Post by starwarser on Mar 24, 2020 0:17:01 GMT -5
This has been a long time coming. I originally started this course in October of 2019 and completed 4 holes before scrapping the entire thing, minus the first hole, out of frustration. I then made it to hole 5 before creating a hole that I just couldn't get right that left me with whatever the equivalent of writers block for golf course design is. A week ago I picked up where I left off and scrapped hole 5 and 6. The block was gone and I was able to make it through. Though I had intended this to be an 18 hole course, I found that I used too much budget and was having a hard time figuring out what to cut in order to make another 9 holes. There are parts of the course that will never be seen that use up a lot of budget, but due to the time spent putting them together I decided to leave it all in and just make the course 9 holes. Nevertheless, here is the finished product with a few 4K screenshots taken from my Xbox.
This is the only hole left out of my original design. It is a downhill dog-leg right Par 4. There are plenty of options off the tee, all corresponding to which Pins you're playing. As you'll notice, this ends up being a large part of my design. I find a 2 or 3-wood works best off the tee, but you can try hitting Driver and working the ball into the lowest part of the fairway. You'll be penalized if you miss, but the rewards are great if you succeed including a better angle into the green and obviously hitting a shorter club which will help if you're playing the 4th pin. I took some inspiration from Bethpage Black for the tee shot and from Augusta #6 for the green.
Number three is a Par 5 that swoops downhill and then back up for the approach. Any tee shot funnels down to the far right of the fairway, but you can avert that with a well placed draw into the side of the hill, negating some of the roll out. The approach shot is then a long iron or Fairway wood over two massive bunkers guarding the front of this green. Don't be afraid to miss long here, the penalty isn't nearly as severe on Pins 1-3 as it is for Pin 4, but ending up short will hurt no matter which Pin you play. The lack of a close lay-up area forces you to be aggressive, unless you decide to lay up to about 100 yards at the end of the fairway.
Hole 5 skirts by a small estate and offers a variety of options off the tee yet again. Driver works over the far bunker if you're into the wind, otherwise a 2 or 3-wood can make it over if hit just right. The first two pins are relatively safe from the water unless you're hitting the ball wildly, but Pins 3 and 4 bring the water directly into play with Pin 4 offering no safe option other than going long. Hitting the fairway is the most important thing on this hole. If you're in the larger bunker or in the heavy rough you are going to have a hard time getting the ball across the water.
Here you can see the general layout of the course. I opted not to bring the water into play very often as I felt the course was difficult enough without assessing penalties. I also wanted the feeling of starting at the top of a high ridge and working your way down to the water and then back up. This was my first attempt at really getting nuts with elevation as my previous course was fairly flat (themed as a swamp, darkly lit, really shitty looking). I was working with different backgrounds throughout my design but couldn't reach a look that I could appreciate, so I decided to just sink what wasn't being used since I decided I wasn't going to be doing another 9 holes.
Anyway, that's just a small preview of 3 of the 9 holes at The Club at Kilika. I've spent over 200 hours working on this course and I hope it shows in the final product. There are certainly some mistakes here and there (Pin 3 on #5 is on yellow, missed some objects on one of the oaks on #6 which breaks uniformity, etc). Hopefully you enjoy what I've created, and who knows, if I receive enough feedback and everyone seems to enjoy the course I might just go ahead and cut out some clutter, raise some land back out of the sea and do a back 9.
This is the only hole left out of my original design. It is a downhill dog-leg right Par 4. There are plenty of options off the tee, all corresponding to which Pins you're playing. As you'll notice, this ends up being a large part of my design. I find a 2 or 3-wood works best off the tee, but you can try hitting Driver and working the ball into the lowest part of the fairway. You'll be penalized if you miss, but the rewards are great if you succeed including a better angle into the green and obviously hitting a shorter club which will help if you're playing the 4th pin. I took some inspiration from Bethpage Black for the tee shot and from Augusta #6 for the green.
Number three is a Par 5 that swoops downhill and then back up for the approach. Any tee shot funnels down to the far right of the fairway, but you can avert that with a well placed draw into the side of the hill, negating some of the roll out. The approach shot is then a long iron or Fairway wood over two massive bunkers guarding the front of this green. Don't be afraid to miss long here, the penalty isn't nearly as severe on Pins 1-3 as it is for Pin 4, but ending up short will hurt no matter which Pin you play. The lack of a close lay-up area forces you to be aggressive, unless you decide to lay up to about 100 yards at the end of the fairway.
Hole 5 skirts by a small estate and offers a variety of options off the tee yet again. Driver works over the far bunker if you're into the wind, otherwise a 2 or 3-wood can make it over if hit just right. The first two pins are relatively safe from the water unless you're hitting the ball wildly, but Pins 3 and 4 bring the water directly into play with Pin 4 offering no safe option other than going long. Hitting the fairway is the most important thing on this hole. If you're in the larger bunker or in the heavy rough you are going to have a hard time getting the ball across the water.
Here you can see the general layout of the course. I opted not to bring the water into play very often as I felt the course was difficult enough without assessing penalties. I also wanted the feeling of starting at the top of a high ridge and working your way down to the water and then back up. This was my first attempt at really getting nuts with elevation as my previous course was fairly flat (themed as a swamp, darkly lit, really shitty looking). I was working with different backgrounds throughout my design but couldn't reach a look that I could appreciate, so I decided to just sink what wasn't being used since I decided I wasn't going to be doing another 9 holes.
Anyway, that's just a small preview of 3 of the 9 holes at The Club at Kilika. I've spent over 200 hours working on this course and I hope it shows in the final product. There are certainly some mistakes here and there (Pin 3 on #5 is on yellow, missed some objects on one of the oaks on #6 which breaks uniformity, etc). Hopefully you enjoy what I've created, and who knows, if I receive enough feedback and everyone seems to enjoy the course I might just go ahead and cut out some clutter, raise some land back out of the sea and do a back 9.