Post by neutreus on Jan 17, 2021 9:48:41 GMT -5
Hi all,
I submitted a version of this course to TGC Tours (Las Bocas Golf Resort) and had some great feedback from the reviewer. There were however, a few points it fell down on that I needed to work on which have been a massive help and has resulted in this revised version with a slightly different name.
There are now smaller greens, more open views from the tee to show off the holes etc and it would be great to get some plays on it and further feedback becuase this forum has taught me so much about designing and that's ongoing.
This is what Las Bocas Resort presents: (Apologies for the pictures - not sure how to make them any better from the Xbox)
Las Bocas is a fantasy golf resort situated in North West Mexico near the town of the same name. 'Las Bocas' means The Mouths in English and the inlets can be seen at the resort where the sea enters in 2 places - one of these grants access to the marina for guests staying at the resort and arriving by boat.
The course is a Par 72 of Tour Difficulty but presents a very different challenge depending on your mood. The 4 tee positions on most holes vary in distance and angle to present a very different hole. Combining undulating or tiered greens with varying pin positions this course can be made very tough even for the better players.
The front 9 are never far from water and the arguable more difficult back 9 take you inland around the more mountainous terrain. Pin positions are as you would expect; 1 - The easiest and most accessible on most holes. 2 - A challenge for even the great golfers. 3 - Typically 'moving day' on a Saturday so a little more accessible and 4 - Generally the most difficult Sunday pins. Some are very tough indeed!
Hole 1 'Elevado' (Elevated) - The course starts with a relatively straight forward Par 4 - relative for this course anyway. Your tee shot to a fairway lower than you needs to be well placed to give you a good angle to the elevated green across water.
Hole 2 'Herradara' (Horseshoe) - The first of the Par 3's. A downhill tee shot to a horseshoe shaped green
Hole 3 'La Pregunta' (The Question) - This Par 4 begs the question "Can you hit the green in 1?". The answer will depend on your tee, clubs used and the wind but whether you are better off playing down the fairway to leave a mid iron to the green only you will know.
Hole 4 'Arriesgalo' (Risk It) - This Par 4 was named so because in an ideal world you want to risk going as far right over the bunker as you can. Playing safe and leaving a long iron or wood into this green over water will make it very hard - assuming the tree doesn't obscure your line of course.
Hole 5 'Curvo' (Curved) - The fairway curves around to the right away from the water on this Par 4 leaving an uphill shot to the green. The more you can cut off the corner the better because any of the pins on this undulating green are a challenge to get close to.
Hole 6 'El Teatro' (The Theatre) - The signature hole at Las Bocas Golf Resort. A Par 3 that varies massively depending on your choice of tee which shoots into an island green overlooked by the crowds in three large 'island' stands
Hole 7 'El Secreto' (The Secret) - This Par 5 guards a secret that isn’t obvious from the tee. If found and can be used (it won't always be possible and is risky) it may provide a great opportunity for an eagle.
Hole 8 'La Division' (The Split) - This straight away Par 4 has a split in the fairway where the level in the land changes - can you get to the guarded second level to be more aggressive on your approach?
Hole 9 'Vista Del Hotel' (Hotel View) - The Resort hotel overlooks the 9th green but before you get there you need to decide how far down the fairway to hit your drive on this Par 5. Usually one of the best opportunities to lower your score, this hole will still present dangers trying to hit the green in two when possible.
Hole 10 'Caldera' (Caldera) - An uphill Par 3 into a tiered green within a small caldera from an extinct volcano.
Hole 11' La Eleccion' (The Choice) - This Par 4 presents two very different approaches to a guarded green; one lower on the left and one higher on the right. You may prefer to hit up or down into the green depending on wind and pin position - which will you choose?
Hole 12 'Undulante' (Undulating) - A tough little Par 3 where the varying tees and shape of the green create different challenges and you may need to use some the large undulations in the green to get close.
Hole 13 'El Hueco' (The Gap) - This Par 4 is shaped around water. If you are able to shape your drive, you may be able to hit the green in one. It's either that or hit down a narrow fairway but do you try and carry close to the bunker to leave a pitch into the green or find a gap between the trees where the fairway is easier, all are dangerous.
Hole 14 'Arriba y Abajo' (Up & Down) - A Par 5 that presents a challenge straight from the tee. Do you try and shape a tee shot around the trees to the uphill rise leaving a possible shot to carry the water and hit the green in 2 or play it safe and for your 2nd use the fairway to the right.
Hole 15 'La Bunker' (The Bunker) - One of the toughest Par 4's on the course. This hole is dominated by a long bunker to the left centre of the fairway. Risk going left and you leave a shorter shot to the green and may be on more level ground - leave it short though and you may be blocked by trees. Going right of the bunker is a much wider area but quite sloped leaving you a longer shot to the green with the ball above your feet. Oh, and add to that a slimmer green on the edge of the mountain side.
Hole 16 'La Guta' (The Drop) - The last Par 3 is a well protected green shooting into it from c.60 - 100 feet up making club selection and reading the wind very important.
Hole 17 'El Corte' (The Cut) - The course finishes unusually with two Par 5's. The 17th is a dog leg right ending higher up the mountain but it gets it's name because can you cut off the corner going over the embankment? If you can, reaching this high green in 2 is possible. Fail to short cut over the elevated embankment though and you could be in big trouble.
Hole 18 'Verde Dividida' (Split Green) - Inspired by the 17th at The Manor House (a Championship Course in Wiltshire, UK), the 18th at Las Bocas has a split green. The first 3 pins are on the green to the left which you can possibly hit in two or do you use the second small fairway to give an easier approach. Pin 4 is on the smaller more distant and harder to access green on the right - if you hit that in two you will head to the clubhouse with a big smile on your face and a story to tell your friends.
I submitted a version of this course to TGC Tours (Las Bocas Golf Resort) and had some great feedback from the reviewer. There were however, a few points it fell down on that I needed to work on which have been a massive help and has resulted in this revised version with a slightly different name.
There are now smaller greens, more open views from the tee to show off the holes etc and it would be great to get some plays on it and further feedback becuase this forum has taught me so much about designing and that's ongoing.
This is what Las Bocas Resort presents: (Apologies for the pictures - not sure how to make them any better from the Xbox)
Las Bocas is a fantasy golf resort situated in North West Mexico near the town of the same name. 'Las Bocas' means The Mouths in English and the inlets can be seen at the resort where the sea enters in 2 places - one of these grants access to the marina for guests staying at the resort and arriving by boat.
The course is a Par 72 of Tour Difficulty but presents a very different challenge depending on your mood. The 4 tee positions on most holes vary in distance and angle to present a very different hole. Combining undulating or tiered greens with varying pin positions this course can be made very tough even for the better players.
The front 9 are never far from water and the arguable more difficult back 9 take you inland around the more mountainous terrain. Pin positions are as you would expect; 1 - The easiest and most accessible on most holes. 2 - A challenge for even the great golfers. 3 - Typically 'moving day' on a Saturday so a little more accessible and 4 - Generally the most difficult Sunday pins. Some are very tough indeed!
Hole 1 'Elevado' (Elevated) - The course starts with a relatively straight forward Par 4 - relative for this course anyway. Your tee shot to a fairway lower than you needs to be well placed to give you a good angle to the elevated green across water.
Hole 2 'Herradara' (Horseshoe) - The first of the Par 3's. A downhill tee shot to a horseshoe shaped green
Hole 3 'La Pregunta' (The Question) - This Par 4 begs the question "Can you hit the green in 1?". The answer will depend on your tee, clubs used and the wind but whether you are better off playing down the fairway to leave a mid iron to the green only you will know.
Hole 4 'Arriesgalo' (Risk It) - This Par 4 was named so because in an ideal world you want to risk going as far right over the bunker as you can. Playing safe and leaving a long iron or wood into this green over water will make it very hard - assuming the tree doesn't obscure your line of course.
Hole 5 'Curvo' (Curved) - The fairway curves around to the right away from the water on this Par 4 leaving an uphill shot to the green. The more you can cut off the corner the better because any of the pins on this undulating green are a challenge to get close to.
Hole 6 'El Teatro' (The Theatre) - The signature hole at Las Bocas Golf Resort. A Par 3 that varies massively depending on your choice of tee which shoots into an island green overlooked by the crowds in three large 'island' stands
Hole 7 'El Secreto' (The Secret) - This Par 5 guards a secret that isn’t obvious from the tee. If found and can be used (it won't always be possible and is risky) it may provide a great opportunity for an eagle.
Hole 8 'La Division' (The Split) - This straight away Par 4 has a split in the fairway where the level in the land changes - can you get to the guarded second level to be more aggressive on your approach?
Hole 9 'Vista Del Hotel' (Hotel View) - The Resort hotel overlooks the 9th green but before you get there you need to decide how far down the fairway to hit your drive on this Par 5. Usually one of the best opportunities to lower your score, this hole will still present dangers trying to hit the green in two when possible.
Hole 10 'Caldera' (Caldera) - An uphill Par 3 into a tiered green within a small caldera from an extinct volcano.
Hole 11' La Eleccion' (The Choice) - This Par 4 presents two very different approaches to a guarded green; one lower on the left and one higher on the right. You may prefer to hit up or down into the green depending on wind and pin position - which will you choose?
Hole 12 'Undulante' (Undulating) - A tough little Par 3 where the varying tees and shape of the green create different challenges and you may need to use some the large undulations in the green to get close.
Hole 13 'El Hueco' (The Gap) - This Par 4 is shaped around water. If you are able to shape your drive, you may be able to hit the green in one. It's either that or hit down a narrow fairway but do you try and carry close to the bunker to leave a pitch into the green or find a gap between the trees where the fairway is easier, all are dangerous.
Hole 14 'Arriba y Abajo' (Up & Down) - A Par 5 that presents a challenge straight from the tee. Do you try and shape a tee shot around the trees to the uphill rise leaving a possible shot to carry the water and hit the green in 2 or play it safe and for your 2nd use the fairway to the right.
Hole 15 'La Bunker' (The Bunker) - One of the toughest Par 4's on the course. This hole is dominated by a long bunker to the left centre of the fairway. Risk going left and you leave a shorter shot to the green and may be on more level ground - leave it short though and you may be blocked by trees. Going right of the bunker is a much wider area but quite sloped leaving you a longer shot to the green with the ball above your feet. Oh, and add to that a slimmer green on the edge of the mountain side.
Hole 16 'La Guta' (The Drop) - The last Par 3 is a well protected green shooting into it from c.60 - 100 feet up making club selection and reading the wind very important.
Hole 17 'El Corte' (The Cut) - The course finishes unusually with two Par 5's. The 17th is a dog leg right ending higher up the mountain but it gets it's name because can you cut off the corner going over the embankment? If you can, reaching this high green in 2 is possible. Fail to short cut over the elevated embankment though and you could be in big trouble.
Hole 18 'Verde Dividida' (Split Green) - Inspired by the 17th at The Manor House (a Championship Course in Wiltshire, UK), the 18th at Las Bocas has a split green. The first 3 pins are on the green to the left which you can possibly hit in two or do you use the second small fairway to give an easier approach. Pin 4 is on the smaller more distant and harder to access green on the right - if you hit that in two you will head to the clubhouse with a big smile on your face and a story to tell your friends.