Coggin66 WIP - The Fingers Escarpment

[coggin66]

I don't usually do these but I'm making progress so what the hell.

3 weeks in and on track:
- On "paper" (more like Galaxy Note) designs done
- Major landscaping done
- All 18 holes placed in position
- 3 holes largely done and in playable form

My aim is 4-5 holes per month with one month for final planting & clean-up. Feeling like I'm on track and definitely liking the longer build time.

No screenshots yet ...

[coggin66]

They still need work but these two are taking shape enough to provide a couple of screenshots ...

[Oscar C]

holey rocks Batman.

[coggin66]

We are now two months in so time for another update.  I'm on track with my plan.  The front nine is mainly done and playable although a fair amount of fine detail planting & other objects still left to do.  The clubhouse area is also largely in place.  Here are a couple more WIP screen shots:



 

[coggin66]

3 months in and I will definitely be able to enter something. I have a full 18 playable holes and I am liking where this is going. Here is the scorecard. The final card may vary a little but not by much. And yes, only one tee set.



Have I mentioned that OB potentially comes in to play on 14 of the 18 holes!

[coggin66]

Here's a top down view (as best as I can do on XB1):

[coggin66]

I know everyone has their own way of designing.  I tend to get inspired by a landscape or plot concept and then build a course largely to a plan.  I often sketch out (on my Galaxy Note) most if not all the hole plans before I build, although they evolve as I see the landscape in the designer as I build.  I'm not a top designer, but I thought some of you might be interested in how the final holes compare to the initial plans.  This course has probably been the closest to my initial plan.  So as I near publication I will show how my original "paper" plans for this course ended up as the final holes and give some of my thoughts as I went.

Some of the thoughts I jotted down at the start are:

• Lots of scary tee shots
• Need to take on cliffs or waste bunkers to get the best entry into the green
• Give Masters more room for error but make them take a risk for the best option
• Pro & Beginner need to be more accurate

The overhead shot in the previous post shows 3 of the 4 "fingers" of the escarpment.  Below is my original course layout plan.  You really need to rotate it 90 degrees anti-clockwise to match the screenshot above.

[coggin66]

HOLE 1: Par 5

This hole was always planned to be a dramatic opening par 5 across the canyon.  It is designed to be reachable in two for Masters clubs players but to do so you must take on the canyon carry.

Original Plan Sketch:

Near Final Overhead with Measurements:

Hole Overhead:
Lots of OB to take-on.  The holes on this first "finger" will penalise Slow tempo more than Fast.

View of the 1st hole from above and behind the 1st tee:

[coggin66]

HOLE 2: Par 3

This was planned as a longer Par 3 where the slopes of the fairway and the green can be used to get the ball close.  The original plan was to have full waste bunkers but I had concerns over the object meter quite early on so I scaled back to have large cleaner sand areas rather wilder waste areas.

Original Plan Sketch:

 
Near Final Overhead with Measurement Markers:


I also realised that it was going to be "cheaper" to use a mix of rocks and buried trees for my canyon where it was less important visually.

Hole Overhead:
More OB to torment a Slow swing, although in testing a Very Fast can also get you into a ton of trouble!

View of the 2nd hole from behind the green:

[coggin66]

HOLE 3: Par 4

This original plan had an uphill hole climbing over a ridge.  However, this did not work with my macro landscaping so this is an example of a hole that I let the terrain in the designer dictate the final hole layout.

Original Plan Sketch:


Near Final Overhead with Measurement Markers:


The parts of the original plan that did stay was the approximate length of the hole and the tree-lining down both sides to give this a slightly more enclosed feel.  I didn't want every hole to be dependent on the fear of that 400ft drop!  This hole is also quite close to the edge of the plot so I wanted to camouflage some of that.

Hole Overhead:
The OB is not as in play as it first appears, unless your go to shot is a Very Slow downswing!  As you can see, rather than going uphill as first planned, this one goes downhill and it felt natural to put in a pond at the lowest point in front of the green.

View of the 3rd hole from behind the green:

[coggin66]

HOLE 4: Par 5

This was planned to be a longish Par 5 but coming down off the ridge would play shorter than its yardage.  The middle of this one changed when I saw the terrain in the designer and I went with a more natural look (partly inspired by a real hole that I played in early March).  The second half of the hole stayed closer to the plan (although the 5th tee is not across the stream).  One of only four holes where the OB does not come into play (unless you shank it off the tee which thankfully is not modelled in game!).

Original Plan Sketch:


Near Final Overhead with Measurement Markers:


Hole Overhead:
This hole is slightly shorter than originally planned but with the right positioning, shot-shaping and running off the slopes, it is possible to be going for eagle or albatross even with Pro clubs.



View of the 4th hole from behind the green:

[coggin66]

HOLE 5: Par 3

This par 3 runs alongside the creek that is in the "palm" of the fingers.  This one has stayed quite close to the original design, although the access road does not run across the top of the hole.

Original Plan Sketch:


Near Final Overhead with Measurement Markers:
In this overhead you can see how I use measurement markers for measuring (on the green); to plan where I want the paths to go; and to help define my sightlines for planting.


Hole Overhead:
The actual hole is a bit more open than I originally envisaged but I liked the way you could see through to the distance.

View of the 5th hole from near the tee:

[coggin66]

HOLE 6: Par 4

Hole 6 starts out onto the 2nd escarpment finger but this time we are going around clockwise so the cliff-side OB is down the left side, ready to catch those Fast and Very Fast swings!

Original Plan Sketch:


Near Final Overhead with Measurement Markers:


Hole Overhead:
This one has come out very similar to the original sketch except I left out the planned dry gully as it was unnecessary.  This is a fairly simple hole but I really like the balance of risk and reward with this one.  If you go for distance off the tee, it comes with major risk if you are prone to Fast downswings.  You can lay up safely but you then have a long second into the green.

View of the 6th fairway from near the tee

[coggin66]

HOLE 7: Par 3

Right from the original layout plan, I knew this hole was going to be perfectly placed for an infinity horizon green.

Original Plan Sketch:


Near Final Overhead with Measurement Markers:


Hole Overhead:


View of the 7th from near the tee:

[coggin66]

HOLE 8: Par 5

This par 5 along the canyon edge was designed to be reachable in two but only by balancing the different risks and rewards.  To open the green up, you had to take on the canyon edge and the OB.  You could play safe to the right but then you would have to shape your second into a tricky green.  Or you could lay up with a wood and play it as three shot par 5.

Original Sketch:


Near Final Overhead with Measurement Markers:


Hole Overhead:
During the build phase it ended up being a more interesting hole to leave sloping fairway either side of the middle bunker / rock complex to entice players to take on the canyon edge.  In reality it has also opened another option to try your luck with clearing the central rock / bunker complex.

You can also see the creek that was next to the 5th hole now going down the canyon valley in a series of cascades.


View of the 8th hole from the canyon edge: