Post by reebdoog on Feb 14, 2020 15:09:15 GMT -5
Pacific Trails Resort 2-1-0 6 points WON HEAD TO HEAD ADVANCES AS TOP SEED
Wakanya Gold 2-1-0 6 points LOST HEAD TO HEAD ADVANCES AS TWO SEED
The Walk at F V 1-1-1 4 points
Frigiliana, Spain 0-2-1 1 point
Pacific Trails Resort vs. The Walk at Flower Valley
Judge 1:
Pacific Trails Resort - Excellent course with only a fe minor things. Mainly no paths between holes or to the bridges, some narrow landing zones on drives and not enough flowers to be "Flower Valley" I assuming the valley was just named after someone named Flower.
The Walk at Flower Valley - Enjoyable Course to play with good terrain sculpting. Let down in aesthetics in the fact that there was no vegetation on the course except for what was off the plot and 2 trees by the clubhouse. Edges of plot could've been disguised to hide the dozens of trees out in the ocean either by lande sculpting or trees closer to the holes. But apart from the aesthetics was a good solid course.
WINNER: The Walk at Flower Valley
Judge 2:
Pacific Trails Resort - Fun, interesting, technically sound course. Played a little on the easier side but was still strategic. The views were good but seemed to be missing something. The course felt bland after a while. A little bit of window dressing might have propelled this course to a win as this was a really tight matchup for me.
The Walk at Flower Valley - Course was interesting in that it could be a walk in the park if you just wanted to go out and shoot par, and a real bear if you wanted to go low. The scenery and the environment was great and kept me into my rounds the whole time.
WINNER: The Walk at Flower Valley
Frigiliana, Spain vs. Wakanya Gold
Judge 1:
Frigiliana, Spain - Frigiliana has some of the most beautiful visuals in this contest. There are quite a few opening flyby images that are incredibly well framed and the hillside town creates an immersive golfing environment. The technical side of things is what lets this course down. Some of the scultping is a bit rough and the hole designs don't always work that well.
Wakanya Gold - This course has some brilliant routing and the hole designs stay engaging throughout each round. The visuals are fairly simple and a bit repetitive but work well as a cohesive and unique environment.
WINNER: Wakanya Gold
Judge 2:
Frigiliana, Spain - One of the best looking courses I've seen but when playing I thought there were parts where there was no need to think about your shots. If it had the same level of sculpting as Wakanya has it would be a great course to play
Wakanya Gold - Wakanya felt and played more like a realistic course it fairly punished bad shots whilst rewarding well executed shots. Aesthetically it was well done without being reliant on eye candy to make it enjoyable.
WINNER: Wakanya Gold
Pacific Trails Resort vs. Frigiliana, Spain
Judge 1:
Pacific Trails Resort - A highly clean and well executed course. A lot of thought put into playability/replayability. Shot planning is a requirement here if you want to score well. Aesthetically the course takes a minimalist approach but pushed that a little too far for me.
Frigiliana, Spain - Absolutely beautiful course that was a lot of fun to experience. Ultimately, replayability is where this course fell short of Pacific Trails with too many holes playing exactly the same no matter the pin set.
WINNER: Pacific Trails Resort
Judge 2:
Pacific Trails Resort - Definitely a case of less is more. What is lacking in aesthetics is made up for in shot selection and routing which leads to a more enjoyable round.
Frigiliana, Spain - A case of trying to put too much there which led to some routing problems and to some sculpting not being carried out completely, otherwise a very nice visual display and environment.
WINNER: Pacific Trails Resort
The Walk at Flower Valley vs. Wakanya Gold
Judge 1:
The Walk at Flower Valley - This course looks great, but the same look off the tee made it boring. It was a challenge to play but the limited options off the tees made it less enjoyable.
Wakanya Gold - I enjoyed every aspect of this course. Walking Path! Loved it! So many options off the tee, replayability is outstanding!
WINNER: Wakanya Gold
Judge 2:
The Walk at Flower Valley - The walk of the flower starts of with a visually stunning flyover of hole 1 and parts of the course with a very good risk/Reward/Fun hole option. The course could do with some deeper bunkers and better fairway sculpting. It felt as if the designers lost some risk/reward option interest in the end. I believe the brown grass on brown background planting makes the course look bare and some of the riverbanks could have been planted better. The course has some nice elevation changes with many nce solid looking holes but nothing that is really spectacular. A nice round but not a tour course and not a WCOD winner either.
Wakanya Gold - Very good sculpting and bunkering. Many of the views off the T looked great off this course. The planting was better in some spots thn others. Some par 3 were a bit of a let down and might hurt this course later in the contest with the 14th being the best out of all of them. The course offered many angles and options to choose from and apart from some uneven T boxes just edges The walk of the flower from an execution and playability point of view.
WINNER: Wakanya Gold
Pacific Trails Resort vs. Wakanya Gold
Judge 1:
Pacific Trails Resort - Although it was less aesthetically pleasing the golf was brilliant. A constant challenge to the player and this more than outweighed the lack of visual stimulation.
Wakanya Gold - Well crafted but ultimately short of the fun factor. Constantly scrambling or playing on the edge of the envelope has limited long term appeal.
WINNER: Pacific Trails Resort
Judge 2:
Pacific Trails Resort - A very realistic looking course all though the lack of planting takes away from the authentic feel. Fantastic sculpting and routing make for a great experience playing Pacific Trails. It got the win for me because the playing areas were so technically solid and the holes themselves are fun and strategic.
Wakanya Gold - Wakanya is a solid course that keeps you engaged. Playability-wise it was comparable to Pacific Trails but I didn't feel like I had to think much off the tees. The greens were really large and there were a few other technical things that could have been executed better. The hazards didn't seem very hazardous.
WINNER: Pacific Trails Resort
The Walk at Flower Valley vs. Frigiliana, Spain
Judge 1:
The Walk at Flower Valley - A nice course that just gets destroyed when compared to its opponent. Some of the holes look great, but it almost feels like they don't belong with the overall theme of the course.
Frigiliana, Spain - Could be the best off the course work in any course ever. Looks from every tee, while still managing to make it feel like an actual golf course. The on the course stuff suffers slightly.. it plays a bit wonky in spots, some of the greens could be smoothed a bit, but it will be really interesting to see how this matches up with a course that is solid to play, but doesn't look nearly as gorgeous.
WINNER: Frigiliana, Spain
Judge 2:
The Walk at Flower Valley - This is a pure ‘target golf’ course. It asks similar questions hole after hole: can you hit narrow fairways and can you hit the approach target. In a few places, namely holes 6, 13, and 17 there were some subtle strategic elements worked into the course.Surface shapes were a bit polarizing, hole framing generally needs some work, bunker sculpting is good but not great, and the environment itself intrudes a bit too much on the course in spots, although 15 and 16 were quite good visually. The lighting angle created a little bit too much glare coming up from the fairways at times, although shadows were generally used in the right places. It feels just like a stereotypical real-life tour course: it’s about shot execution more so than strategy and course management.
Frigiliana, Spain - This designer has clearly demonstrated the ability to make an extremely immersive, creative, and original course environment. The course itself has some significant issues which include general sculpting, tee and green heights, bunker shapes and copy/paste, unnatural cliffs, and repeated downhill tee shots where the visuals could be stacked a little bit better. There are a few places where the environment also intrudes too much into the course which would include 3 tee, 4 tee, a bit on 5 and all of hole 7. It might be as simple as spending some time studying some of the more dramatic great real courses in the world such as Cypress Point and Cape Kidnappers, and combine that with some in-depth reading on course architecture and strategy, and we have a powerhouse of a future designer in the near future.
WINNER: The Walk at Flower Valley
