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Post by supergolfdude on Nov 22, 2020 14:56:30 GMT -5
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Post by williamwes626 on Dec 4, 2020 10:24:15 GMT -5
I didn't see any comments on this thread so I thought I'd be thorough with my playthrough summary.
SMAILS MEMORIAL
Amenities:
I tried out Smails with default settings so it was an overcast gray morning at this parkland course. The lighting was a standard cloudy day. I think the clubhouse area has enough knickknacks – the golf carts, fountain, lighthouse tower, a couple of sailboats, the seaplane, the little dining area with trash can – I gotta throw out my trash somewhere after nourishment. I didn’t have a place to park except that little circle since I didn’t take the seaplane to the course.
Layout:
I thought the layout was a pretty good blend of holes with the barranca holes and some of the sharper doglegs being the most unique. The bunkers were standard, fairways and greens mostly standard shapes and sizes. There may have been more holes going left and straight than right. Everything played fair and it was playable overall like your standard course. There weren’t any shots extremely intimating nor greens that were overly difficult. It played realistically.
Highlights:
I like the red flower circle on the first tee – I guess that can only be seen on the back tees. I saw a bench on the 2nd tee but not really anywhere else. My ball got dirty but no ball washers so it was spit and shine for me. LOL Anyway after a couple of pars, the par-5 540 yard 3rd hole that doglegs left to run alongside the river was the first impressive hole. I saw a tree blocking the green on my 245 yard approach and as I saw my ball sail towards it, I wondered if I should’ve drawn it off the tee cause it looked like it was gonna hit the tree. It may have skimmed it but it still landed on the green and then somehow rattled in for my first ever albatross.
I thought the fourth hole was a highlight, a par-3 with water in front, a cool retaining wall and a false front green leading to the pond. There were 3 or 4 barranca holes that changed up the course nicely. The 5th is the small house hole – I like how the green and runoff lead to that house by the water. The 6th has the cruise ship in sight, the 7th have cool bunker shapes – those bunkers had the most character. The downhill dogleg left 8th hole tee shot is a cool one with options – over the trees, around the trees, a layup. The 10th hole has the best barranca area, the 12th would be the signature hole since it’s doglegs right around water to a tri-waterfall area – everything looked great and the hole was tough but fun to play. It was my only bogey since I couldn’t take a chance with the green. The rock ridge along the river was mighty fine. The 14th straight minimalist hole with no bunkers or hazards was refreshing. The finale didn’t have much wow factor but that’s fine since the last 3 holes played a bit more difficult.
Experience:
There was more character on the first 12 holes as opposed to the last 6 I thought – some holes needed a little something extra– the planting was nice here and there – I would have liked to see another flower bed like on the first hole. I got a 70 (-2) overall and it played like it was of medium difficulty but probably because some of the #1 pins were on yellow lines which I have no issue with but that's my excuse. He he I had a good time on this course. Other than a parking lot, the typical amenities were present, the hole designs weren’t excellent but satisfactory. The aesthetics were good around most of the property. Thanks for the experience.
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Post by supergolfdude on Dec 10, 2020 21:26:54 GMT -5
Thanks for playing and for the thoughtful review! It’s hard to catch on and get noticed here.
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