the way you have sculpted the course so far and the holes blend in well with the topography. Definitely want to give this a try when it's finished. Keep up the good work!
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Post by b101 on Jul 16, 2019 17:11:39 GMT -5
Thanks hoosierhoops24 ! A bit more time spent on this today and now kinda wishing I'd saved this idea for the Rookie Contest. Hey ho... Hole 5 - CapeWaste bunkers added down the far side to add a bit more intimidation off the tee and make it more of a common theme and I redid the fairway bunker. Green now sorted and nice and brutal, sloping back to front and toward the water . As will be a theme on the course, there are a number of helper/hinderer kicker slopes to funnel approaches in. You will really want a short iron in given that the approach is off a hanging lie pushing you toward the water, but how much do you dare bite off the tee shot? Love a cape hole. View from 4th green over 5th hole: 5th green: Waste bunkering on the 5th: Hole 9 - Prize Dogleg/BiarritzI know a Biarritz is normally a par three, but this seemed way more fun as a way to add interest to a reachable par five. The drive itself is tough - the fairway is plateaued with the right hand side offering a better angle and a view of the pin, if you choose to challenge the bunkers, whilst the low left hand side may get more distance, but will leave a blind shot over a giant bunker to that tricky green. With the approach, a number of slopes offer ways of funnelling the ball onto the green and as you can see from the slopes, it may be better to lay up for your second. Tee shot: Approach (complete with giant bunker): Looking back: That green . Pin one seems fair, right?
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Post by b101 on Jul 18, 2019 16:47:04 GMT -5
Got a couple of hours more work done on this today: Hole four - LevenProbably my favourite template hole - a short par four with loads of different ways to play it: 5 iron short of the creek on the right is the safest way, but leaves a poor angled uphill shot into a shallow green, 2 wood over the creek leaves you short of the bunkers, but with the longest approach, Driver right of the bunkers leaves the best angle and a mid length approach, whilst you can then challenge between the bunkers or left of them for shorter approaches from good angles. Love the green complex as well - just really happy with how this one has turned out. Hole 2 - par three: Folly.This one isn't a template based hole, but rather one that the land gave me. I'm not happy with all the planting (I've only done the waste bunkers, the rest is still autogen), particularly the waste bunker short of the green, so will look at that. There are some proper sucker pins on here and you do not want to leave a putt from the top tier to the bottom. Anything too greedy on the right hand side of the green will be punished by rolling some 30 yards down the ridge. --- As things stand, holes 2, 4, 5, 7, 8 and 9 are in good shape and just need planting/tidying up. I'm pretty uninspired by hole 1 so far and 6 will just be a case of seeing what the plot gives me. Then we'll move to the back nine.
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Post by b101 on Jul 21, 2019 13:08:27 GMT -5
Well, this one was a labour of love! Spent a large amount of today trying to get it to look and play right and it's about there. I'm still not totally happy with the planting by the tee, but will come back to that. The approach shot looks lovely though and the hole plays tough as it takes you out to the coast. It's a dogleg right which plays a bit with high side and low side of the fairway. Whatever you do, the green is pretty angled against you and it requires a precise iron shot as everything falls off to some fun chipping areas. I'm really trying to work on my framing and contouring with this course, whilst trying a few other things, so hopefully that's looking better. Hole 6 - ValleyThe hole in its entirety: The tee shot: The approach: The green:
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Post by b101 on Jul 22, 2019 12:47:11 GMT -5
So, in today's work, I'm pretty much there with the front nine. The last two holes to be completed were hole 1 and hole 3 (just the way the routing worked/the holes that needed the most help). Doubtless, joegolferg will be able to tell me where all my template designs fall down and that I've utterly ruined the first hole, but that's part of the fun . Hole One - Narrows:This ended up totally deviating from my initial ideas after the tee shot - the land just wasn't working and the hole simply felt dull. Now, it's a daunting first shot where you simply have to find the gap. The fairway after the bunkers hits a downslope leaving you with 140 yards in to an elevated green - lay back from the tee and you are hitting in from 200+ yards with a rubbish angle. Fortune favours the bold here. Tee shot: Approach: Green: Basically, hit any of the bunkers and you are staring bogey in the face. Hit the fairway and it's a birdie opportunity. Hole 3 - Alps:This hole is all about intimidation - it has been really tough to get playing right and I'm still not sure I've nailed it. Now fully planted and is looking much better - here, you have to take on the bunker on the right for the best angle (and some view of the pin) into the green with a mid iron. If you play safe left, you have a blind second shot and worse angle. The green has a few tricky undulations as well. Long par four. joegolferg - I'd really appreciate your take on this one. Tee shot: Approach: Green and view of 4th/creek. The hidden bunker that was a feature of MacRaynor designs has been replaced by a little gully short of the green leading to a green that slopes away from you slightly - still not a good miss, but feels less unfairly penal:
Next up is the back nine. I am a little more flexible with a few of these templates. A good starter is the Maiden 10th hole. Having now played its real-life inspiration a couple of times, I have a better idea of what the designers were intending with the green complex and mine needs to be more angled. Additionally, the plot isn't fitting my sketch as I'll now have the creek to the right, with the hole playing uphill some 30 yards (as intended): Original: Plot/hole location vs initial plan. To be honest, dumping the hilly area I had imagined for a steep cliff to the creek probably still works:
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Post by joegolferg on Jul 25, 2019 3:41:34 GMT -5
That surely is a nice spin on the Alps, Macdonald himself always preffered an option to go around the Alps mounding rather than just to play over it and it looks like you've pulled that off. You'll probably have published this by the time I've played your CC course 😂
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Post by b101 on Jul 25, 2019 17:56:42 GMT -5
That surely is a nice spin on the Alps, Macdonald himself always preffered an option to go around the Alps mounding rather than just to play over it and it looks like you've pulled that off. You'll probably have published this by the time I've played your CC course 😂 Thanks and glad you like it! I read up on the option of going around it for a view of the green and it definitely fits with my personal philosophy, so I had to incorporate it, although it's been difficult to get right. My original plan of making it a dogleg didn't take into account the roll you get with a driver, so no matter how well you hit it and challenged the bunker, you always ran through to the blind side of the fairway. As for the publish, I'm making good progress, but things will soon be slowed when I a) put time into the Rookie Design course and b) go back to work at the end of August . On the plus side, this feels miles better than the CC course to me, so hopefully it's improving - I just need to come up with an idea for that contest now I've put my best one into this course. This one will go on hold for a bit, most likely, but... (post to follow).
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Post by b101 on Jul 25, 2019 17:57:18 GMT -5
A couple more holes pretty much there. I've also now mapped out the rest of the holes through to 17 - not sure on 18 or 16, but we'll get there. Frustratingly, the game crashed just as I was trying to take a screenshot of 12, so I've lost a good hour and a half of work there, but nothing I can't redo quicker next time. Hole 10 - Maiden - par fourA maiden green has two distinct plateaus to hit to - in this case, I've used an uphill par four with a couple of fun twists. I think it plays as one of the most interesting holes on the course as things stand and is one of my favourites that I've built so far. You have options from the tee, dictated by how bold you are in challenging the bunkers and what angle you want into the pin position. The fairway cambers hard right to left, meaning the third bunker (blind from the tee) collects a lot more than you think it should. Tee shot: Fairway/Approach: Green with the distinct plateaus: Hole 11 - DuneNot a template, this one. To be honest, this and 12 have been the hardest holes to get right. I re-did this one about three times and 12 four times before I was happy. It's a cool little par three that places a premium on accuracy and looking at the slopes before you hit. This hole 100% won't be to everyone's tastes, but I quite like it. Minimal planting here as you make your way to the top of the hilly terrain overlooking the creek. As ever, neither hole is fully finished yet, but both are about 90%, I'd say.
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Post by b101 on Jul 26, 2019 3:37:07 GMT -5
Redid the planting and sculpting on 12 this morning after losing it last night. I don't think it looks quite as good in a couple of areas, but certain bits came out better, so that's something. For me, this is the best looking hole I have come up with so far, which is nice given that it's a 510 yard par four... This hole has deviated a fair bit from the initial sketch, originally based on the 12th at Sunningdale - I ditched the creek as a hazard as it felt too contrived, then played with camber and in fairway bunkers to get the same bottle effect, whilst taking a few things the plot gave me. Tagging VctryLnSprts as I know he loves a good low-lighting shot Hole 12 - Bottle - par four (510 yards)Tee shot: Off the tee, the two bunkers on the left force you to make a choice. Can you carry the left hand bunker? If not, are you threading the needle for a slightly safer play? Or, are you playing safe to the right leaving a long shot in? The potential difference in club for your approach is 50 yards, not to mention a better angle, but is it worth it? Approach: Slightly uphill to a receptive green, albeit one that gently slopes away from you. Most of the bunkers are not in play, but the two left and long of the green await any pulled/fast shot. Green: Fairly straightforward compared to most on the course in order to accommodate the longer approach. It slopes mostly from left to right and front to back, but has a couple of back stops. The main thing to be wary of is the kicker slope just short of the front of the green (on the right hand side in the picture) and the swale immediately to the right of it, which will punish players who shy away from threatening the bunkers off the back. Middle of the green and two putts is your play. Still need to finish up the planting and heavy rough texturing, particularly nearer the green, but a lot of that can wait until I've sorted holes 13, 14 and 15, which now make a sort of triangle around this green.
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Post by b101 on Jul 28, 2019 12:50:55 GMT -5
A couple of holes are nearing completion - the middle of the back nine sees you holding on for a few holes, before a couple of birdie opportunities. Hole 13 - Long - 247 yard par 3On the back of a long par four, you get a long par 3... Very much inspired by the 16th at Cypress Point, this sees you hitting across a bay to a green with distinct sections that will reward the brave (and ambitious) player with a birdie putt. Just the one screenshot of the green, as I'm not quite there with the planting or sculpting around the cliffs yet. Also, I'm such a sucker for these coastal, low lighting vistas. Hole 14 - 301 yards, par 4. I think this is another Bottle, but a short version? joegolfergThis hole is one of my favourites, strategy-wise as it all starts at the green. It's totally driveable, or you could lay up left, right, middle long of the bunkers, middle between the bunkers or short on the plateau to leave a full wedge. All pins will be green light opportunities, but only from certain angles, whilst driving the green should always guarantee a birdie, but missing (particularly left) is disastrous. For example, with this pin, work out where the ideal (and worst) layup is. Love this hole. Tee shot: Approach (shows your options): Green (for reference, the other flags are mid-back left, back right and dead centre:
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Post by Deleted on Jul 29, 2019 10:23:15 GMT -5
So. Many. Eyegasms.
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Post by b101 on Jul 29, 2019 16:00:48 GMT -5
And hole 13 now tidied up a bit. Not perfect and not finished with planting, but it can wait until I see what state the meter is in after all the creek work. Hole 13 - Long - par 3, 247 yardsThis is a brute, less daunting in yardage than it appears on the scorecard, but there is danger left and right. You can land the ball slightly short and slightly right to roll it on the front or middle of the green, but the bunkers short and right of the green will make you doubt your line and length right until the ball lands. A three here is like a birdie. Played it into a headwind earlier and it can be a huge amount of fun. View from the tee: Run-on: Green:
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Post by b101 on Aug 2, 2019 11:13:09 GMT -5
Meant to update this the other night, but trying to work out an idea for the Rookie Contest overtook me somewhat. Hole 15 is done and dusted and after ripping up and deleting 16 four times already, I've finally got an idea for that one that I'm happy with. 17 should be straightforward, then I'll need to come up with a good closer and go back to do touch up work. I'll hopefully get this published by the end of the month, depending on how well I'm getting on with the contest course: Hole 15 - Par 5 - Coore and CrenshawThis is totally based on this article: thefriedegg.com/coore-crenshaw-template-hole/. I love the idea and how it really penalises the fast downswing on the game . To get the best angle, you have to challenge the left hand side, which is fine from the drive, but I wanted the approach shot to be a shot where you're thinking: I definitely can, but should I? Ball above your feet, everything sloping toward the water and a green that demands a fade. However, if you leave it in the safe lay up zone, you're only making five. Love the way this hole plays, but I know it'll be a divisive one. Sadly, the hole gets the worst lighting, so the creek and bunkers really need to draw your eye. Tee shot: Landing Zone - centreline bunker gives you your options: Approach - mounds on the right protect on both sides whilst the fairway bunker dictates layup zones: Green - a few backstops benefit only those who played left off the tee:
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