Simulator Course Review
Intro I rushed into the simulator after realizing 2 minutes before walking into the door that they close earlier on the weekends. I had 35 minutes until they closed. No one was in there but me. I didn't want to waste any time, so I still had my jeans on. 0 warmup. I quickly typed in, "Broadkill Landing", and after returning nothing, I tried again. Nothing. Then it hit me that Broadkill is a beach in Delaware, and not the name of this course. Broadfield. Nope. Bro...field? Finally, I looked it up on my phone, and had it up. 0 plays on the simulator version. I'd be the guinea pig for this course on sim, much like Dylan was my guinea pig a few days ago when his Malibu Club made me look like I never played golf before. This one was not the same experience at all. My rusty first swing aside, I loved every second of it.
How Simulator Play WorksFor those of your who don't know, simulators can be set up to run TGC 2019 (the simulator version). This particular venue has GC2's: the Cadillac of launch monitors (if Cadillacs were Rolls Royces). They are spot-on accurate. After some acclimation (much like VR), you feel like you're playing real golf. The ball does exactly what you'd expect it to do. TGC has absolutely nailed the realism with this, and makes the previous top-dog Foresight software play like trash. The ball spins, rolls, and flies with extreme accuracy. There is no forgiveness.
When playing on a simulator, you usually shoot a bit lower than real life. There are no lie penalties. Meaning, if you're in the rough or bunkers, it doesn't matter. You're still hitting a real ball 100% from a flat, tight piece of turf. I believe TGC takes a little off bunker shots, but not much. This may make it seem like you'd play WAY better than real life, but the short game component compensates for that. You don't realize how much you rely on your eyes and feel for things like chipping and putting. This is why indoor golf is so good for offseason short-game work. By the end of the season I know exactly what a 26 yard, medium trajectory pitch with high spin feels like. I know exactly how much club to put on a 16 foot putt. It's invaluable, and I highly recommend finding a facility with a GC2 and TGC.
We also play the game with automatic gimmies inside of 9 feet. This is because putting is very difficult to get a feel for. It's much faster to pick up inside of close range than watch everyone miss 3 putts inside of 10 feet. Again, without looking at a real hole, your brain doesn't know what to do. You make very few putts in a simulator.
Disclaimers & PreambleI played the Front 9 alone. I had 30 minutes by the time it was up and running. I played in jeans. I hit the first shot of the round cold after being in the car for 45 minutes just before. This all impacted my score, but not how I reviewed the course.
About MeI ended the season at a 7.6. I am what you would call a "weak" 7.6. I have shot even par at 72+ rated courses, and I've also shot 94 in a tournament as recently as July. I went back-to-back 74-91 in a tournament this year in the same conditions. Anything can happen with me. Today, my driver was very bad to start, my hybrid was awesome, my irons were average, my 50-100 game was garbage, and my chipping was as good as it gets. My putter was irrelevant, as you'll soon see.
THE REVIEW
Black tees (6,973), No wind, Default Greens/Fairway, Pin 1
Hole 1 - Par 4 - 423 yardsI rushed to get my tee down, barely looked at the opening tee shot, and took a hack. I got the driver about one groove from the bottom and hit a burning hook a whopping 225 to the left rough. Not a good start for a 423 yard Par 4. I had 198 left, and hit my 20 degree hybrid on the screws, uphill to the center of the green. It rolled to 15 feet, and I putt to a foot for Par. The first of only two holes I pulled out putter the whole round. Even.
Hole 2 - Par 5 - 553 yardsAnother low strike burner with driver 228 yards. My driver is garbage indoors. I think it's a subconscious feeling that I might hit the wall/ceiling. Nevertheless, I had a mile into the Par 5. Wasn't going to reach this one with a good drive, anyway, so not a huge deal. I hit another perfect hybrid into the fairway. Then, I hit a miserable pitch short of the green, duffed my chip, and three putt for a 7. The last hole I had to hit a putt. +2.
Hole 3 - Par 3 - 220 yardsAnother chance with the hybrid. Hit well, but this one started in the middle, overcooked, and landed in the left bunker. I hit a nice little flop to 3 feet for par. +2.
Hole 4 - Par 4 - 414 yardsFinally a well struck drive (271 yards), but overdrew into the left rough and stopped quickly. My 52 degree--normally my favorite, most reliable club in my bag--ended up short after I got it on the toe a bit. This is the moment I stopped and realized I had been rushing through this round. I wasn't giving it the attention I should. When I thought back over the last few holes, I realized, "this course is playing so well, I barely notice I'm playing a fictional course inside." I was playing golf. A low spinning chip checked up and almost trickled in. +2.
Hole 5 - Par 4 - 492 yardsI guess the last drive was a fluke, because I hit another hooking burner off the bottom groove 232 yards into the left fairway bunker. Had my driver been on, I'm confident I would have been able to score well one this course. With the lip height being somewhat high, but not absurd, I was able to get a 7 iron out to the fat part of the fairway to leave about 80 yards. I hit my 58 degree a few yards deep, and it rolled off the back. A nice up and down (3 in a row) saved bogey. +3.
Hole 6 - Par 3 - 186 yardsThis hole has a very familiar look, but I love it. The skinny green angled from front-to-back with bunkers guarding the front is a hole I've played many times and never get tired of. As a guy who draws the ball and always plays my fades high and short, I was expecting a ball in the bunker, as always on this type of hole. However, my 8 iron to the 175 yard pin didn't fade an inch and landed just short left. A bump and run almost went in for another up and down (4 in a row). +3.
Hole 7 - Par 4 - 455 yardsThis drive was right in the center; both of the clubface and the fairway. 291 yards smack in the middle. And I proceeded to bomb my 9i long left. Took one hop on the green and settled in the rough. Luckily, you guessed it, I played a great chip to get up and down (5 in a row). +3.
Hole 8 - Par 5 - 551 yardsOff the toe a bit, and pulled into the left rough 264 yards away, but my driver was finally starting to at least get out there a bit. Unfortunately, it was the last time I got to hit it and it never was able to fully warm up. I hit another great hybrid to the base of the bottleneck, leaving me a 56 yard pitch. These shots killed me today, as I once again left it short. It's so hard to get a feel for these distances indoors; but that's exactly why I love doing this in the offseason. Another up and down for par (6 in a row). +3.
Hole 9 - Par 4 - 299 yardsI wanted a birdie badly to make up for that double earlier, and this was my last chance. My best option here was my 2 iron that I of course stuck in the left bunker 232 yards away. My pitch was trash, as is tradition, and it carried the entire green. However, I closed with ANOTHER up and down (7 in a row). +3.
RECAP
This course reminded me of so many courses I've played in real life, just better. It had a very country club feel. It never tried to blow me away with vistas, it never tried to beat me up with gimmicks. It just played good, hard golf. The bunkers would be a problem in real life, I'm sure. And if this course existed in real life, it would also likely have insanely deep rough (ala Bethpage). But on the sim, you get to bomb the ball around and play golf regardless of your mistakes. I play best in real life when my driver is good, and my full swing wedges are crisp and well-struck. I had neither of those things today, but still managed to get it around this course. It
felt easy compared to my last review of The Malibu Club. However, it still played so much tougher than the RCRs of notoriously hard courses. It made you think, but also didn't bog you down with decisions. Really, this course let me play my best shots whenever I wanted. So long as I avoided the
really bad areas, I had a chance to score. This course is the antithesis of Malibu Club when it comes to simulator play; and I feel like I started this review series with the two ends of the spectrum.
VISUALS : 3/5I love the look of this course. However, on the big screen that is already a bit washed out, this course didn't have a ton of shadows or definition. The bunkers appeared flat in most areas, and it was tough to see elevation changes. However, it was incredibly clean and the sight-lines were fantastic. This looks much better on a computer monitor.
*Rated based on how it looks, visually, on the big screen.
REALISM : 5/5I can't even comprehend how this course doesn't already exist. I feel like the designer made an RCR of some course in Belgium or wherever and is hoping no one notices. Every tree, every bump, every bunker shape, everything, is where it should be. In fact, this course feels and plays more realistically than some RCRs.
*Rated based on how the course plays between the lines compared to real life courses. Assumes the course is not an outlandish fantasy course.
MEMORABILITY : 2/5I hate to score it this low because as a whole, I'm not easily going to forget this course. The overall look is so well done that it will always be what I think of when I picture this style. However, the holes blended together a lot. A lot of the tee shots felt similar, and outside of a pond peeking out near the one green, there was really nothing but grass and sand to look at. I do remember holes having great layouts, it's just tough for me to visually remember individual holes as much as I did with the Malibu Club. And the shots I remember are more based on the feel and yardage, not the holes or where they landed.
*How easily am I able to remember holes, shots, landmarks, etc. on the course; and how much am I able to distinguish holes from each other afterwards.
PLAYABILITY FOR SINGLE-DIGIT HCP : 9/10So playable. It was hard when it needed to be. Greens played tough but not unfair. If I wasn't chipping out of my mind, I'm sure I would have had some nasty putts. But that's golf. This may be the pinnacle of playability for single digit guys. I enjoyed it more than Whistling Straits in this regard.
*The baseline being that the course is at least a well-designed, high-rated course in the game and in the community.
PLAYABILITY FOR BOGEY GOLFER : 8/10The shorter tees should make this course a must-play for higher hcp golfers wanting a challenge on a simulator course without beating them up over and over. Despite being tree-lined, there is enough room off the fairways to spray your drives a bit. The bunkers are all very playable. The only thing keeping it from being higher is that some of the greens and pins did seem like they would be hard for someone without much spin to be able to stick it close. However, changing to soft greens would help a lot.
*Same requirement as above, but also with the stipulation that the course HAVE a front tee of reasonable length (<6,400ish).
OVERALL : 27/35
Highly recommend for all skill levels. If you're looking for a course that just HAS to be real, plays with a challenge, and doesn't beat you up unnecessarily, then Brokeleaf Landing is the cou....Broadband Leaking?...whatever, just play this. 
