DREAM TEAM RANKINGS (Unofficial, unnecessary incomplete, mostly incoherent, fun to do, probably won't be read, all good.)
Not that anyone cares what I say or that any of this matters, but here is one hack reviewers unapologetic opinions on the mostly amazing courses to have come out in this contest. Good work gents.
Take this for what it is worth...not much. If you want a good laugh, fire up 2K21 and play MF Beta golfklubber. It is the first time I tried designing and I gave up shortly after. Sandgroper very surprisingly played it on his channel, I laughed the entire time watching it and it should go down in history as the worst course to ever get a playthrough on Youtube, which is saying something haha.
I don't like labeling creative artforms and putting things into neat categories and genres but for the purpose of this exercise, I will rank the courses based on the alphabetical order of the designers username created plots. It helps eliminate the apples to oranges dynamic and personal preference bias of environments or styles and it just makes the most sense to me. Don't know exactly how this contest works. Don't care. Ya this post is long, that's my thing, deal with it however you want.
Won't be including console designs in this as it's not fair.
THE GOOD DR. PITHY PLOT
Shorevale Athletic Club
Good to see this guy back in the fold. Difficult, fun course, with some of his trademark tight pins. Some of that sculpting around greens and bunkers are incredible. Not a fan of mow lines but here they worked and showed off the fairways rolls nicely. Felt to me like it could have fit in well in the majors comp.
Wahnamaker Golf Club
I guess he's claiming he is the PGA Champ?? Mmm not today Matty. Nice to see you knock off the dust. Good to see you do a Raynor style. Like all your stuff in the past, some holes were brilliant and quirky with some really fun approaches. Others, to me, not as much. I liked your planting better in the past. Good course though.
Sheridan Timber Co.
Biarritz. I liked it. I like all your stuff.
Onnherback Golf Club
Solid overall. I liked your other previous courses better.
Notley's Landing
So if I play into a bunker it is basically an automatic 1 stroke or more penalty? There is a difference between a deep pot bunker at Muirfield and just artificial difficulty cause you have invisible force field sunken trees to replicate bearded bunkers or whatever. You lost me here. Just use normal grass like other people. The look didn't even come out that good IMO. It's a shame cause the rest of the course I liked. But after two rounds of random unrealistic glitchiness, I said naw that's enough for me. Still like ya man, Go Ducks. Boo the 'Blazers.
MATTY PLOT
Freterhead Golf Club
So we have Freterhead and Mid Head. Hmm...seems like yall haven't met the right gal yet. Fight me if you want but I thought this was my favorite course on this plot. Maybe because of the sightlines and the routing and how all the buildings and landmarks kept coming back into view but it just felt very cohesive to me with a strong sense of place. Moonrise Cay was an underrated sleeper and this guy is too. Give him his due already.
Doonogan Links
Loved it. Not just because of the wooden bunkers (my ball rolled back into one and came to rest on one of the ledges half way up the lip lol) but because it plays like a proper links with all the elements we know and love about them.
Culloden
Pretty solid effort with some nice quirky holes.
Cockermouth Links
Meh. Leave it up to your captain for names my friend, this choice is worse than my jokes. Is this what happens when you try and bite a yappy dog or a chicken, I don't get it. "What is the leading cause for divorce? A stalemate." "I walked into a girls room and tripped over a bra...it was a booby trap."
Barry Lyndon
I think you can do better Q. I think you have a petty grudge against me cause we got into a disagreement once over the benefits/risks of sun exposure and because you called me older than I look and I called you pale. Fair enough. There is a few good holes on this course and the rest are throwaway IMO. The plot was its greatest strength. I understand it is a minimalist Old Tom style course, but excluding the off course buildings, I thought the environment was the weakest in the contest. It felt unfinished, barren and boring. It is disrespectful to hit a golf ball over a burial site.
MC*****LL PLOT
Six Barrel Brewing Co.
Yes petro. Outstanding. Really fun small greens with a nice varied routing using natural features and tying it all together in a nice aesthetic package. Insta classic to me.
Blacktail Creek
We clearly have different personality types. That's cool, I still respect you. Nice course, your best course. Good to see you getting more bold and taking more chances. I like where your designs are headed.
Elkhorn Springs
Meh. Minus a couple nice pockets of nature, your courses feel the same. Try something new please and step out of your comfort zone.
PETTYMAN PLOT
Wolf Rock Reservoir
Yep. This is very very nice. I have a suggestion if you would like to kindly forward it to HB please?
Three Mile Creek
I like most of your other courses better. I think you maybe chose this plot as it is something you haven't really done before. (The wide open valley course.) The course was sound overall and the cliff work was well done. No need for Stoicism here, the course seemed a bit too easy or friendly for my liking and that is not a metaphor or personal attack at you yourself whatsoever. You are still my king. I am looking forward to your take on Lord Stanley. Oh Canada, the true north strong and free. I didn't like the lighting or the orange bush and I felt that it just lacked that classic, memorability factor.
Wolf
First impression wise, I think I liked this course the best on this plot. Very solid effort with the environment I thought being its strong suit.
Lake Cadaver
In all honesty, by your standards I though it was a bit of a let down. I mean it's good and I am probably missing something here. But I like when you do your own plots Walter.
NOT SCOTTISH BUT SIMPLY...SCOTTISH PLOT
Wicker Club
"Beware of false prophets, for they come to you in Sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravening Wolves."
-Matthews 7:15
I don't like being called a "Chat GPT who writes nothing but garbage." Was the bible verse the origin of your hate towards me, my friend? There is a difference between making playful insults to the Petty's of the world in good fun or playing Devil's Advocate and then straight up calling someone a loser in public and attempting to use cancel culture to discredit his beliefs by saying everything that comes out of his mouth is rubbish.
I don't know how old you are but I suspect you are at a point in your life where you are trying to fit in with the in crowd to be cool and find your people. And gaining likers & subscribers at the expense of other people is not the way to do it brother. Getting a few likes from other people on your comment probably made you feel good about yourself hey?? The last time I checked, the internet is a public domain and you don't have to agree with everything people say. Or even read it for that matter. Golfballwackerguy does things you don't like...let's ban the guy. It's all good, I forgive you.
"Knowing that evil is done by ignorance, and that good is done by knowledge, pursue wisdom."
-Stoic Philosophy
One life lesson I will give you is this my friend:
"I have no desire to fit in
No plans to walk with the crowd.
I have my own mind, heart & soul.
I am me, and it has taken me years to realize how important that is."
The are two types of people in this world; the ones who believe a lie because it makes them feel comfortable and helps them fit in, or the ones who seek the truth no matter how panful that makes them feel or how secluded they may ultimately end up.
Tyga!? That guy and wack artists like him are probably in the top 20 reasons as to why the Merican youth are so @!$#ed up at the moment. He is a true Chat GPT and everything that spews out of his mouth is garbage. I will give a chance to explain yourself and if you say one more rude comment to me, it is best to just keep my name out your mouth and I will do the same, respectfully.
All that being said...I don't approve of the illegal contraband in baskets being shipped across state borders haha...but the course slapped man!! Really enjoyed it, played all 4 pins with 4 different wind directions and it is very well executed with a ton of replay value. Kudos. And if you wanna talk, let's talk. If not, that's cool to.
Donnybrook Cricket Club
Might be your most complete and polished course to date Mr. Marshall of The Realm Von Ferson from the 1700's. Some of those bunker complexes are truly a sight to see.
Heaton Hall
Badger...Honey...You da best. Nuff said.
Rosemont Country Club
Course is solid and fine, I liked his other stuff better.
Castle Creek
Shame that the grass doesn't render in this game as well as it could. You could have added a couple other random colours of bush in there for some species variety and improve the palette a bit better IMO. Some of the green shapes are a bit weird, but fun course to play with some nice variety to the holes and how they themselves play. The best way I can describe this course is it is bold and that is a compliment.
YODA/THE KING AH DAH NORFF PLOT
Fontlareine
Read the 3000 word paper in his thread for my comments about how much fun I had playing 5 rounds here lol. Point taken. I talk too much. The insults are all in good fun and I respect you man and I hope you know that. But I will say this:
"There will come a time in your life when you feel safe and happy and your joy will turn to ashes in your mouth. And you will know the debt has been paid."
-Tyrion Lannister
Shapland
The grassy mounds and grass bunkers and green surrounds and how they all tied together and played off of each other was the highlight of this course for me. I like your style, always have, I think you are in the top 4 or 5 of best designers out there. Just my opinion, whether right or wrong. All your courses feel distinctively unique for there type and are very polished. Your hole designs keep getting better with every publish.
Mid Head Club
Petty wins this time but dammit Mc*****ll you've done it again. Great name. For a change up, it is good, but you don't want that the whole time. This course on the other hand was great and has it all. Tight routing, trees that gamecockblock you, beautiful, fun holes, it has my number. With Saint's Boner, Loose Lips and this, you are really making an impression lately. Still...Gamecocks < Tigers tho. Chicken stands no chance against a cat, it's only a matter of time.
The Savory Grape
Some fun unique hole designs, with a pretty well constructed planting scheme. I liked it. This guy keeps getting better.
Broomfield Heath
Pretty damn good for his experience level I thought. Looking forward to seeing what he comes up with next.
The plots were all really great. The downside is after awhile the courses start to...a little bit look the same, at least to me.
Best course in the contest: Kicking Horse Ranch. Old Man Willis still has it and everyone else is playing for second place.
2nd place: Norterra
3rd place: Fontlareine. Petty finally pops his cherry. Give Ben the credit.
Sleeper pick as best course in the the contest: Six Barrell.
The insiders clique still lives on, always has, and is stronger than ever. Yall resist outsiders and criticism. I forgive you, most people do. If someone doesn't come in with something new and exciting and follow the "proper" way to build a golf course or post a new architecture article you haven't read before, some of the members on here just throw you on the scrape heap. I don't have much to add to the discussion, I admit, but I have fun doing it and I enjoy learning.
Yall need to remember that these forums, I believe, were set up by someone else for administrative purposes and to talk about the online tournaments they were so brilliantly involved in creating. Then yall just made it your own thing and now have the ability to deem what is "tour worthy" or not cause the founders are too busy and have other things to do.
I am all for setting standards as we don't want every course to be called good. But I feel there is a bias here.
Please tell me how Barry Lyndon with its minimal environment work IMO, gets approved and then my man Meta's Morfontaine with its "inconsistent environment" over Simpson's subtle, LiDAR laser technology, realistic fairways...doesn't? Sure, the bunkers are a bit off. But have any of you actually walked those fairways or played that course in real life? Or seen how many real trees are on that property and how much real underbrush each one of them has? And how many dandelions randomly sprout up in the large areas where just simple grass grows. And how you will most likely just zoom your ball well past or away from this stuff holding fast forward and then instantly forget about it one second later when you are planning your approach to the green surrounded by dense dried out heath? A lidar course has a smaller meter. Give my man his gold star already. I love how he got Strantz, seems like a perfect fit.
"I'm just a home plate umpire in the game of life and I call balls or strikes with integrity for the game."
-Sam Harris
"The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane."
-Marcus Aurelius
"If you want to improve, be content to be thought foolish and stupid."
-Epictetus
There was a point when I wanted a members only jacket here...now I am not so sure. Still love "this thing of ours" or yours, and I really enjoy watching you kids create art. But sometimes yall are like a bunch of immature tiktok 15 year old high schooler see you N T S caught up in a popularity contest. I'm just trying to express in my posts how much fun I have and how much I appreciate playing this game and I like to meet and get to know new people. Every human (or tree lol) has something interesting to say and I think they want to say it. You just have to ask the right questions. We can't all agree all the time and that's beautiful. Crumple up whatever I say into a ball of paper and launch one towards the waste basket if you'd like. You can't please everybody in life, nor do you want to. Fun contest, I'm curious to compare my opinions of these courses to the other people's when the true judging of worth begins.
Call me the eye in the sky, the snake in the grass or a Chat GPT dumpster fire, either of those labels are fine by me.
Carry on Gentleman, thank you, enjoy your weekends, best of luck.