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Post by trailducker on Jan 30, 2021 22:12:23 GMT -5
It is my pleasure to present my second Course Design. Welcome to Ghost Town Canyon Golf Club, located atop a canyon in the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. It is a Par 71 at 7070 yards from the Farthest (Gold) tees. It is a completely bunkerless course instead utilizing the Rocky terrain and abandoned building as well as the treacherous canyon through the middle of the course as hazards to avoid. I took lessons learned from the shortfallings of my first project (still a fun one check it out here if you haven’t yet) as well as just more of an understanding of the designer tools to make this course one I hope everyone will have fun with. Course Design:
The course starts off on a hill playing over an abandoned mine, a few holes in you are forced to cross the canyon to the deserted ghost town where you navigate between the abandoned buildings before crossing once again to end the 9. The back nine starts off playing around the gold mine again before crossing the canyon not once but twice more. The course can seem somewhat straightforward if you successfully remain in the fairway and avoid the hazards but the rough itself is pretty unforgiving and the overgrown middle areas can really make for a blow up hole. The final three holes are the hardest stretch to end the round. This course plays very differently based on the wind. Low and medium are more leisurely but Heavy and Very Heavy winds is really where the strategic moves of the course come to life. So those that want more of a challenge and to interact more with the hole to hole strategy I would suggest upping the wind to heavy. Those that want an easier round can stick with something lower. The greens are published at 169 but were designed at 187 and are playable should somebody want the challenge; or this course is lucky enough to be considered for tournaments. I also would suggest to anyone to pay attention to your feet even on the fairway to make sure you don’t need to adjust for a slope. Anbody who was following my WIP, that was under the name Gold Canyon, but I was a dumb dumb and published my beta under that name, hense the name change here. I hope everyone enjoys it. All playthroughs, write ups, critiques and praises are welcome! Enjoy!
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Post by trailducker on Jan 30, 2021 22:23:22 GMT -5
Here's a Routing Diagram. I took a little inspiration from Riviera's routing
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Post by captainhook on Jan 31, 2021 4:38:10 GMT -5
Wow! Only your second course?! Love the idea and you nailed the atmosphere. Bunkerless is always a risk but felt it was not necessary here and fit well. Your planting is superb and I'm jealous! You really only used one rock but it worked with everything else going on (changing size and rotation, other textures, variety of plants etc.) You had some really fun and interesting hole ideas. My favorite hole being #6, that just really stood out to me. Where the fairway narrowed and changed direction with the land forms and the way the green sat was nice. Even the view from the tee was fantastic! I liked your greens a lot and inner slopes were fun to play on. If I could say a few negatives... The opening hole I was not fond of. I had a cross wind and I play with a 287yd driver but wasn't able to make it over the water so had to lay up. Then wasn't able to make the green. A head wind would be even worse. Maybe leaving the fairway open but having the pond cut in a little on the right would have been the way to go. There were maybe a few too many split fairways or central hazards (rocks) for my liking but it did offer some options while having something to think about. And Although you had some great framing from the tees, some of the land around looked like a smoothed out valley on a bunch of tees. While the view to the hole and in the distance is different and nice looking each time, the view directly to the side is sometimes the same. Very cool course and excited to see what you come up with next!
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Post by trailducker on Jan 31, 2021 5:04:27 GMT -5
Wow! Only your second course?! Love the idea and you nailed the atmosphere. Bunkerless is always a risk but felt it was not necessary here and fit well. Your planting is superb and I'm jealous! You really only used one rock but it worked with everything else going on (changing size and rotation, other textures, variety of plants etc.) You had some really fun and interesting hole ideas. My favorite hole being #6, that just really stood out to me. Where the fairway narrowed and changed direction with the land forms and the way the green sat was nice. Even the view from the tee was fantastic! I liked your greens a lot and inner slopes were fun to play on. If I could say a few negatives... The opening hole I was not fond of. I had a cross wind and I play with a 287yd driver but wasn't able to make it over the water so had to lay up. Then wasn't able to make the green. A head wind would be even worse. Maybe leaving the fairway open but having the pond cut in a little on the right would have been the way to go. There were maybe a few too many split fairways or central hazards (rocks) for my liking but it did offer some options while having something to think about. And Although you had some great framing from the tees, some of the land around looked like a smoothed out valley on a bunch of tees. While the view to the hole and in the distance is different and nice looking each time, the view directly to the side is sometimes the same. Very cool course and excited to see what you come up with next! Thank you so much for both the positive reinforcement and the critiques! Yeah I needed to massage the water a little better with the elevation change on that hole. By the time I realized it’s as big of an issue as it was I had everything built around it including the little waterfall. It would have been quite awhile to fix it. 17 is a similar issue as I need that carry to not be as big for when someone gets caught in the rough, you are forced to lay up and on a long par 4 that’s brutal. Yeah it’s hard to add variety without the bunkers. I felt it worked with this look and type of course but wish some of the holes that feel so similar didn’t as much (2&11, 5&13, 6&8, 7&16, 10&14). I actually used all the rocks in the theme a lot but definitely used one rock like 3 times as much as any other. Arctic fury loves that same rock too with its weird look it looks kind of like multiple rocks in one so you can really create interesting landscapes with it alone rotated.
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Post by Q on Jan 31, 2021 5:05:21 GMT -5
everyone's second course should be bunkerless lol.
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Post by trailducker on Jan 31, 2021 5:08:25 GMT -5
everyone's second course should be bunkerless lol. Asylum was your second course? I had the idea for this to be bunkerless but definitely played Asylum quite a few times to get some inspiration when I would get stuck designing the holes. One thing you did great that I wish I knew how and did better myself is the way you have some of the land scarring interact with the fairway look so natural. I’m thinking about hole 1 with that elevation change that’s a blend of fairway and the rough Delta land, was that done by brushes for the fairway texture rather then splines?
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Post by Q on Jan 31, 2021 6:26:59 GMT -5
everyone's second course should be bunkerless lol. Asylum was your second course? I had the idea for this to be bunkerless but definitely played Asylum quite a few times to get some inspiration when I would get stuck designing the holes. One thing you did great that I wish I knew how and did better myself is the way you have some of the land scarring interact with the fairway look so natural. I’m thinking about hole 1 with that elevation change that’s a blend of fairway and the rough Delta land, was that done by brushes for the fairway texture rather then splines? not sure what you mean so just pm me so we dont hijack your own thread! My comment was my kind of way to "pin" this course so I remembered to play it later.
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Post by trailducker on Jan 31, 2021 12:06:37 GMT -5
Approved! 🙌
Thank you to the reviewer and feel free if you have the time to pop in here with your thoughts on the course
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Post by robn on Jan 31, 2021 14:42:21 GMT -5
Got 8 holes in before other duties (I'll finish another time). I don't need to see any more anyway to say the following.
Whilst 'high' fantasy isn't really my cup of tea I'd have to say, on the evidence of this, the potential for great things from you is enormous.
I appreciate the time and effort you put in to this piece of work. The view out and over the 7th green is spectacular.
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Post by trailducker on Jan 31, 2021 15:10:42 GMT -5
Got 8 holes in before other duties (I'll finish another time). I don't need to see any more anyway to say the following. Whilst 'high' fantasy isn't really my cup of tea I'd have to say, on the evidence of this, the potential for great things from you is enormous. I appreciate the time and effort you put in to this piece of work. The view out and over the 7th green is spectacular. Thank you so much! Are you more of a RCR fan? I definitely want my courses to tip toe on that edge of video game wow this is pretty as well as realism so you aren’t completely in a fantasy world. Ala what a lot of the Dream Team designers are able to do! My first course I feel I nailed the general strategy but missed some of the technical issues being my first time using the tools (Green sizes, Tee Box sculpting, green sculpting a scotch too penal) this course I focused a lot on the technical aspects and nailing those but felt some of the strategy aspects could have been done better. Just trying to get better each course! And so glad people are enjoying.
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Post by WhatAboutAmeobi on Jan 31, 2021 15:25:15 GMT -5
Play through / review. I had a couple of incidents on 11 and 17...
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Post by robn on Jan 31, 2021 17:16:52 GMT -5
Got 8 holes in before other duties (I'll finish another time). I don't need to see any more anyway to say the following. Whilst 'high' fantasy isn't really my cup of tea I'd have to say, on the evidence of this, the potential for great things from you is enormous. I appreciate the time and effort you put in to this piece of work. The view out and over the 7th green is spectacular. Thank you so much! Are you more of a RCR fan? I definitely want my courses to tip toe on that edge of video game wow this is pretty as well as realism so you aren’t completely in a fantasy world. Ala what a lot of the Dream Team designers are able to do! My first course I feel I nailed the general strategy but missed some of the technical issues being my first time using the tools (Green sizes, Tee Box sculpting, green sculpting a scotch too penal) this course I focused a lot on the technical aspects and nailing those but felt some of the strategy aspects could have been done better. Just trying to get better each course! And so glad people are enjoying. RCR? Not necessarily. Finished up my round. I'm sure you'll get plenty of solid feedback but I'm gonna pm you one very important piece of constructive criticism. Above all, well done on a superb piece of creativity.
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Post by trailducker on Jan 31, 2021 17:19:41 GMT -5
Play through / review. I had a couple of incidents on 11 and 17... Thank you so much Ameobi! Sorry to trigger you with the rocks! So you know most of the distances are the same as the beta you played but I did alot of adjusting with the scultping to make holes play more in the distances I was intending. My friend found that issue on 17 last night and told me about it and that was a big mistake by me missing that. It never came up in a beta and I blindly never playtested from there. I should have made it further out so in low or face winds you could hit driver and if you went through you had a shot in. 11 I feel would be annoying if you go down that hill but it's also very apparent that hill is there and it's part of the gamble. If you tip toe along those edges you play with having to take an unplayable lie. 1 I should have made that lake not as big to not take driver out as much as it does. I wanted the first hole to be harder but that is a bit too much on the penal side. You can clear it with no or helping winds but yeah any winds in your face and the hole is a bit too much on the difficult side then I meant for. By the time I realized that it was all built out and I decided to take the hit on it rather then completely rebuild the lake and that little waterfall on it. At that point I wanted to publish and move one hahaha But 17 is I think the hole that would (and should) keep me from a Tour Worthy designation. My view on the rocks. I totally understand your concern with their unpredicatability. My view is I never hide them, you know they are there and it's your responsiblity to avoid them. The course itself is pretty straightforward and attackable so my haxards being a bit more penal if you hit them of typical hazards felt like an appropriate compremise. Plus rocks can also be a help at times. I did ramp up the back of the fairways where rocks are in them so your ball should roll off them to not tuck you behind (between you and the hole) if you hit a shot into a rock. Hole 15 I kept going back and forth on making it a long Par 4 or a Par 5 and it's just very dependant on the wind. You obviosuly had a helping wind on this playthrough, it plays more like a par 5 with a head wind or a cross wind. I did make the green a bit more difficult from the beta so you need a good shot (like the great one you hit) to hold it and make eagle. I also feel having that reletively easy hole follow the difficult last three holes was a compremise I ultimately was fine with. Again thank you so much for the playthrough! I hope besides the hiccups and the rocks you enjoyed it! Not sure if I'll every make a bunkerless course again, haha but glad I did and it came out playable.
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Post by joesklad on Jan 31, 2021 17:24:27 GMT -5
3.5 / 5
There were a few places where the grass went that it shouldn't have gone. Like number two's tee. I loved your tee markers, very original. Number two is also a great hole with the split Fairway. I did not like the color scheme of the grass , but the Wild west desert areas for perfect. Fantastic logo btw. The bridge across the canyon with little bit wonky when you tried to combine two different types, and 9's bridge was too low. But the waterfalls were well done in my opinion. Overall a good course.
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Post by trailducker on Jan 31, 2021 17:28:46 GMT -5
Also I really pushed myself on these first two courses. They were pretty bold and required a level of know how and precion that was asking a lot of someone just leanring the program. I already have a plan for my third one and it will be much more for casual and laid back and much more FLAT. haha
I will still work to make it something aestethically pleasing, strategically engaging and enjoyable but it will be much relaxed. I still will work on my skills and the techniques but can't wait for somethign a bit more leisurely after these two difficult courses.
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