Gänglesee Golf Club - b101 WIP

[b101]

First contest entry and second course - as a shameless plug, do see my signature for my first. I learnt loads doing that and whilst I think it was a decent first effort, there's lots I'd do differently and have practised since. I've got some ideas I'm really excited about with this course and it'll be great to get more feedback on what to do to improve further. 

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For the course, we're venturing into Liechtenstein, that often overlooked country in the Alps (mainly due to it being roughly 60 square miles in size...). There are currently zero courses on the top 100 golf site that come from Liechtenstein, so that's the target. My personal aims are to really focus on my bunkering, green contouring and sightlines - I think the routing I have planned is interesting and varied and I'm definitely taking some big risks. The rough plan is to have the centrepiece of the course focus on a gorge site through some mountains, before heading back to a lake at the foot of those mountains. I also want it to be a strategic course with a number of ways to play it and approach shots really mattering. Nice ideas in principle, but needless to say, I will be spending a lot of time on the plot!

Thoughts on the required elements - I'd like to do more than 3 if I can. Red, amber, green for likelihood:

At least ONE Drive-able par 4
- keen, but not a must. Fits well with the short par fours element as well.
At least ONE Par 3 greater than 230 yards
- nope. Hate them in real life.
At least TWO holes with ZERO bunkers
- maybe, but I want to focus on my bunkering, so maybe not.
At least ONE blind tee shot
- Love these in real life, just not sure I'm good enough to carry it out in-game. If I can, I will.
At least THREE par 4’s under 400 yards
- there'll definitely be a couple. I really want a hole where 5 iron is the play off the tee.
At least ONE three shot par 5
- yep, love these, but will work hard on multiple lay-up locations and angles. Nobody wants a boring plod plod hole.
At least ONE template green complex of your choice (please specify template used and provide a real world example!)
- No.
At least FIVE par 5 holes
- Unlikely; not sure why, but it just doesn't fit my vision for this course.
At least FIVE par 3 holes
- Yep; I reckon this will give me a lot of opportunity to focus on green and bunker work
Total course yardage no greater than 6750
- No. I have enough challenges!
At least ONE hole with elevation change equal to or greater than 125 feet - see above.

So yeah, should be a lot of fun. Do keep coming back as although I'm not streaming or a big name, I'll keep this thread updated with progress and pictures as appropriate. Really excited about the challenge and just getting better.

[Australian]

This is sounding really cool man. Love the idea of the central gorge. All the best my fellow contest debutant.

[b101]

May 1, 2019 1:51:46 GMT -5 Australian said:

This is sounding really cool man. Love the idea of the central gorge. All the best my fellow contest debutant.

Thank you and same to you! Will check your thread out and keep up to date with your plans 🙂

[b101]

Routing and a LOT of measuring done this morning to check I’m not going to put myself in a corner. I’ve also plopped the first few sculpted mountains down. A few early thoughts:

1) lighting around these mountains could be tough...
2) plant meter may get interesting depending on how I approach buried trees...

Otherwise, happy with the plot - it’s a very different process to my last course in that I’ll start by designing the gorge holes where I have less flexibility and move out. Lots of things to bear in mind rather than just leaping in like last time!

[linkslover]

I can't envisage there being many places there can be a hidden gem in Liechtenstein, given the country is tiny and a golf course takes up a sizeable plot. Are you building it underground?

[b101]

May 2, 2019 5:11:43 GMT -5 linkslover said:

I can't envisage there being many places there can be a hidden gem in Liechtenstein, given the country is tiny and a golf course takes up a sizeable plot. Are you building it underground?

Shhhhhh...

Totally fair comment. I'll just have to come up with some suitably ridiculous backstory to explain it / change the title of the thread so it looks like your the one who's messed up

[linkslover]

I think you might be onto something though. Vatican City, Monaco and San Marino are crying out for a course too.

[b101]

May 2, 2019 9:27:03 GMT -5 linkslover said:

I think you might be onto something though. Vatican City, Monaco and San Marino are crying out for a course too.

I may just make this my list of future contest entries: www.worldatlas.com/articles/the-10-smallest-countries-in-the-world.html

Some absolute crackers on there!

[b101]

As a starter planning the three shot par five whilst my wife watches trash TV... Will have another couple of attempts and see where we get with it, as I would like the safe play to be a genuinely viable option, just one that leaves a 5 iron in.

Idea is that each shot opens up a few more options... tee shot to the right should threaten the bunker and leave a hanging lie, but playing back out to the left from there should give an escape option, just with angles more threatened by bunkers or slopes the more aggressive you get, but the super aggressive two shots must leave an easy up and down for birdie. Water on the right not really in play at all. Might have another go looking to use trees as a hazard. As this is, the contouring and bunker work would need to look really good...

This could be tough.

[Australian]

Really like seeing design sketches like that. I'm forever jotting ideas down. You've got a great concept coming together.

[linkslover]

May 2, 2019 13:40:58 GMT -5 b101 said:

May 2, 2019 9:27:03 GMT -5 linkslover said:

I think you might be onto something though. Vatican City, Monaco and San Marino are crying out for a course too.

I may just make this my list of future contest entries: www.worldatlas.com/articles/the-10-smallest-countries-in-the-world.html

Some absolute crackers on there!

I never realised Malta was in the smallest 10.
And Nauru with 90% unemployment and more than 90% obesity.

[b101]

The course takes up 2% of Liechtenstein's total area. Got to wonder how they haven't found it yet...

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In more sensible, update-worthy news, I'm about 50% of the way with the macrosculpting, I think. Mountains are roughly done, routing works, gorge is there and there's enough space for the holes around them and the river at the bottom, which should link back to the main lake. There has been a lot of measuring. The plot looks pretty cool and it's got so much potential as an idea. I've been meaning to post some progress pictures as I go to keep track, but I kept forgetting to bring a USB back to pull them off the PS4. So, here's some updates:

Initial routing/very basic plot thoughts:



A bit of mountain mapping:



A bit more gorge work, where you can see holes 8 and 9, which will be bookended by par threes entering and exiting the gorge. :



The plan for the ninth is to have a risk/reward par 5 with a double carry of the gorge needed if you want to get on in two... This would be the approach shot:



Still very rough around the edges and bar laying down simple shape greens to give me a feel for how eight and nine will play, I've done no surface work yet - about three hours in! Those will be the two toughest holes where I have the least margin for error, particularly nine as I have a very clear vision of how I want the hole to work. 

This is looking quite ambitious... 

[linkslover]

Looking like it will be wonderful.

[Johnny46Ch1mp0]

Cool look you have going on!

[b101]

Thank you! Spent most of today working on hole 2 (leaving the first till near the end as the green's position might be tricky). I've not yet found a lighting setting or set of textures that I'm 100% set on, but the hole is coming across pretty nicely. In the aim of doing things a bit differently than usual, rather than fully completed each hole as I go, I'm probably going to get a rough-ish WIP in place for each one, then go back around again and again to check planting, pins etc. I'm hoping this will give me a chance to develop a consistent planting/bunkering strategy together and stop me getting too fatigued or rushing to finish holes.