Avery Fields Golf Club 2K23-Ported

[rjwils30]

I've been picking away at this one for several months. I’ve always wanted to do a course inspired by some of the classic American parkland courses from the early 20th century like Merion, Oakmont and Sommerset Hills. The course is situated on a rolling site in a residential neighbourhood and is routed around a creek that snakes through the property. I wanted the course to look like it was built with more rudimentary tools, with simple bunkers and fairway sculpting as well as natural humps and bumps and irregularities off the fairway to make for some interesting lies. I’ve tried to keep the course tightly routed together to promote cross course views through to the surrounding neighbourhood. The fairways are fairly narrow by my standards and should require your attention. The greens rely on subtle angles into pins and some pitched and rolling surfaces to defend and retain shots coming in.



It was a fun process to step outside of my usual tendencies of more dramatic sculpting and scale for something more subtle and restrained.



Hopefully you enjoy your round.





Rob

[mayday_golf83]

Well, looks like our edition of Diamond Cutters just got longer ... Can't wait!!!

[reebdoog]

you are my design yoda. My favorite look in the game at this point.

I need you to do me ONE favor though... I need a "tour" version that's got a few longer tees and is baked into the DIRT. Please? Pretty please?

[gamesdecent]

1 - the layering on the approach with hole 2 blending in seamlessly with the green, whew...
3 - love the look of the approach, wish it wasn't a par 5, I had driver/7-iron in.
4 - looks like the creek is going to be a focal point throughout the round, hopefully so. Hit the tee shot off the green to the right and it bounced and rolled alllllll the way down to the back left pin for an 8' birdie, very satisfying.
5 - the houses really nail the parkland vibe, same with the lighting and the buried tree/burnt out heavy rough vs the brushed heavy rough textures, really stands out on this tee shot. I also love a dogleg that feels like it turns juuuuust a little too early to hit driver and/or forces the slow downswing instead of a fast.
6 - noticing that clubbing up from the default always seems to end me up on a red slope lie for my approach, will have to take another round to see if the recommended less than driver fares any better.
7 - tried to bite off too much and found the tiny creek somehow, love the rolling fairway on this hole and the double dogleg par 5 you always seem to incorporate.
8 - had the wind to try and drive this one but hit an unintended P/P and found the creek again, and this green is absolutely diabolical.
10 - didn't LOVE getting booted into the heavy rough after landing smack in the middle of the fairway but that's the rub of the green. Can't have the nice undulating fairway and not be willing to accept the unlucky bounces it produces though.
11 - all those blind bunkers off the tee are bold, won't be everyone's cup of tea but I don't think they're really in play enough to matter with master clubs. Maybe in different wind.
12 - a little alpsy, finally laid up and found a flat part of the fairway. I'm playing like absolute garbage this round though.
13 - I LOVE the way this hole sits on the terrain, especially the double walkway of heavy rough in front. I kinda wish the bunkers behind the green were visible from the tee though, I think it would make it look even more intimidating. But the longer I look at it the more I think that might distract from the absurd tilt of the green and the land movement itself. I don't know, I can already tell this will probably be my favorite hole on the course.
14 - cool par 5, I had tempo issues and went heavy rough, woods, layup, so hard to judge how it was supposed to play lol.
15 - another good looking par 3, really punishing for being above the hole, which I fully support.
16 - pretty unique par 4, I should've counted how many times the routing brought the creek into play.
17 - speaking of bringing the creek into play... wow. Unfortunately I saw reebdoog's ghost ball take the 18th fairway, so this one is neutered pretty good. Plays great as intended though! Tee shot is terrifying when playing it straight, especially with the tailwind I had.
18 - I feel like you almost have to shape tee shots to hold a lot of these fairways with driver. I don't hate that though.

Great course, I think you nailed the look and feel and style you were going for. Some of the holes are sneaky tough, others are pretty straightforward. I echo reeb's sentiment though, make #3 a par 4, fix the shortcut on 17, and put out a very firm/very fast browned and burnt out version and let's get really freaky.

[b101]

Dammit Rob. I was feeling good about my courses.

[jwtexan]

I just played this tonight on stream and it turned into an impromptu designer appreciation night Gdog style.

Played Falling Water and Blue River Dunes right after and loaded up all the other 2019 courses of yours to show guys in chat too who weren’t familiar/newer guys.

All around class course per usual man. Loved the routing and the play on the creek over and over again. I counted 13 holes that are involved with it in one way or another. Nothing much more to add. Great work.

[reebdoog]

Dang it petty...i was just trying things out :-P

[yeltzman]

I only had the 17th out the par 5s with the wind and i played that down the wrong hole because i kept going in the water,Thought the 3rd was good as a par 5 just in case the wind blows the other way.Was not a fan of the 16th had no idea were to go in the wind i had,apart from that Stunning course standard of courses at the moment at a all time high.72 holes in 74 mins just how i like it.

[rjwils30]

Mar 18, 2020 20:43:25 GMT -5 reebdoog said:

you are my design yoda. My favorite look in the game at this point.

I need you to do me ONE favor though... I need a "tour" version that's got a few longer tees and is baked into the DIRT. Please? Pretty please?

Hey thanks for playing Brian. Appreciate your comments on Mayday’s stream. Glad you appreciate the subtleties of the course. To some it might feel undeveloped or simple. I worked pretty hard to avoid trying to make things too complex. During the design process I spent a fair bit of time looking at arial views of some of the classics and realized that the courses are made up of mostly simple hole designs that utilize the property in an interesting way. With a few funky holes to keep it interesting. It was a lesson in restraint and I think I learned a lot through the process. The end result may be underwhelming to some and that’s fine. I’m less interested these days in wowing and more about creating well integrated routings and varied use of the property. What I get a kick out of the most though are all the nerds who come out to play and comment on the course. So cool to see all these talented and knowledgeable guys give their opinions on the course. I’ve got to get back to playing and return the favour.

Regarding your comments on the final stretch, Hole 16 is one that I found on the site and I decided to utilize the bend in the creek like 17 at carnoustie. The drive never fit my eye either but it’s one which will stop guys in their tracks . Little bit ugly. Controversial. But interesting. I like the odd polarizing hole.
17 is a hole that I might take another crack at the driving area. I went through a few iterations and after playing a few more times it’s too sloped and kind of stupid. 18. After a series of twisty holes, I just wanted to design a straightforward brute up the hill with subtle angle advantages related to tee shot placement. Not an all world finisher. Might consider doing something to give it a bit more of an identity.

I was thinking of doing a tour version with some modifications as well as some longer tees as I always seem to underestimate the distances you good guys hit it. I’m always play testing with max firm and high winds so the holes sometimes seem a lot harder when I play them.(I’m also terrible).

Thanks again. Always appreciate your feedback.

[b101]

I really like the 16th. The odd very uncomfortable tee shot is a great feature and you nailed it.

[rjwils30]

Mar 18, 2020 23:18:02 GMT -5 gamesdecent said:

1 - the layering on the approach with hole 2 blending in seamlessly with the green, whew...
3 - love the look of the approach, wish it wasn't a par 5, I had driver/7-iron in.
4 - looks like the creek is going to be a focal point throughout the round, hopefully so. Hit the tee shot off the green to the right and it bounced and rolled alllllll the way down to the back left pin for an 8' birdie, very satisfying.
5 - the houses really nail the parkland vibe, same with the lighting and the buried tree/burnt out heavy rough vs the brushed heavy rough textures, really stands out on this tee shot. I also love a dogleg that feels like it turns juuuuust a little too early to hit driver and/or forces the slow downswing instead of a fast.
6 - noticing that clubbing up from the default always seems to end me up on a red slope lie for my approach, will have to take another round to see if the recommended less than driver fares any better.
7 - tried to bite off too much and found the tiny creek somehow, love the rolling fairway on this hole and the double dogleg par 5 you always seem to incorporate.
8 - had the wind to try and drive this one but hit an unintended P/P and found the creek again, and this green is absolutely diabolical.
10 - didn't LOVE getting booted into the heavy rough after landing smack in the middle of the fairway but that's the rub of the green. Can't have the nice undulating fairway and not be willing to accept the unlucky bounces it produces though.
11 - all those blind bunkers off the tee are bold, won't be everyone's cup of tea but I don't think they're really in play enough to matter with master clubs. Maybe in different wind.
12 - a little alpsy, finally laid up and found a flat part of the fairway. I'm playing like absolute garbage this round though.
13 - I LOVE the way this hole sits on the terrain, especially the double walkway of heavy rough in front. I kinda wish the bunkers behind the green were visible from the tee though, I think it would make it look even more intimidating. But the longer I look at it the more I think that might distract from the absurd tilt of the green and the land movement itself. I don't know, I can already tell this will probably be my favorite hole on the course.
14 - cool par 5, I had tempo issues and went heavy rough, woods, layup, so hard to judge how it was supposed to play lol.
15 - another good looking par 3, really punishing for being above the hole, which I fully support.
16 - pretty unique par 4, I should've counted how many times the routing brought the creek into play.
17 - speaking of bringing the creek into play... wow. Unfortunately I saw reebdoog's ghost ball take the 18th fairway, so this one is neutered pretty good. Plays great as intended though! Tee shot is terrifying when playing it straight, especially with the tailwind I had.
18 - I feel like you almost have to shape tee shots to hold a lot of these fairways with driver. I don't hate that though.

Great course, I think you nailed the look and feel and style you were going for. Some of the holes are sneaky tough, others are pretty straightforward. I echo reeb's sentiment though, make #3 a par 4, fix the shortcut on 17, and put out a very firm/very fast browned and burnt out version and let's get really freaky.

Wow. Thanks for the feedback Brian. Love the hole by hole breakdown.

Few comments:

Hole 3: I’m always play testing and designing the holes in high winds and realize this could be a drive and a 9 iron on a down wind day. Into a strong wind it’s driver 3 iron with a well placed drive. It would be a brute par 4...but then again what does par matter anyway!

Hole 6: I wanted to find ways to encourage players to club down rather than auto driver every tee shot. The choice will likely depend on wind and pin location. It’s always a challenge to provide enough incentive to club down without being too penal on the long ball.

Hole 10: bit of a diagonal hogs back right in the down wind driver landing zone. Strong enough wind and you can speed kick off it. Normal wind you’ve got to challenge the bunker on the right to hold the fairway...or if it’s too unpredictable just hit 2 wood into A wide fairway and leave tour self a 6 iron. It’s a bit devious with such a narrow fairway.

Hole 17: as noted to Reeb above I’m going to take another stab at the tee shot. Aside from the 18th fairway issue I think the tee shot is too severe. Got to soften it up a bit.

Hole 18: yeah I like to work the ball when I play and I wanted this course to bring that out a bit as I see so many guys just fire darts all day long. There are many shots where you can work the ball into slopes to control the roll. 18 is one where you have to fade it to hold the right side of the fairway to give yourself an optimal angle into the left pin.

Really appreciate the feedback Brian.

[rjwils30]

Mar 19, 2020 1:01:59 GMT -5 jwtexan said:

I just played this tonight on stream and it turned into an impromptu designer appreciation night Gdog style.

Played Falling Water and Blue River Dunes right after and loaded up all the other 2019 courses of yours to show guys in chat too who weren’t familiar/newer guys.

All around class course per usual man. Loved the routing and the play on the creek over and over again. I counted 13 holes that are involved with it in one way or another. Nothing much more to add. Great work.

Wes,

Caught your stream as well last night and really enjoyed your insights on the routing and strategy. Really enjoyable to watch as you’ve got a real love and appreciation for all that is good....as well as a disdain for OCD spline issues and other pet criticisms! Not to say I couldn’t or shouldn’t spend a few more hours fixing that stuff but to be honest that kind of work is painful for me. I start working on it and then get easily pulled away into something else. It was like when we used to have to add light rough manually. The worst.

Also thanks for featuring so many of my courses on the stream. It’s always humbling to hear the admiration for my past work.

[rjwils30]

Mar 20, 2020 2:27:34 GMT -5 b101 said:

I really like the 16th. The odd very uncomfortable tee shot is a great feature and you nailed it.

Ha. Thanks Ben. Its a “wtf” shot.

[mayday_golf83]

Mar 20, 2020 2:12:16 GMT -5 rjwils30 said:

I’m less interested these days in wowing and more about creating well integrated routings and varied use of the property. What I get a kick out of the most though are all the nerds who come out to play and comment on the course. So cool to see all these talented and knowledgeable guys give their opinions on the course. I’ve got to get back to playing and return the favour.

^^ This! I said basically this in the DAM group chat and on Wes’ stream after playing. The way I put is, “It’s a course designed by a golf architecture nerd for golf architecture nerds.” 

I found the the course to be very immersive and it was all the subtleties that kept me smiling — use of angles, clever routing along the stream, the overwhelming sense of realism. 

I’d put the stretch from 13-15 up there with some of the best stretches of golf in the game. 16 felt a bit out of character from the rest of the course in terms of style, but it oozed with strategic & heroic traits ... and the tee shot definitely had a high degree of pucker power. 

Is it my favorite course of yours? That’d be like asking me to choose between pizza, fried chicken or barbecue. They’re all great, but in different ways. That said, I appreciate that you stayed true to your vision for this course and you executed that vision to near perfection.

[reebdoog]

I'm with mayo. It's a course for the few...and I'm ok with that (I design for the few more and more I think).

16 is fine...just didn't quite fit after that stretch of awesome. However...sometimes having a hole that smacks you in the head can really screw with a player and that's never a bad thing yeah?