Knockout Round Of 16 Results

[Deleted]

Iditarod Golf Course, Ruby, AK vs Cedar Pointe GC

Judge 1:

Iditarod Golf Course, Ruby, AK
Score: 9.5
Pros:
-Great looking course, some really beautiful views off the tee, all the way to the greens. Lots of excellent framing done for each hole it appeared. #5 is a beaut off the tee. #11 ditto. #17? Fuggetaboutit. And #18? Wow.
-Zero planting, which in this case I think worked to the overall benefit of the course. The course has a very clean look, and the background and water and natural beauty of each hole more than makes up for lack of planting.
-Great bunkering - flawless.
-Cart path looks perfect and adds, rather than subtracts/distracts, from the course. A lot of time was spent on this path, and it shows.
-Lots of really great hole routings. Lots of split fairways, offering plenty of challenging tee- and 2nd shots and a lot of variety. Each hole really feels unique. Like the evil mess of rough in the middle of #6; the tree in the middle of #8's fairway; the routing on #9 with the extra spur above the bunkers - wind behind you? Go for the spur. Wind against you? Go for the shorter fairway in front of the bunkers. And look at #14: fantastic routing. Etc.
-2nd cut looks really nice - large and generous and even transition. Gives all the fairways a really clean look. I like that it is varied, and doesn't match exactly the shapes of the fairways. Contouring of the fairways is flawless - I don't know the designer, but I can tell from this course that he knows the GNCD like the back of his hand, and has a truly masterful feel for golf course architecture.
-Really great green complexes. Great pin placements - lots of challenge to be had here, good rewarding of approach shots.

Cons:
-Some of the greens are a bit small, although this is not necessarily a "con" per se, only in that I can see it being hard to get some really different holes when multi-pinning on some of them. This does not impact my score in the least - only mention it to mention it.
-God as my witness, I can't find anything I could call a "con" on this. And I really looked! Actually, that says quite a bit about a golf course when you really have to TRY to find something negative.

Fundamentally, technically, this is a wonderful course. It has PGA Tour written all over it. I really FELT like I was in Alaska. Challenging as-is, not too easy, not too hard? Check. Variety, risk/reward, beauty, smooth textures, smooth transitions, bunkering, cart path, framing, organic overall flow? Check. Easy to increase or decrease the challenge through multi-pinning/minor adjustment of settings? Check. Shot planning and hole routings thought-out for different winds/distances? Check. Replayability and enjoyment factor? Check. Really, the only parts that can be argued about on this course are all aesthetic choices, which are subjective to the personal preferences of each player. I absolutely loved it, and favorited it and plan on playing it over and over. What a great golf course.

Cedar Pointe Golf Club
Score:9.6
Pros:
-Another gorgeous course! Lighting, framing - it's obvious this designer knows what looks good, and selected teeboxes and greens and landing areas for their aesthetic qualities as well as their strategic ones.
-Very challenging and thought-provoking hole routings! Right off the bat, #2's tee-shot is a great example. Trees are used as hazards just as much as sand or water.
-Really like the use of unique fencing/retaining walls around the water hazards, #1/#3/#5/#16 show this well. Unique. Attractive. Flawless retaining walls.
-Flawless bunkering
-Love the use of mulch around the course. Not overdone - we've seen that a lot - but tasteful and aesthetically it brings the whole course together, organically.
-Zero planting. This works so well here - teeboxes/greens show only what "nature" put there, and with this theme and the trees and water and framing - planting is not needed. Good choice.
-I like the choice of uniform fencing around the teeboxes. Provides a uniform identity that ties all 18 together, and looks good.
-Great cart path. Adds to the course, rather than detracts or subtracts. A lot of attention was given to this path.
-Transitioning between cuts is flawless, contouring on the fairways is beautiful. Very, very clean look
-Great green complexes. Great pin placements. Challenging, contoured to make the golfer pay attention to the terrain, approaches rewarded (or punished, as appropriate) - easily multi-pinned.

Cons:
- Again - I honestly tried. Sorry, nothing stands out as a "negative" on this course. At all.

WINNER: CEDAR POINTE GOLF CLUB
This was one hell of a tough matchup between two courses. The only reason that Cedar Pointe won was really just the "character" of the course vs. Iditarod - and it was so close. Both had everything one could ask of a great golf course. But in the end, Cedar Pointe's overall experience was just ever-so-slightly more special than Iditarod - that "something" special that is so hard to define, and so elusive, but really makes a course stand out in one's mind. And they both had it! Cedar Pointe just had it a little more. Both are incredible courses!

Judge 2:
Iditarod Golf Course, Ruby, AK
 Lighting was superb and gave you an eerie feeling right from the get go.
The designer was very meticulous, everything looked clean from roadwork to the smaller details of rakes outside bunker areas and distance markers placed perfectly.
(Except for hole 17, I felt that red marker was too much in my face off tee box)
. Beautiful reflection off water from the choice of background.
Transitions from fairway, to fringe to heavy rough was perfect
Greens are challenging and could be a bit larger but are manageable as is.

Uneven tees visible on holes 1, 9,10,and 17.
Overall a well done course but the lack of planting left me feeling a bit blah
Minor issues that can be fixed easily.
Score 8.5

Cedar Pointe Golf Club
Sometimes you just get that feeling off the first tee
I commend the designer for creating such a terrific looking course,I found nothing wrong with this course.
Greens were right size in comparison to fairways, good pin placement with plenty of room for making a multi-pin course.
What planting was done was done with great thought, subtle and just the right amount needed as not to take away from the beauty of this course.
I could go on about this course but would like to defer to my partner's review. He covered pretty much everything I saw and
felt about this course.
I immediately stuck this one in my favorites. Scoring a well deserved 10, Cedar Pointe is the winner...

Judge 3:

Iditarod v. Cedar Pointe

Cedar Pointe

+Extremely clean and polished look- bunker sculpting, long bendy fairways, greens, externals, etc

+Fencing was a nice touch, especially around the lakes

+Deceptive holes and views- made for tougher drives and shots which is good

+Good sized bunkers and well placed

+Realistic looking course except for a couple of fantasy aspects

+Holes 14,17 were my standout favorites

+Well designed and good looking uphill holes.

-Some rough-bunker-FW-green transition issues found

-Some bunkers could have been presented better to the eye/view of the golfer

-Planting was too uniform is some areas

-A few too many blind shots for my liking

-Greens could have had more imagination. I'm a fan of tiers and some red/yellow slopes...everything here was safe and subtle

-Plateau that was the 15th tee. Looked strange from afar

-Seemed like almost all pins were placed behind bunkers. They were fair, but if a bunker covered 50% of the green, it seemed like a 100% chance pin was behind it

Overall a great course that's adaptable for use across all potential tours. Would love to play this again and see it multipinned

Iditarod

+Clean open design.  Similar 'safe' design as Cedar Point who it's battling against this round

+Minimalistic done well- No excessive shaping, planting, etc

+Hole9 was a standout hole

+Cart paths were done well

+Smoothing and little things taken care of

-Design was a little too safe...never had a shot where I really had to 2x/3x think about it and avoid trouble

-Why is there a bunker next to the 4th tee?

-6th hole trench & planting. Really stood out as a negative...all trees placed down there same height and too dense.

-Why are the greens so slow in a snowy/icy area, would expect firmer conditions and fast greens to fit the theme

-Some rakes just lying about

-Hole 11 planting not great

-Hole 12 fairway was a head scratcher

-Hole 16 stake in the face and blind tee shot. Again...didn't fit theme

Overall I liked playing this course. 

The winner in this battle is Cedar Pointe

Judge 4:

Iditarod vs Cedar Pointe

This will be short as I'm sure the other judges have listed a plethora of pros and cons so no need to re-hash old news.

Both courses are technically very sound. I didn't find any glaring problems. I can see how both courses made it through the first round as they are both extremely well done.
To me the decision came down to the wow factor and Cedar Pointe had just a bit more of it.

Cedar Pointe GC advances

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Olafsen Skerries vs Silverwolf Lake & Hills Club (Final)

Judge 1:
At this point I'm assuming most of the courses are technically sound so I'll do less nit-picking about little things I wouldn't usually notice and focus more on a direct comparison of the two courses playabilty versus each other.  First matchup:

Olafsen Skerries vs. Silverwolf Lake & Hills Club

An interesting match as playwise Olafsen was one of the easier courses I've played in this tournament while Silverwolf was easily the hardest.  Winds were also stronger on Silverwolf which didn't help.  While Olafsen was relatively easy it managed to stay fun with some decent variety and options off the tee which is always nice to see and allows the course to play differently as the conditions change.  Silverwolf had a couple holes where you had to make choices off the tee, but for the most part it was a driver down the middle sort of course.  The greens were definitely a challenge and beyond my skill level, which I'm not holding against it.  The challenge was rarely frustrating except maybe the 14th, being a long, uphill par 4 that was unreachable in 2 with the 12mph headwind I had.  In 20mph winds that hole would super suck.  Overall I give Olafsen the win as far as fun and playabilty goes.

Looks wise I didn't notice anything glaringly wrong with either.  Both utilized the theme and natural environment well and kept a consistent look and feel throughout.  Neither went too far with the extras to make the course unnecessarily busy.  The courses each felt like they were built into the land that was already there and just looked like the kind of places you'd want to play a round of golf.  Unfortunately for Olafsen my personal preference is always going to be a nicely made forest course over a seaside one.  I just like the look better and it always jumps out at me more, so Silverwolf gets the edge on cosmetics.

Overall this was my closest matchup I've judged thus far, which I'm sure will continue as we get further into this.  I can see why both courses made it this far and was well deserved.  That being said a winner must be picked so:

Olafsen - 7.9
Silverwolf -7.7

Playability earns a couple extra points over looks.

Winner Olafsen Skerries.

Judge 2:
Olafsen Skerries v Silverwolf Lake & Hills Club

Olafsen
Great look off first tee
Not too keen on the rocks and blobs of land in the water throughout, only cosmetic personal taste and not a detractor on score
Bunkering designs were a little inconsistent in their designs, some nice and rounded and some were pretty jagged looking
Overall course contouring is fantastic
Hole designs and layout were very varied, only slight here designer left an alternate fairway that was a better play on hole 9 open for use, would have preferred it blocked by a tree or something like that
Green contouring for me is a little too lumpy and pins seemed on them for the most part which upped difficulty

Overall really enjoyed course and gave 9/10

Silverwolf
Very nice look off first tee
Planting overall is pretty good, some of the rock work stuck out in odd ways at times IMO
Bunkering designs are good but sculpting left lacking with depth and also low lying and hard to see at times
Course contouring is okay, transitions in larger elevation changes looked unnatural at times
Hole designs and layouts were good, green shapes are odd at times and their contouring was a little irregular for me

Overall have this one 7/10

Winner: Olafsen Skerries

Judge 3:
Olafsen Skerries vs Silverwolf Lake

winner = Olafsen Skerries

Both courses are tour worthy.. Both were fun to play and both were designed very well.. Olafsen Skerries is top shelf though..

Judge 4:
At this stage all the courses are pretty much tour worthy and like someone else said, all the courses have had plenty of feedback at this stage so I just focused on multiple plays in different conditions to see which courses I felt played better and of course the courses I enjoyed the most.

Olafsen v Silverwolf, the winner for me here was Olafsen, both high quality courses but Olafsen just had that bit more, the fairways stood out for me and playability wise, there was very little wrong. 

so my winner is Olafsen Skerries 

Olafsen Skerries advances...

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Woodbridge Golf Club vs The Golf Course @ Oxcross

Judge 1:

Woodbridge Golf Club

Overall impression
Nice layout from tee to greens
Color combinations from heavy, fringe, fairway and greens worked.
Greens played well with decent sloping, nothing overdone
Par 5's were thinker holes, go for it risk vs reward depending on the winds
Interesting bridgework. Worked well with theme. I liked the fact the designer tried to give it a different looks than the stock bridges.
#13 heading to green from bridge those planks looked out of place. A short walking path might have looked cleaner
Good placement of bunkers, smooth and good depth
Good use of lighting.

Too much planting of grass around tee boxes, this could have worked it was not on almost every tee box.
Retaining wall on #2 the heavy rough needs smoothing to the edge of wall
Lack of any flowering plants to give it a bit of color, as this theme can be a bit drab
I felt like I was seeing the same shape of greens through the front 9, happy to see it varied on the back a bit more.
Greens were a bit small with tight pin positions which challenges the golfer to be spot on or off into sand, rough or water.
Coming home on 18 was not a fan of the house on the hill, did not see the purpose of it as you could see the full club house
off to the right. Just looked out of place. Somehow I would change up either the distance or green position so the club house is in full
view to the golfer. Just my opinion of what I like to see heading up to 18th green.
Minor Changes overall a nice course.

Score 7.7

The Golf Course @ Oxcross

Well thought out plot
Cart paths added to the look of this course and theme although jagged edges in a few areas, but easily fixed
Great views off tees 2 and 3, good use of elevation.
Bunkers smooth and well placed
Planting well done, even with the lack of flowering plants it seemed to work here, everything seemed clean to me, although my first thought on #4 there could have been some nice color added to those rocks to the right,
but as I continued on felt there was enough pizzazz on this course that it works without it.
Liked the added touch of Tee directional signs
Greens were not too small not to big. Firmness was perfect.
My favorite holes were heading home 16, 17 and 18.

There were minor things to mention in my review here
not a big fan of tee markers, those balls drive me to drink!
They always look so oversized and like someone took a hammer to smoosh it in the ground and leave a dent (my warped sense of humor here)
Pin positions a bit too easy almost center green, sloping could be a bit more intense.
Rock on hill #12 looks as though it is floating, I would remove it.

Easy fixes, overall a well done and thought out course. I would play again and also book in a favorite.

Score 8.3

Winner: The Golf Course @oxcross

Judge 2:
For Woodbridge vs The Golf Course @ Oxcross... I don't envy the other three judges...

It's a shame that these two courses are meeting now.. both are top notch. We had medium and somewhat easy versus firm and a tad more difficult... so hard to compare here. For me, it came down to which one I enjoyed playing more, and to that one I think might (barely) make a better tour course... so my vote goes to Woodbridge.

Judge 3:
Woodbridge Golf Club
Score: 8.0
Pros
-Really liked the bridges - which obviously is where the course derives its name. Fantastic.
-Loved the greens. The designer spent a lot of time meticulously sculpting and contouring them, and the pin placements. Challenging, but not overdone, great movement. Lots of options for multipinning. A little on the small side - as my partner noted - but not overly so.
-Very clean look overall
-Excellent overall layout
-Nice bunkering. Minimalist placing, yet strategic. No obsolete bunkers on this course.

Cons
-Retaining wall on #2 looked rough, needed some smoothing
-A few of the transitions between cuts on the teeboxes needed smoothing.

Good job of making the terrain - on and around the course - look natural. For example, the rockwork was so subtle and well-done that i barely noticed it. But see hole #17 as an example - it blends into the background, yet really adds to the overall surroundings' beauty. Really could have used a bit more planting to give it a little more beauty. This theme tends to have a "vanilla" look without added planting.
Overall a very enjoyable and good-looking course, very clean and smooth and accessible to all skill levels

The Golf Course @ Oxcross
Score:9.0
Pros
-Great cart path. Adds to the course's beauty and overall look
-Love the hole routings. So many good, unique ones that challenge the golfer from tee to green
-Love the range of tall hills in the background. Really makes the overall environment the course is placed in look unique and "real." Too many designers neglect the terrain outside of the boundaries of their course.
-Excellent green complexes. Large enough for multi-pinning. Great movement, well-planned pin positions and contoured to reward good shots.
-Some really beautiful views off the teebox. #4, #12, #16, #18 are great examples

Cons
-The course could use a bit of planting to liven it up a bit, especially with this Theme. A bit vanilla-looking

Overall, I really liked this course. Very challenging and fun, with a lot of re-playability. I look forward to seeing this one on Tour, and the multiple versions I know will be forthcoming.

Although both courses are top-notch, The Golf Course @oxcross was really a step above in my view, in terms of overall beauty and layout and excitement/challenge.
Winner:The Golf Course @ Oxcross

Judge 4:
Just finished my final playthroughs.
In the Oxcross vs Woodbridge matchup, the winner is...OXCROSS. I felt this was the more memorable of the 2 courses, as they were both well done technically.

The Golf Course @ Oxcross advances...

Griff note: I actually had Woodbridge grading out a little higher and advancing on my scorecard, but it was very close on my sheets as well. Nothing I can raise an eyebrow about on this one. Congrats and good luck going forward, Scamp!

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Nenestin Estates G.C. vs Threshold Lakes Golf Resort

Judge 1:
Nenestin Estates vs. Threshold Lakes

First time i've played these two, so lets get started........

Nenestin Estates
Pros.
cart paths well done
good sculpting of water banks/edging
sand bunkers ..good
Cons.
greens...5, 11, 16 & 17 had little bits of the grid showing outside the actual green area..very distracting..too bad

Comments.
Visually, this is an extremely well done course that plays well. Liked the bridges and fencing, planting in ravines.
Rock work/ steps in front of clubhouse #9 green is a beautiful look..extremely well done...

Threshold Lakes
Pros.
really nice lighting
tee boxes well done, esp. liked the stepped ones on #7
Cons
some bunkers could have used a little more work
#5 retaining wall..finishing could have been better, transition from grass to dirt..
although i did like the rock at the start and end..

Comments.
I really liked how this course fit into this theme..I especially liked #'s 7, 16 and 17.
This is a very tour worthy course...

WINNER....NENESTIN ESTATES..

Judge 2:

Nenestin Estates G.C. vs Threshold Lakes Golf Resort

Nenestin Estates G.C.

Nice course, well laid out with clear access paths and obvious routes to next tees. Difficult to find any faults ....except maybe the green grids being visible on some holes outside of the green area, not being a designer i have no idea what that is about as have not seen it before. Course played well, no dodgy pins only thing it lacked for me was the WOW factor
Score 8/10

Threshold Lakes Golf Resort

First thing i noticed was no clubhouse  so once again i had to get the chopper out to be airlifted on to 1st tee.
Good greens and for the most part good layout, i did feel however the last 4 or 5 holes did not fir the rest of the course, fairways became like snakes, with more bunkers everywhere
14th hole i was not a fan of, 254 yd par 3 to me is just wrong, stand on the tee with a headwind and you are staring bogey or worse in the face...you should always be able to reach a green in regulation, if you play correct shot. Also the bridge on 14 has a bush at the far end so this would be impassable, bit picky maybe but i like a course that i feel i could be playing in real life. Again leave the 18th green and i have nowhere to go, i am in the middle of a forest. This course also did not have a WOW factor.
Score 7/10

Nenestin Estates G.C. is my winner

Judge 3:

Nenestin estates v Threshold lakes

Nenestin estates

felt like i was playing a well done rcr, simple but really enjoyable to play loved the second shot in to the ninth with the clubhouse behind the green, one negative the green
grid would appear in the fairway on a few holes

Threshold lakes

Another beautiful looking course really liked the backdrop with the mountains, really
enjoyable course to play aswell, few great looking tee shots and second shots definitely
a course that deserves a tour stop

Winner so hard to pick both courses play and look great but THRESHOLD LAKES just nicks it

Judge 4:
Comments coming when available. Winner: Threshold Lakes

So we have a tie. I shall be back with the tiebreaker in short order...

Tiebreaker: 
Another one where I have to say to both designer "pin your course, knucklehead." Both of these are tour worthy courses that will find a home on one of the tours in the very near future.

Now, since we have that out of the way...I was honestly dreading a tie in this one. Overall I really like both of these...both have some very good things going, and both (in my opinion) have some shortcomings as well. Mayday has proven to be a very good designer that takes a slow and steady approach of carving out a course that keeps us coming back for more. Pablo turned the corner some months ago and is now dropping bombs with every new release. This was very much a matchup of conflicting styles for me. Pablo's new MO is to bring us a great course that requires a bit of grinding along the way, Mayday does what he does with the visually clean "real course" feel. 

Whatever I said in my streams you can pretty much throw out the window when it comes to my scorecards. I take much different notes and look at many things differently when I put the judging hat on. I've played both courses 3 times each scoring each round independent of any other. My final take is as follows: Nenestin has very clean lines and is a course I feel like I could walk out and play tomorrow. There is some very nice planting and features on this course that most will miss if not looking for it. I do feel like he missed some opportunities to make some of those features sparkle, but that's just my opinion. The only real negative I had on this one is that there's not a hole that just made me say "Oh, damn." It felt like the designer was playing it safe in some places, which in turn led to a course that just didn't have that knockout punch. It looks great, it plays nice, but it lacks that "fantastic" tangent. That is no way saying the course isn't great, it just keeps it closer to the pack than it could have been. Threshold felt like Pablo getting out of his comfort zone...in a good way. There are some fantastic views around the course and he has made some nice use of natural features to enhance the course instead of doing things that take it away from the theme...meaning the course feels like it belongs here. While admitting that I'm not a huge fan of the looooooong par 3, there's a nice variety of holes around the course to keep you on your toes. it could have been cleaner in some places...especially around the edges, but most areminor things that I know Pablo will improve upon as he keeps going forward in the designer. My main issue with this course was the last 3 or 4 holes. The running joke is my use of the word "continuity", but this is where that kinda works its way in. We went from a course that was flowing from hole to hole throughout the round to home stretch where it felt like Pablo started forcing a bit. They are in no way bad holes, but they don't fit with round he created through the first 14 or 15 holes in my opinion.


Anyways...I took the scores from both sets (3 each) of scorecards and added them up to give me a cumulative value. Even after that I really don't want to eliminate either of these courses. it is, however, the nature of the beast. With a margin of 1.6  in total scoring, the course moving on to the round of 8 is...

Nenestin Estates advances...

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Braes of Sutherland vs Wanderers Club @ Blackwater Fen

Judge 1:

Braes of Sutherland vs Wanderers Club @ Blackwater Fen

Braes of Sutherland- You start your round here and you can't help but notice the beautiful hills, lighting, and gorgeous views. The highlands theme is famous for this, and the designer has done a great job in bringing this to the forefront. The first hole looks gorgeous and the designer has done a great job in just using the landscape and sculpting it to keep it looking natural. You will not find bright colorful flowers or areas of plants added for the sole purpose of adding plants and color. You just see the highlands theme and the designer using his skills to do the rest. The conditions on the course are medium fairways and SOFT greens. The fairways and greens mesh well with these conditions. As I continued to hole 2, I see a gorgeous par 3, and this continues to holes 3, 4, and 5. The one thing I did notice was there were no walking paths or any path to most, if not all of the fairways. This is not something that affects the game play of the course at all, but an observation that I feel needs to be mentioned in a designing competition. It just adds more realism. Sometimes these aren't needed, but with a rugged terrain, it just seems unrealistic to think the golfer would be climbing over large mounds and at times large rocky areas. Hole 5 is a very nice par 5. This is a legitimate chance for eagle here, which I like. The designer did some excellent elevation work on hole 6. This hole climbs up 52' and it's done in such a gradual manor it looks and feels very natural...very well done. Moving on to hole 8, I can see where you have some options off the tee depending on the wind conditions, that is very welcoming. The hole also provides the player with options on their second shot..does he go for the green in two or lay up off to the right and leave a nice easy pitch...well done.

Moving on to the back nine I find more of the same gorgeous views, nice sculpting, and nice bunker work throughout as well. I get to hole 11 and I see something that REALLY concerns me...I don't think the designer left enough room to make it to the fairway here in a strong headwind. On my play through I had a 6 mph cross wind, slightly at my back. The general rule in designing in this game is the fairway needs to start at approximately 220 yards to make sure in a headwind 16 mph and greater (I've played in as high as 21 mph several times) the player can reach the fairway. Well, I clubbed down to a 3w which will travel 245 yds. I barely made it to the fairway. You should be able to reach with a 5w which travels 225, this can't happen here and it saddens me. There are some minor exceptions to this rule such as a big downhill tee shot, but that's not the case here. Moving on the back nine appears to get a little tougher on the greens which for me was welcoming. The overall difficulty here is very easy, or at least easy for the PGA and EURO players. I made mistakes and went for -17. That's not a strike against the course, just an actual description of what you'll face here.

The course provides a very enjoyable round of golf. There are some very beautiful views to enjoy as well. Will the course bring me back and want to play again, for me probably not, for a beginner player or anyone looking for a relaxing round absolutely!! The designer has done a very nice job here. I do wish there were walking paths to the fairways. That would have looked really nice and added a bit more realism. The fairway on 11 is very questionable to me and may make that an unfair penalty to the player. Bottom line, this is a nice course. The course looks like a links course, but doesn't really feel like a links course. I would have liked to see more of a challenge or at least make me think for my shots. I actually didn't even check the greens on several approach shots as it really didn't matter most of the time.

Wanderers Club @ Blackwater Fen

Right off the bat you're going to observe the really nice lighting chosen here. I also love the little ponds with all the broken trees, really sets the mood here. The first hole is very well done with nice bunkers. In fact the bunkers kind of look scary! Almost as if they're saying stay out of here!! The bunkers are recessed and sculpted in a way that really acts as a penalty for going in them. Nice touch in my opinion. The conditions here are firm fairways and medium greens. Right off the bat, you will see these are good conditions for this design and works well throughout the course. There is a very natural look and feel here. The look of the broken trees and, ponds, streams, and even some larger lakes are consistent throughout and flows well. Hole 2 is a par 5 that gives the player something to think about off the tee and continues that with the second shot as well. Nicely done. The par 3 third hole is a gorgeous hole and works well. LOVE the look off the tee here and the look around the green, with the ducks and planting. I ran into some concern and questions on the 5ht hole. I looked pretty hard and could not figure out why the designer made the right portion of the fairway as a second option. It almost looks like the designer forgot to clear out some of the trees so that the player could hit to the right. But as it stands, you can only utilize the left portion. There may be a slim chance you could thread the needle and go between two very tall trees as long as the wind was blowing from east to west, but that's still going to be a shot most PGA guys would not attempt or even be able to make. Moving on to hole 6, the layout is nice, but it appears the designer to flatten the tee box properly as the right tee marker is submerged in the ground and the left tee marker is standing nice and tall. My favorite hole is number 8! I could play that hole over and over again. This is a true risk reward par 4. There is a chance here to make a hole in one...and if you're going to make a short par 4, then you might as well give the player the chance, otherwise its just two short irons...BORING! I dd not get the hole in one, but came close. Going back to the double fairway concept on hole 14...and this time it works. The designer has given the player the option to go left or right and it makes sense here and works well. On hole 15 the designer has put in a bridge and did some nice work with it. The bridge blends well with the terrain as it leads to the fairway, but does not blend or mesh well where it begins.

Playing through the rest of the course, I found myself enjoying the lighting and shadows, and the challenging layout. Some may not like the slim, challenging fairways, but they are fair, and if you execute the proper tee shot you can make every fairway. The course requires you to think of your shots and rewards you for the well executed tee shot and approach shots. Greens are fair and sculpted well. This is a PGA or EURO stop for me. When I finished my round here I wanted to play it again. That's a great sign.

This is a close match. But for me, I think one course really defined itself, and one was kind of looking for their identity. One is bringing me back, and one isn't.

Braes of Sutherland- 8.0

Wanderers Club @ Blackwater Fen- 8.5

Winner Wanderers Club @ Blackwater Fen

Judge 2:
Braes of Sutherland vs Wanderers Club @ Blackwater Fen

Two more very worthy courses in this match up.

Braes of Sutherland:
Very clean looking course. Nice views and lay out. Not a lot to pick apart on this course. There was one bunker I noticed where the rough/heavy rough was a bit wonky.
Not a lot of danger or risk reward shots.
Great course overall.

Wanderers Club @ Blackwater Fen
Nice views through out and also mostly clean looking. The only real issue I had was the fairway/rough/heavy rough was inconsistent in a few spots.
Several split fairways offering alternate routes to the green.
Also a great course

Wanderers Club @ Blackwater Fen wins in another close match up

Judge 3:
Braes of Sutherland v. The Wanderers Club at Blackwater Fen

Braes of Sutherland notes:
+Carving/sculpting of hills, cliffs really nice
+Minimal planting done which helps highlight the sculpting and plot work
+Some very nice looking holes and views
+View off 18th tee is super
+Fun hole designs.
+Easy setup so approachable for all skill levels

-Fencing around the first tee is crooked
-Bunkering had some areas for improvement- especially presenting the bunkers to the default views. Had to use aerial camera to see a majority of them
-Soft and slow greens on a highlands course? Turned into dart throwing
-No pathing hole to hole...not even an ability to walk to your ball from some tee boxes. Big miss in my book...should at least have a walking trail noticeable, or flattened areas where the golfer wouldn't have to go up an apex to reach the fairway
-Blind shots...occasional ones are ok...but way too many here...true sim nightmare. Would like to see a fairway once in a while from the tee
-Hole11 FW starts too deep, may be hard to reach in strong headwind
-Minimal rough banding around stand-alone greens. Would be nice at least by the greens the rough or FW was bigger in the chance you miss a green.

Wanderers Club @ Blackwater Fen

+Liked the swamp/fen theme
+Dead trees in the water
+Bunkering. Really unique look to have submerged bunkers around the FWs and greens throughout. Really put strong focus on hitting FWs and greens
+Great FW design. Really thought the FWs were really strong. Thinner to hit, but always had an option and chance with a well-played shot. Made me think on every here exactly where to go
+Trees well placed around the course. Had to work a few shots, but not a bunch.
+Views off default lies (tees/FW) were great. Could see the FW and greens without aerial camera.
+Dark Green rough really popped the FW and Green textures
+Challenge
+Greens the right size and well designed

-No clubhouse area. Even in the dense woods...would have been nice to see a log cabin or something
-Green and FW color very similar...could have changed one slightly to separate
-Several bunkers too deep for all skill levels
-FW to green transitions showed some pinched-off fairways
+/- Walking path over lake on 15...nice addition, but looked too thick
-Would have liked to see the water cut into the 2nd shot on 18 to really make player think to go for it in 2, or lay back.

I enjoyed both courses, but for me this one was an easier pick vs. past matchups. Really thought Wanderers Club @ Blackwater had some of the best fairways and challenging holes I've played in awhile...and everything was as nicely polished as Braes. But the framing, presentation, and challenge of the holes makes Wanderers Club @ Blackwater Fen my winner.

Judge 4:
Comments coming when available. Winner: Braes of Sutherland

Wanderer's Club @ Blackwater Fen advances...

[Deleted]

Greens of Aberdeen vs Hill Valley Country Club

Judge 1:

Greens of Aberdeen vs. Hill Valley CC

This was a tough matchup as both courses did so much similar.  Both offered clean, straightforward, and solid rounds of golf.  Both played very much on the easy side and it felt like that was the intention.  Each one mixed in a few holes where you had to stop and think about the landing area to break up the grip-and-rip tee shots.  Aside from the roadway visible on a couple holes on Hill Valley both opt for a minimalistic use of non-natural eye candy and props.  Neither course did anything glaringly wrong, but neither did much to leave a 'wow' impression.

Hill Valley might have played tougher if there was stronger winds, but in my round they never went over 3 so scoring well was easy.  Aberdeen on the other hand I don't think would play tough in any wind conditions.  Mine were around 10ish but I don't think I've ever seen a course play so short.  Short par 5's, six par 4's listed as 350yds. or under.  I like reachable par 4's and 5's or short wedge approaches as much as the next golfer but it almost felt too excessive on this one.  Hill Valley offered more variety in hole distances and shot types.  I also felt the par 5's on it really stood out as being fun to play.

Overall another close battle between two deserving courses.

Greens of Aberdeen - 7.4
Hill Valley CC - 7.6

Hill Valley's variety played better for me than the super shortness of Aberdeen.

Winner:Hill Valley CC

Judge 2:
Greens of Aberdeen vs Hill Valley CC

winner = Hill Valley CC

This was a extremely tough matchup for me. Hill Valley was just a bit better.

Judge 3:
At this stage all the courses are pretty much tour worthy and like someone else said, all the courses have had plenty of feedback at this stage so I just focused on multiple plays in different conditions to see which courses I felt played better and of course the courses I enjoyed the most.

Greens of Aberdeen v Hill Valley. This battle was as close as could possibly be, very little to choose between then, in the end I felt Aberdeen was a little more polished so the was my winner here.

So my winner here is The Greens of Aberdeen.

Judge 4:
This was a tough matchup to judge as both courses scored pretty equal on my sheets. Both courses had some technical issues that I would have liked to have seen cleaned up, but nothing that took away from the enjoyment of my rounds. Often times Aberdeen felt rushed and "thrown together", and felt a bit repetitive with the majority of the holes being very short. Hill Valley was rough around the edges in places, and in several cases the bunkers felt as though they needed a little more TLC. However, both courses are fun to play, look great, and can see both on a tour stop down the road.

In the end, the course that was just a little cleaner and gave a few more options in playability is the one that moves on for me: Hill Valley

Hill Valley Country Club advances...

[Deleted]

Silent Ivy Hotel vs Port Sunlight Golf Club

Judge 1:

Silent Ivy Hotel vs. Port Sunlight

Let me start by saying these two courses had me going back and forth over two days, to come up with a winner. They are actually both winners  but, unfortunately only one can advance..Let's get started.

Silent Ivy Hotel.
Pros.
Beautiful course..planting, lighting...well done
retaining wall..excellent transition finishing
tiering of the course is excellent..

Cons.
Cart paths..wrong color choice IMO...detracts from the course.
didn't really care for the #14 f/w layout.
some pin placements questionable, but fixable so....no biggie
#18, a bit of a disappointment...a little cabin and shack that would hold 6 carts ?

Comments..
A beautiful course that no doubt will host a pro tour..
Lack of facilities could be a drawback...

Port Sunlight.

Pros.
great layout, fun course to play
options of tee and for 2nd shots...very good
good greens

Cons.
None that i could see..

Comments..
This is a great layout with inlet, inner harbor and course fitting in perfectly.
Love the way you have the water flowing..esp...#8 and 11........great stuff..

Addendum
These are two excellent courses, that as stated took me two days and 3 plays each,
plus lots of time flying each course. In the end, i had to base my decision on which one i preferred playing..by the narrowest of margins...the WINNER is.....   PORT SUNLIGHT

Judge 2:
Silent Ivy Hotel, Nattavaara, SE vs Port Sunlight Golf Club

Winner: Silent Ivy

Why it won: While it does have some technical flaws that may knock it out in a later round, Silent Ivy was the better course in this round IMO. Port Sunlight wasn't bad by any means but, it was just a little too spread out and all over the place for me. I didn't care for the maze of fairways and the whole course felt like something that wouldn't exist IRL.  Silent Ivy was incredibly well planted and really captured the wild, overgrown look. Excellent use of water (after the puddle on the first hole).  Although some of the green slopes were borderline OTP, I enjoyed the challenge of the course.  The lighting and textures were spot on and the finishing holes were terrific.

Judge 3:
Silent ivy v Port sunlight

To really enjoyable courses to play, cant think of any negative things about either not from a playabilty point of view

Winner very tough to split can see both ending up on tour, but Port sunlight wins by a very small margin

Judge 4:
Port Sunlight vs Silent Ivy Hotel

This match up has given me more problems than any other I've had, and multiple plays to finally pick a winner.  Both courses are undoubtably tour worthy, a lot of fun to play and great to look at.  Has to be said, the main winner here is me because I've had to keep playing them!

Port Sunlight

Pros:
First up, the port.  Superb job of creating a believable and beautiful inlet with various little dwellings and jetties dotted about the place, it really does look great.  The course winds its way towards the main port and then back inland but revisits the water edge more than once, the view on the approach to 4 and the tee shot at 7 were particularly nice but by no means the only ones.  The course has been very well planned, two distinct nines that play in front of and then behind the impressive clubhouse, and I love the elevated first tee that sits on top of the rocks in the dog leg for the 9th fairway.  In fact the tee boxes all round the course were really well done, the tee at 3 also springs to mind, obviously lots of time has gone in to making them look good.  The walk around the course is brilliant, every hole flows in to the next one very clearly, lots of nice paths and steps and bridges, all very nice eye candy.  The course is excellent off the tee, many holes have good options and will play very differently depending on which wind you get.  It's just a really fun round of golf with plenty to think about and to look at. My favourite stretch was holes 6-11, great par 5, beautiful par 3 and then that great rock work around the clubhouse that you play around at the turn, great stuff.

Cons:
Not really much to pick on except the greens, they are MASSIVE!!  And that would be fine except on the majority of them there really isn't much happening, which means that as good as this course is off the tee, as long as you hit the fairway you are then often faced with a second shot at a pin with acres of green to work with and not too much to take in to account except hitting it.  Probably the worst example was 15; dog leg right, no hazards in play and a gigantic green to aim at.  Would be fine in real life where who knows where my ball is going to go, but in a game where hitting straight is quite easy that is a very automatic hole.  There are a few nice tiered greens (12 and 17 from my notes) and some good run off areas (6, 14, 16) but mainly it's gentle slopes and plenty of room to work with.  I would say as well that 13-15 on the back nine was the weakest stretch of the course, the round just seemed to lose its sparkle but thankfully it did get it back over the closing three holes.

……..And that's where I fell asleep!  I shall return with Silent Ivy and the result.

I'll try and finish this without waking up at 5am drooling on the sofa 

Silent Ivy Hotel

Pros:
Yet another stunning looking course, especially the back nine which is just perfect.  The long grass is extremely well done and looks very natural, as do the various ponds you encounter on your way round.  It's got a really genuinely natural feel to it.  The 'walk' and the way the holes link together is as good as it gets, many pleasing paths and little bridges to traverse.  And there was something about the fencing that really grabbed my attention, they're only fences but added to the look in a big way - all following natural lines around the course, not a straight line to be found.  I especially loved the fenced off areas in  between fairways like between the 5th and 6th fairways, the only shame was that perhaps that area could have been out of bounds (but I do realise that the OOB brush is quite difficult to use that accurately and this may have done more harm than good).  The course itself has plenty to keep you interested, some good risk/reward and options off the tee, bunkering and hazards are very good and require a lot of thought, and then the greens are excellent - receptive but fast and some nice slopes and tiers to take account of. Stand out holes for me were the 6th with its risk/reward tee shot and perfectly acceptable lay-up area, the par3 11th with it's beautiful hollows of long grass and great bunkers, the par 5 12th with its lovely retaining wall and risk/reward 2nd shot (that is a brilliant par 5), and the par 3 16th with the rocks in the water and steps up the bank and tough 3-tiered green.  

Cons:
I have seen other comments on it in this thread, and while I don't hate the colour of the cart path it does look a bit odd in this environment.  Although I suppose you could say it's easy to see where you're going, it's like somebody has laid down a red carpet for you!  There are one or two pins a little too close to yellow slopes for my liking, although perhaps this is unavoidable given the contouring of the greens (which was a pro).  On my first play through I got to the 18th and was like, "What the hell is this?!"  A couple of shacks for a course like this?!  I then had a proper look round (following the red brick road) and found the hotel and actually I quite like the idea, but perhaps the hotel could be a little more obvious, there are going to be people who play this course and never see it!  And the 18th; every time I played it I seemed to get a headwind which meant I couldn't drive that corner and then you've got a very long second shot with two whacking great trees right on your line.  It's not a massive con because I think we should be challenged and I did manage to shape some woods in to the middle of the green, but perhaps they could be moved just slightly?  Or perhaps I'm just trying to find something bad to say on such a good course?

Verdict
On my first play through I scored these two great courses exactly the same at 8.9, the highest I've scored any courses in this competition.  They both offer a decent challenge and are fun to play, and are beautifully presented with both concepts perfectly achieved.  It's taken me a good few plays to separate them, the only shame is that now I have I'm going to have to find another excuse to play them.  Massive credit to both designers, great job both.  In the end I've gone with the one that I think is just slightly better as a golf course and a challenge.  My winner is
Silent Ivy Hotel 

So it seems we have a tie here...which is somehow quite fitting. I will be back later to go through the tiebreaker on this one....

Tiebreaker: 
Man...what a tough matchup to call here. Let me start by saying that both of you guys need to have these courses pinned...like yesterday. Both are tour worthy and will be featured in the near future.

The toughest thing about this one is that after 3 rounds on each (scoring them indepentantly each time) they are still so very, very close. Port Sunlight gets a very slight nod in the looks/aesthtic category. There are some fantastic views all over the course, and the port is done very well. Silent Ivy isn't lacking in beauty, but I felt like the designer missed a few opportunities to make things sparkle, and the red cart paths were a choice I probably wouldn't have made. I know what he was going for, but it seemed to take away from some of the natural looks and planting that were done extremely well throughout the course. Silent Ivy gets some points back when it comes to playability. There are some greens that come close to getting away from the designer, but all in all the course makes you think and plan your shots during the round. Port Sunlight plays very smooth, but sometimes plays a little too straight forward. Once again, there's not much to complain about either course and I'm a fan of both of these designers.

So this is how it shakes out: as mentioned, I played each course three times independent of my past scorecards for each (this doesn't count my round while streaming...I really made no notes or judgements in those). When I go back and review each scorecard they are very consitent and, appropriately enough, both courses score out just about the same. They were so close that I ended up taking the cumulative scores for bot sets of cards and adding them together to see who had the highest cumulative score between the 2 courses. by .2 of a point, the winner is....

Silent Ivy


Silent Ivy advances...

SAM mrooola

[Deleted]

Corran Castle Links vs The Low Course at St Bedes

Judge 1:

Corran Castle Links vs The Low Course at St Bedes

Corran Castle

Pros:
First impressions of the course are fantastic.  The castle ruins in the background and all the remaining walls and turrets of a hill fort look superb, I totally bought the concept.  The look never diminishes in its splendour as you make you way around, a really good job of setting the scene.  The paths and routing are really well done, it's like having an adventure round some ancient Cornish ruins as you play your way around.  Kept expecting to see Japanese tourists wandering about with their cameras.  The planting is also perfect and totally suits the environment.  The course itself is a lot of fun to play, many interesting elevation changes, a really good mixture of lengths including 3 par 5's which are all potentially reachable or not depending on the wind.  The balance was spot on.  I also thought the contouring and tiers on the greens were really well done, plenty of scope for multiple pin positions, and I loved some of the pot bunkers that were used.  Some real stand out holes: 1 with the hill fort up on your left side, 2 the big dog leg right with the castle in the background, 3 with the second shot over water and then 4 a brilliant little par 3 with the green under the cliff, a very strong start to the round.  I thought all 3 par 5's were excellent, especially the 18th with it's nasty little pot bunkers by the fairway and the green (I went in one on purpose, you definitely don't want to go there!), and I loved the linksy 12th, 129 feet down the hill, no bunkers at all but lots of nice looking scrub and good run off areas on the green.

Cons:
I'd like to have seen the fairways and greens play a bit faster, especially the greens.  I appreciate with firm settings you don't want them lightning fast but all those lovely slopes weren't really usable with the 144 green speed, which was a shame.  Something went very wrong with some of the bunkering on the back nine.  I liked the idea of the long bunkers with areas of rough inside them but when you got to them they appeared to be floating in the bunker, even to the extent of having shadows underneath them.  This was particularly noticeable on the green side bunkers at 10 and the fairway bunkers off 11, but also elsewhere on the back nine.  I did NOT like the 17th green, extremely long with a severe back to front slope.  I hit my approach about 6 feet short and even with these green speeds ended up 40 feet away with a 3 foot uphill putt, that's quite a whack!  I also had a little bit of lag here and there which did affect my shot in to 18.

The Low Course at St Bedes

Pros and Cons (because they fit together):
Very big fan of the layout, loved how the two nines were separated and another 9 holes towards the village that weren't used, a par 3 course in the making perhaps?  The course starts a bit slowly, I didn't really buy the beach on the right and you've got the 1st, par 4 with a hazard in the middle of the fairway and then a shot in to an elevated green, followed by the 2nd where your second shot is played to a fairway with the same hazard in the middle and a shot in to an elevated green, same trick!  But 3 and 4 made me sit up and take notice with great elevation changes and choice off the tee, and then the stretch from 9-16 is fantastic.  Great risk/reward hole at 9 and I gave 11, 12, 13 (the 'ruins' holes) and the par 3 16th top marks for everything which I don't give very often.  The ruins you play towards and through at the start of the back nine are probably THE best aesthetic feature I have ever seen in this game, seriously outstanding work, so much so I didn't care my tee shot at 12 was blind, and they're such fun holes to play as well - love the green (12 or 13?) with the cliff just past the green.  I liked the natural links-type bunkers with the grass in them, although it was perhaps a bit long in places, and I liked the horseshoe bunkers in the 9th and 13th fairways.  I also really liked the greens, great contouring and well paced, and the rolling fairways.  And then after being wowed so much by that back 9, 17 and 18 are just a little bit 'meh' which was a shame.  Overall though I thoroughly enjoyed my round and will be back.


Result

It was interesting one this because the two courses have a lot of similarities.  If it had been a race Corran Castle would have got off to a flier and had a decent lead at the bell, but then St Bedes went down the back straight like Mo Farah.  I wasn't blown away by it to start with but as I played my round I enjoyed it more and more and of the two is the one that I would most want to play again, although to be fair I'd like to play both again.  It's a close one and much credit to both designers on producing two stunning courses, but my winner is:
The Low Course at St Bedes


Judge 2:
Corran Castle Links vs The Low Course at St Bedes

Not much else to say about these gems. Some of the best looking courses in the game. Absolutely loved the opening 4 holes at Corran... capped of by #4, which could be in my top 10 holes in the game. Kinda flattened out a bit down the stretch, but the 18th was a solid finish. St Bedes started out very boring, but the 3rd hole is just breathtaking. It felt kind of repetitive, especially early, with all the split fairways. The "ruins" holes (11 - 13?) are amazing. Underwhelmed by the finish.

Corran starts and ends strong, and St Bedes has a great middle section. For me.. I enjoyed/remembered the holes at Corran more, so the slight edge goes to Corran Castle Links for me.

Judge 3:
In Corran castle vs The Low Course at St Bedes, the winner is...THE LOW COURSE at St Bedes. I felt it was the more playable of the two, some design decisions on Corran make the course play more difficult than it should.

Judge 4:
Corran Castle Links vs The Low Course at St Bedes

Both really great courses and this was a tough call but I'm going with The Low Course. Things go a little weird for a few minutes at Corran and part of me liked it. If the execution was little better I think I would have gone in favor of Corran but against St Bedes perfection was needed.

The Low Course at St Bedes advances

Griff note: This is another that came as a mild surprise to me, but I can't argue the results. I had Corran VERY slightly ahead on my cards, but it was so close that this one could have gone either way. Both are fantastic course that have already been taken in the scheduler's "draft" of the contest courses...so both of you knuckleheads need to get pinning!

[mrooola]

Here we go! Good luck everyone!
Good to see you back Griff. Heard about your unfortunate situation with the family. My condolences to you and yours!

[Deleted]

Jan 30, 2017 10:54:04 GMT -5 mrooola said:

Here we go! Good luck everyone!
Good to see you back Griff. Heard about your unfortunate situation with the family. My condolences to you and yours!

Thanks, Ola. Some people laugh or mock when it comes to a pet, but some have no clue how much a part our daily lives they actually are. Ours was certainly at the center of our household. It kinda sucked having to face that right after a good vacation, but there wasn't anything else we could do for her. She was 15 and had a GREAT life...we brought her home for a few hours yesterday and I swear she was saying "It's ok...I'm ready to go". It's still very sad around the house, but life goes on, right?

[reebdoog]

Things are getting a bit interesting in the judging on a few of these! Do I see a tie or two coming?

Griff...I'm truly sorry for your loss.

[mayday_golf83]

Jan 30, 2017 10:43:34 GMT -5 @griff said:

Nenestin Estates G.C. vs Threshold Lakes Golf Resort

Judge 1:
Nenestin Estates vs. Threshold Lakes

First time i've played these two, so lets get started........

Nenestin Estates
Pros.
cart paths well done
good sculpting of water banks/edging
sand bunkers ..good
Cons.
greens...5, 11, 16 & 17 had little bits of the grid showing outside the actual green area..very distracting..too bad

Comments.
Visually, this is an extremely well done course that plays well. Liked the bridges and fencing, planting in ravines.
Rock work/ steps in front of clubhouse #9 green is a beautiful look..extremely well done...

Threshold Lakes
Pros.
really nice lighting
tee boxes well done, esp. liked the stepped ones on #7
Cons
some bunkers could have used a little more work
#5 retaining wall..finishing could have been better, transition from grass to dirt..
although i did like the rock at the start and end..

Comments.
I really liked how this course fit into this theme..I especially liked #'s 7, 16 and 17.
This is a very tour worthy course...

WINNER....NENESTIN ESTATES..

Judge 2:

Nenestin Estates G.C. vs Threshold Lakes Golf Resort

Nenestin Estates G.C.

Nice course, well laid out with clear access paths and obvious routes to next tees. Difficult to find any faults ....except maybe the green grids being visible on some holes outside of the green area, not being a designer i have no idea what that is about as have not seen it before. Course played well, no dodgy pins only thing it lacked for me was the WOW factor
Score 8/10

Threshold Lakes Golf Resort

First thing i noticed was no clubhouse  so once again i had to get the chopper out to be airlifted on to 1st tee.
Good greens and for the most part good layout, i did feel however the last 4 or 5 holes did not fir the rest of the course, fairways became like snakes, with more bunkers everywhere
14th hole i was not a fan of, 254 yd par 3 to me is just wrong, stand on the tee with a headwind and you are staring bogey or worse in the face...you should always be able to reach a green in regulation, if you play correct shot. Also the bridge on 14 has a bush at the far end so this would be impassable, bit picky maybe but i like a course that i feel i could be playing in real life. Again leave the 18th green and i have nowhere to go, i am in the middle of a forest. This course also did not have a WOW factor.
Score 7/10

Nenestin Estates G.C. is my winner

Judge 3:

Nenestin estates v Threshold lakes

Nenestin estates

felt like i was playing a well done rcr, simple but really enjoyable to play loved the second shot in to the ninth with the clubhouse behind the green, one negative the green
grid would appear in the fairway on a few holes

Threshold lakes

Another beautiful looking course really liked the backdrop with the mountains, really
enjoyable course to play aswell, few great looking tee shots and second shots definitely
a course that deserves a tour stop

Winner so hard to pick both courses play and look great but THRESHOLD LAKES just nicks it

Looks like it's going to come down to the wire in our pairing. Best of luck, Pablo!

[misternic]

Um, Wow. I am actually doing a redo (Beatification) of my course (Hill Valley) before it is submitted for tour readiness. Happily surprised about advancing. Gotten such great feedback.

[ACES-R-WILD]

wow im blown away by the judges comments even one judge gave me a ten and high nines wow im so happy to have made it this far and griff chose my course for his tour thanks griff hope cc pro guys dont find it to tough i did a tour edition for dale and the guys for maybe down the road cause its firm big greens enables me to do something for all skill levels also congrats to my group b beast in reebdog great job brother group b quietly making some noise in the contest and to jives great job brother i wanted to do winter course but yours was nice and will sure be on tour for sure my hats off to you

[Hootbleet]

I was going to start with wow, but I've been beaten to it. To say I'm shocked would be an understatement, so surprised but more than happy to be progressing. I might end up having to multi-pin for the 1st time 😂

Edit; sorry forgot my manners with the shock result. Well played Patrick and commiserations, it sure seemed to be a very tight result and I'm looking forward to tackling Corran on tour sometime soon.