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Post by plawlor15 on Aug 16, 2021 9:49:18 GMT -5
Course Name: Tracadie Trails Yardage: 7,593 Tracadie Trails is the more difficult sister course to my previously released Tracadie Falls. Set on a tropical island in the south, Tracadie Trails is set further up the mountainside on the resort property that also features the oceanside Falls course. I took my time with this design. My goal was to create a challenging course that: - Gives you multiple options of the tee, making you think about approach angles as well as providing risk/reward opportunities.
- Uses elevation change as a design strategy. Club selection both off the tee and on approach is influenced by the elevation change.
- Features penal bunkers. If you find a fairway bunker, your approach is affected. If you find a greenside bunker, getting up and down is not a guarantee.
I'm not going to provide the hole-by-hole presentation that I have with my previous courses. I'm going to leave the discovery of the strategy behind each hole up to your imagination. Here are a few teaser pics: The signature Par 3 7th: 8th Green and 9th Tees: Approach on 8th: 13th Green with 6th in background: 14th: Crossroads of 2nd and 16th Greens with 3rd and 17th Tees: 18th Green, 1st Tees, and Practice Facility: 2nd Fairway: 10th and 11th Holes: Scorecard: I hope some of you out there enjoy this. I would also appreciate a review or two. I think I've improved since my early designs, but would appreciate some feedback on that. Thank you and enjoy! Peter
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Post by plawlor15 on Aug 16, 2021 13:20:17 GMT -5
...and for those interested in the routing:
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irwinm2006
Weekend Golfer
Posts: 118
TGCT Name: Eric Fletcher
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Post by irwinm2006 on Aug 17, 2021 10:27:39 GMT -5
Gave this a play last night, back tees, pin 3. I really enjoyed the course, it is long and it is pretty tough, luckily I was hitting the driver well so I never really got into any trouble except for #7. Great looking hole, the waterfalls are a great look but I has some tough wind, rinsed 2 shots, one short, one long . Ended up taking the snowman on 7 but still managed to shot +1 overall so there are birdies out there (also missed a bunch of make-able putts or may have clawed my way back into the red) but don't miss the fairway. Really like the atmospherics too, the look of the course is great, lighting and textures are really well done. Good stuff Peter, I am a big fan of your courses, your last 3 have been really strong! Keep them coming! Best, Eric
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Post by plawlor15 on Aug 17, 2021 10:46:36 GMT -5
Gave this a play last night, back tees, pin 3. I really enjoyed the course, it is long and it is pretty tough, luckily I was hitting the driver well so I never really got into any trouble except for #7. Great looking hole, the waterfalls are a great look but I has some tough wind, rinsed 2 shots, one short, one long . Ended up taking the snowman on 7 but still managed to shot +1 overall so there are birdies out there (also missed a bunch of make-able putts or may have clawed my way back into the red) but don't miss the fairway. Really like the atmospherics too, the look of the course is great, lighting and textures are really well done. Good stuff Peter, I am a big fan of your courses, your last 3 have been really strong! Keep them coming! Best, Eric Thanks for giving it a spin, Eric. I was definitely trying for something a bit tougher this time. Glad to hear you still managed something near par even in a tough wind. If the wind is in your face on 1, you're in for a tough day. If you're down wind on 1, most of the course plays easier. Let me know when your next Beta is ready! Peter
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Post by weirsy2003 on Aug 18, 2021 20:53:39 GMT -5
I really enjoyed the atmosphere of this course. I'm not sure I've played any of your other courses but it's clear you know what you're doing planting wise and that you're thinking strategically with your hole designs. However, you have one big issue here that I'm going to call the Goldilocks problem. Your back 2 tees have a massive difference of 850 yards between them. 7600 yards is a very (too) long course but 6750 is quite short. I think not having a set of tees in the 7200 yard range is too bad because it probably would have suited the course well and been "just right". I played the back tees but it was clear some holes are designed to be played from them while others are not. Hole 1 is 680 yards but driver is dangerous because the fairway pinches in. On the other side of things Hole 17 turns into just an average length par 4 from the shorter tee but it's still a par 5. Hole 6 is an average distance par 5 unless you drive it in the rough. Then you have a forced layup and a 3rd shot that's 200 yards. You have 13 holes where there's a difference of 40 yards or more between your 2 sets of back tees. I think it's nearly impossible to create a hole that will play strategically well from both tees when there's yardage gaps like that. I also think your contours (particularly the greens) are somewhat overdone. I like the concept of Hole 4 but think that the risk/reward driveable par 4 could have still been pulled off with significantly toned down slopes. I still enjoyed my round but just don't think you got the ideal yardage right. One thing to keep in mind as well is most video game golfers will only play a course once (barring Tour/Society events) and more than likely will play from the back tees. I think I'll give this a go from the 6750 tee set just to see how different it plays.
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Post by sandgroper on Aug 18, 2021 23:07:49 GMT -5
I had mixed feelings about the course. The course itself is very well laid out with great planting and routing. My problem was the length of some of the holes where taking driver is a must but is taken out of your hands. I don't want to lay up on the first with over 600 yards in front of me. And then on the 2nd I felt the same. The third was a lovely par 3 where I made an excellent 26 foot downhill birdie putt that lipped in. I liked the 7th with the green perched between the two water features. The 10th as a nice par 5 where I could get the big dog out off the tee. The 14th was nicely done where the risk/reward was how much of the corner do you want to take off. I thought I had it on 15, but it just slipped by the cup. Hit a shocking red slow drive on 17 into no-mans land and took bogey. Some extreme elevation changes make for interesting club selection and I though the clubhouse was fantastic i.imgur.com/GSH4xfk.jpgThe view from inside the clubhouse of the practice facilities looks good too i.imgur.com/WDshKpi.jpg
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Post by plawlor15 on Aug 19, 2021 10:26:48 GMT -5
I really enjoyed the atmosphere of this course. I'm not sure I've played any of your other courses but it's clear you know what you're doing planting wise and that you're thinking strategically with your hole designs. However, you have one big issue here that I'm going to call the Goldilocks problem. Your back 2 tees have a massive difference of 850 yards between them. 7600 yards is a very (too) long course but 6750 is quite short. I think not having a set of tees in the 7200 yard range is too bad because it probably would have suited the course well and been "just right". I played the back tees but it was clear some holes are designed to be played from them while others are not. Hole 1 is 680 yards but driver is dangerous because the fairway pinches in. On the other side of things Hole 17 turns into just an average length par 4 from the shorter tee but it's still a par 5. Hole 6 is an average distance par 5 unless you drive it in the rough. Then you have a forced layup and a 3rd shot that's 200 yards. You have 13 holes where there's a difference of 40 yards or more between your 2 sets of back tees. I think it's nearly impossible to create a hole that will play strategically well from both tees when there's yardage gaps like that. I also think your contours (particularly the greens) are somewhat overdone. I like the concept of Hole 4 but think that the risk/reward driveable par 4 could have still been pulled off with significantly toned down slopes. I still enjoyed my round but just don't think you got the ideal yardage right. One thing to keep in mind as well is most video game golfers will only play a course once (barring Tour/Society events) and more than likely will play from the back tees. I think I'll give this a go from the 6750 tee set just to see how different it plays. Thank you for your detailed feedback. Much appreciated! I hear you on the yardage off the second set of tees. I'll be the first to admit that I don't pay too much attention to anything but the back set. I know, I know...then why bother with the other three tees? I get it. I'll factor that in better in my future designs. I was definitely going for something tougher than Tracadie Falls, so was expecting mixed feelings in the feedback. Tracadie Falls has the same atmosphere as this course, but much easier - wider fairways being the primary factor. Thanks again for taking the time to provide your feedback. It is very helpful. Peter
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Post by plawlor15 on Aug 19, 2021 10:41:04 GMT -5
I had mixed feelings about the course. The course itself is very well laid out with great planting and routing. My problem was the length of some of the holes where taking driver is a must but is taken out of your hands. I don't want to lay up on the first with over 600 yards in front of me. And then on the 2nd I felt the same. The third was a lovely par 3 where I made an excellent 26 foot downhill birdie putt that lipped in. I liked the 7th with the green perched between the two water features. The 10th as a nice par 5 where I could get the big dog out off the tee. The 14th was nicely done where the risk/reward was how much of the corner do you want to take off. I thought I had it on 15, but it just slipped by the cup. Hit a shocking red slow drive on 17 into no-mans land and took bogey. Some extreme elevation changes make for interesting club selection and I though the clubhouse was fantastic i.imgur.com/GSH4xfk.jpgThe view from inside the clubhouse of the practice facilities looks good too i.imgur.com/WDshKpi.jpgThanks for posting your playthrough! I really appreciate you giving my course a try. You had a solid round going up until that drive on 17 . Peter
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