stebowzo
Caddy
Posts: 36
TGCT Name: ste-bowzo
Tour: Challenge Circuit
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Post by stebowzo on Jan 20, 2021 4:38:56 GMT -5
Inspired by summers at the South Carolina beach, the beauty of Lowcountry golf, and perhaps a hint of magical Pat Conroy storytelling, Carolina Queen is now live. I hope I've pulled this off - a natural journey of salt marsh, low dunes, moss-draped oaks, towering pines, palmettos, and Atlantic beach driven by a blend of design influences ranging from the obvious Kiawah and Sea Island to Chechessee Creek, Colleton River, Secession, and May River. Add a dash of Raynor's Yeamans Hall bunkering and green structure (including the 5th, an adaptation of the 11th at CC of Charleston), and hopefully it all works. I make zero claim to be a Raynor / Macdonald purist, but had fun studying and trying to create classic flattish-bottom bunkers juxtaposed with bordering dunes and beach. You'll see a handful of modified templates - a Biarritz, Eden, Alps, Double Plateau, Redan and Punchbowl. I hope you enjoy! The fantastic Dream Team courses were definitely a good inspiration to take more time. - Tees: White (6891), Blue (7051), and Black (7299) are not "manipulated" since I couldn't get that to work (hopefully on the next one), but I had already begun to create three distinct tees for different hole experiences while being close in total distance.
- Wind: High North wind is best (10-15 mph) - it's the beach! Play Medium if you like. South is a nice flip.
- Greens: 8.1 (178) - should be quite fair, but definitely think your approach placement (especially on 14). This shouldn't be a birdie-fest with no challenge, but it's attainable if you try.
Finally, please suspend a bit of judgment on the retaining wall tees and the beach waves.
I liked Secession's strip tees so much, but the game's constraints leave them looking a bit less than I really wanted.
I took a risk using waterfalls as waves, so hopefully it adds to the experience with a little more beach imagination.
I also planted, replanted, and resized grass a ton trying to balance some of the coverage required and rendering issues, but without overdoing it. I'm not in any way a visual artist, but hopefully it is on target and was worth it for you!
Enjoy your imagination and the course! Some pics below...
Excellent course. Very enjoyable round -9. Many thanks.
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Post by abowidow5712 on Jan 30, 2021 9:03:30 GMT -5
Enjoyed my round here, some of the better hole designs and green complexes I've played so far. Certainly captured the Carolina vibe and Raynor design influence. Very well done!
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adx321
Weekend Golfer
Posts: 100
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Post by adx321 on Jan 30, 2021 10:22:30 GMT -5
I liked the routing, sculpting, and planting. I did feel there were some holes that good shots weren't rewarded and it just became an exercise in luck. The use of orange in front then about 6 feet of green then orange to red behind just never seems fair to me. But, I'll play it again The waves were great - too bad the game engine won't do that for us like the old days. Despite my dislike of so much red on the greens, still a wonderful course. I'll come back in a few years have passed and some of those slopes have minimized due to repeated top dressing
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playgroundhoo
Amateur Golfer
Posts: 257
TGCT Name: Jonathan Alford
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Post by playgroundhoo on Jan 30, 2021 13:50:03 GMT -5
Thanks, abowidow5712 and adx321 - I'm glad you enjoyed it! Yes, I've heard some mixed thoughts on some of the greens and will definitely take that feedback to my next course. Any red areas are primarily banks/slopes that could be used for play on approaches or chips, but hopefully don't affect pins themselves. To be honest, as a learning point - given my free time available, I'd spent far more time learning and using the designer than observing how people play this game in a 2D environment on places like Twitch, so I've learned a lot more about that since. It should be a challenge, but fair if people want to figure out where to place shots leading up to some of the greens (the par-5 14th being a good example where if you play to the wrong side on your layup or in going for the green, the pin placement will be tough), but I will adapt and hopefully make things even better going forward. Thanks for playing, and yes, hopefully the more you go back, the better it becomes! The beach should blow more sand up over time...
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Post by hallzballz6908 on Jan 30, 2021 23:48:50 GMT -5
Finally got around to this one and was very impressed! Great job creating an environment here. Very immersive ððŧ. I thought the course played well also. There were a few tough slopes but I think that they actually helped make the course feel like a golden age course. Nice job and I look forward to seeing what you come up with next ð!
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playgroundhoo
Amateur Golfer
Posts: 257
TGCT Name: Jonathan Alford
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Post by playgroundhoo on Jan 31, 2021 14:12:05 GMT -5
Finally got around to this one and was very impressed! Great job creating an environment here. Very immersive ððŧ. I thought the course played well also. There were a few tough slopes but I think that they actually helped make the course feel like a golden age course. Nice job and I look forward to seeing what you come up with next ð! Thank you - glad you made it and enjoyed it. I appreciate the feedback... If anyone is interested in using this in a society or tour event, would be great to get the input on how it plays there as I work on the next one, too... I may go for a Virginia or upstate NY environment - researching now
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