deaconstar003 RDC Course Thread

[deaconstar003]

Welcome to my Rookie Design Contest WIP thread!

A few weeks ago, I went on a hunk with my parents and my dog, and this 5 mile hike shaped my course. (I’ll post the pictures from it that inspired the course when I get home) This course is set in the Appalachian mountains, just like the hike, and I went for a mountain town theme, although the skyscrapers (I used the shortest ones for downtown) give it a more modern look. I then discovered that hidden in the townhouse section were modest apartment buildings I should have used, but I’ll change it depending on feedback.

The course is supposed to be a very hilly and bumpy course of a decent length. I want to go light on the bunkers and let the terrain shape the course. The general terrain, from one side of the plot to the other, features an airport on a hill (accurate dimensions of runway for the planes in the designer) then the town in a valley. The town is between the airport and a creek, which on the other side features holes 1 and 18 parallel to the creek and runway. The course winds it’s way up the 300ft sculpted mountains through ridges, wheatgrass fields, forests, and mountain cabins.

I named it Beeker Mountain because of the mountain, and a beaker is a symbol of an experiment, which this course is. I changed the spelling of beaker to make it look like a name.

At the moment I have 5 solid holes (18, 1-4), and number 5 needs planting. I am going to publish a beta for feedback, and I will post here when it goes live.

My two woes at the moment are my bunker edges, which are ugly and do the sharp V like zigzag thing, and my planting. Feedback in general, not just on that, is very appreciated and super helpful. I’ve designed custom routed auto-gen greens and fairways courses with custom bunkers and water since TGC1, so I know the tools well. I don’t know many of the pro tricks and I’m now understanding the reality that making a great course takes many many hours, I’ve just always been too lazy to try. I would say my *golf* course design is pretty good, as I’ve been designing those on paper for 10 years since I was 5, but it’s the TGC end that is hard on my part.

I broadcast most of the design process for this course on Twitch deaconstar003, and I will update this thread with screenshots.

Sorry I wrote so much, but thank you for the help with this course.

Ryan

[deaconstar003]

drive.google.com/file/d/1Zcb_1eqsQBJbPv4f31dwloz2XB0oah4B/view?usp=drivesdk
drive.google.com/file/d/1jQaHn2BLNZgWePFMmOeaD7DZWi5gkWnZ/view?usp=drivesdk

[deaconstar003]

The first Beeker Mountain beta is out! Find it listed as BMrdcBETAv1. If you have any suggestions, please post them here, I would be very appreciative. There are parts of the course in different stages of readiness so if you play please keep that in mind. The beta features holes 1-8 and hole 18, which is the par 5 along the creek. Thanks!

[Oscar C]

Hi Ryan

Nice to meet you man, as a fellow contestant in the RDC I hope it goes well for you.

I had a quick round and im sure some others will give some feedback but i want to just point out 2 things from a players perspective that i think will be included in the judging.

Firstly the OOB on hole 3, i would remove without a doubt, i landed there accidentally without missing fairway by much and the heavy rough and heavy planting in that ditch is penalty enough without making me lose a stroke.

Secondly the last hole along the creek, can pro clubs reach the 2nd fairway off the tee? I made it with master and a 13kmh wind behind me, something to check.

Also how is your plant meter?

I saw some other stuff but im competing against you... i cant give help you too much

[deaconstar003]

You’ll be surprised to hear my plant meter isn’t past the course name yet!

Thanks for the feedback, and on the pro clubs, they can’t reach but that is on purpose. I wanted to reward distance, however the pro clubs can reach from the blue tees or as I call it, the pro tees. From master tees they can’t 

[deaconstar003]

I know I’ve been silent for a long time, but even though I’ve not been busy on the forums, the course has been bustling when I’ve had time. I’m happy with my product and it will be up hopefully within the hour!

[Lifeonaboard]

Oct 14, 2019 19:07:55 GMT -5 deaconstar003 said:

I know I’ve been silent for a long time, but even though I’ve not been busy on the forums, the course has been bustling when I’ve had time. I’m happy with my product and it will be up hopefully within the hour!

Awesome! Glad to see everyone coming out of hiding to release their courses. I had to stop with forum posts and playing other courses about 2 weeks ago just to get close to finished. 

[deaconstar003]

Course Overview (Published!)
Name (In Game)- Beeker Mountain (RDC)v2

Yardages
Master Club Tees (Black) 7216
Pro Club Tees (Blue) 6716
Beginner Club Tees (Green) 6135

Course Info
I went for a mountain course vive with some natural shrub and wheatgrass planting and exposed rocks. I think the elevation is the greatest challenge to this course, but the course should feel relaxing. It isn’t going to push the TGC elite to grind every shot, but in real life the course would most likely be tough because of the elevation factor and the design. The course doesn’t feature cart paths because of the ruggedness, but like Augusta National, the absence of paths doesn’t mean the course isn’t cart combatible. Most likely you’ll need a cart as the elevation difference between the hole 1 tee/hole 18 green and hole 9 green/hole 10 tee complexes is a staggering 500 feet! Also the tees are a skiing reference with the mountain theme. As for environment, I don’t think the tall buildings are the best choice for the vibe, but I used them before I found the apartments in the town houses category and the skyline grew on me. And every small mountain town has to have an airport for the corporate guys.

Hole by Hole Philosophy
1- I went for a risk/reward bunker carry tee shot. Creek isn’t really in play but looks nice. Approach is claustrophobic on purpose in my opinion.
2- I think the planting in the front and back of this green realm frames the hole nicely. Try a lower shot with a shorter club to run the ball up to the green, that works nicely most times.
3- Don’t go right. Seriously.
4- Short and sweet with a cosmetic pond.
5- I really like how the natural elevation made this hole. The bunkers don’t impede your second shot but a miscue could find them.
6- This hole just kind of fit into place and it worked.
7- I wanted to challenge the golfer off the tee so the pot bunker does that. You can play anywhere around it really, just don’t go in.
8- The large bunker in front adds an interesting challenge to some pins on the approach. Find it and you’ll have a tough up and down.
9- This hole really tempts you to carry the bunker on the tee shot, but avoid it and the fairway is wide.
10- Interesting hole because on the scorecard, you wouldn’t think it’s a two shot par 5, but it is. Just find the fairway and give it a go.
11- This hole is an odd one but the concept is the closer you get to the lake, the better of an angle you’ll have to the green.
12- Short and steep par 3. The bunkers are kind of unnecessary but they look good in my opinion.
13- Downhill hole that gives you a wide range of shots off the tee. The green slopes away from you but a good tee shot should leave a wedge in your hand to cancel that slope out.
14- This hole is the signature hole. The waterfall and cityscape above the trees with mountains behind really sticks out as the best view on the course. The hole is no cake walk, either.
15- I went for a wheatgrass field cut open by a fairway here. The fairway is decently wide but anything to the side is tall grass. The bunkers challenge your approach if you decide to go for it in two.
16- This hole kind of just came to me but it works. Interesting bunker to make you second guess your tee shot.
17- This is the abstract hole of the course with a green that wraps around a large rock. It comes close to signature status but 14 shuts it out.
18- I actually designed this hole first, but it’s definitely not that easy. Reachable for sure, but the angle you get to the green from your tee shot is huge. Too far left of the creek and the trees stand in your way, even in the fairway. Hugging the creek is the best option to get there in two, but that plan can go south quickly. I think this hole would offer an exciting finish to a close tournament.

[sandsaver01]

Oct 14, 2019 20:36:45 GMT -5 deaconstar003 said:

Course Overview (Published!)
Name (In Game)- Beeker Mountain (RDC)v2

17- This is the abstract hole of the course with a green that wraps around a large rock. It comes close to signature status but 14 shuts it out.

I played Beeker Mountain (RDC) v2 just a few moments ago as I try to play all the Rookie Entries. As I have said in other threads I do not feel qualified to give feedback - leaving that to the judges. I do enjoy a course with lots of elevation changes, even though I have only built one of those myself. This course has that in spades, but not in a negative way at all; I enjoyed thinking about how much to adjust clubbing to account for the changes.

I quote you about #17 above because of the following picture:



Tough lie, eh? I honestly do not know why the ball did not bounce off the rock like it is supposed to.

Anyway, this was an interesting course and I wish you a good outcome in the contest.

[twinhook909]

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[twinhook909]

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