|
Post by abpg1812 on Apr 4, 2021 13:29:21 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by abpg1812 on Apr 4, 2021 13:32:42 GMT -5
Also thanks to mctrees02 for showing me how to get pictures into the thread, big help.
|
|
|
Post by abpg1812 on Apr 10, 2021 9:10:22 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by CLEANboxhero on Apr 10, 2021 19:31:20 GMT -5
Just writing based on the photos.
I know a little bit about sandy courses... The Tara Iti style is tough to pull off. With that said, It looks pretty good. But from experience (I learned the hard way) it's tough to make the fairways run directly to sand without it feeling contrived. From these pictures, personally, it looks pretty decent. Others may definitely have different opinions. I would definitely make sure the transitions from fairway to sand aren't too awfully jagged.
Some of the sand/waste area are real flat and open (not much planting to break it up). I think that may be one thing that you'll hear from others.
Edit: some of the fairways (course overview) look a little tight.
|
|
|
Post by abpg1812 on Apr 11, 2021 8:21:56 GMT -5
First picture is of a cool little corner of the course that I think has a good example of how the fairway and sand meet and move together. Second picture shows a shot back to the clubhouse, big double green where 6 and 17 meet. 18 on the left working back in.
|
|
|
Post by abpg1812 on Apr 11, 2021 8:25:22 GMT -5
Just writing based on the photos. I know a little bit about sandy courses... The Tara Iti style is tough to pull off. With that said, It looks pretty good. But from experience (I learned the hard way) it's tough to make the fairways run directly to sand without it feeling contrived. From these pictures, personally, it looks pretty decent. Others may definitely have different opinions. I would definitely make sure the transitions from fairway to sand aren't too awfully jagged. Some of the sand/waste area are real flat and open (not much planting to break it up). I think that may be one thing that you'll hear from others. Edit: some of the fairways (course overview) look a little tight. Really appreciate the feedback on what you see. I was thinking the same on some fairways so I went and reworked a few to give more options for playability into the greens. I plan on filling out the course a lot more with dune planting and on land planting. I've preset a lot of dunes with raised areas so I can go back and plant them. Thanks again
|
|
|
Post by abpg1812 on Apr 12, 2021 19:06:20 GMT -5
So I published a beta for this course called beta 1 Hidden Dunes GC. Give it a play and let me know what you think good and bad about anything you see. Raised areas in sand are future dunes. Thanks to all.
|
|
GolfTek
Weekend Golfer
Posts: 103
Tour: Kinetic/TST
|
Post by GolfTek on Apr 12, 2021 22:12:08 GMT -5
So I published a beta for this course called beta 1 Hidden Dunes GC. Give it a play and let me know what you think good and bad about anything you see. Raised areas in sand are future dunes. Thanks to all. I can't find any course under that name...
|
|
|
Post by abpg1812 on Apr 13, 2021 6:47:18 GMT -5
So I published a beta for this course called beta 1 Hidden Dunes GC. Give it a play and let me know what you think good and bad about anything you see. Raised areas in sand are future dunes. Thanks to all. I can't find any course under that name... Damn..I’ll try to figure out why and get back to you, thanks for looking.
|
|
GolfTek
Weekend Golfer
Posts: 103
Tour: Kinetic/TST
|
Post by GolfTek on Apr 15, 2021 2:06:42 GMT -5
I was able to find it now, don't know why it didn't pull up before.
As for the course, I feel like you have an okay start. Playing through the 18 holes, I felt like about 10 of them were the exact same hole with a slightly different contour here or planting there. There didn't seem to be much strategy and most of the difficulty seemed to come from overly narrow fairways and tiny sloped greens. Also, even though there were hills the course as a whole felt quite flat. I think that could be helped with more contrasting contouring, say where the sand meets the grass, or even some movement and ripples in the shapes of the fairways.
The back 9 did seem to do a better job in terms of the fairways and greens being an appropriate size and shape, I think 14-16 was the best stretch of holes. They were still pretty simplistic and straightforward, and I didn't really have to engage too much with them to score. I wish I had a reference of real or in game courses for you to check out to help you along in getting ideas and design elements to help you improve, but the Tara Iti mentioned above is the best I can come up with at the moment.
I don't mean to be harsh or overly critical, hope I didn't come across that way. Anything other than being clear and honest in my review I don't think would help you improve or give you anything to think about or work on. I remember being new to designing (I still am fairly new to this game at least) and there is a learning curve. Keep studying the success and greatness of others courses, and don't be afraid to "borrow" the ideas that work!
|
|
gr2951
Caddy
Posts: 24
Tour: Challenge Circuit
|
Post by gr2951 on Apr 15, 2021 11:54:15 GMT -5
Haven't played it yet, but 3 things spring to mind from the pictures:
1. Planting. Especially in the wider sand swaths, you could definitely use more patches of heavy rough with grass/trees/rocks on and around them. You don't have to overdo it, but from what I can see right now, it looks very sparse.
2. Sculpting. The transitions from the fairway to the sand look very clean, which is good! However, I feel like a little more elevation change is needed along the overall hole construction. Make some holes have elevated tee boxes, elevated greens, or fairways that have a high and low side to really put the focus on shot placement. Also, consider making some of the sand higher than the fairways for an interesting look. Rather than focusing on holes here, I would recommend maybe sinking (or raising) 6 or so holes (of course, based on routing) roughly 30 feet below the average height of the plot. This could allow for a long downhill par 3, a split fairway par 5, a relatively sloped par 4, or any other creative hole combinations. This will also help break up the look of the course. You very clearly know how to sculpt (not being condescending here, I'm not that great!), so doing this would really help the overall course.
3. Fairway width. They definitely need to be widened in some spots. I would say the narrowest I would go on this type of course (barring immediate green approaches/tee box exits) would be around 25 or 30 yards. Right now, I think your fairways make the course look (and probably play) too narrow. While you are definitely going to end up in the sand a lot on this course, wider fairways that result in bad angles into the green can be just as punishing!
Overall, looks very nice and I like the theming. These are just my ramblings regarding how I feel it will play. I'll try to give it a go tonight or this weekend!
|
|
|
Post by abpg1812 on Apr 15, 2021 12:46:41 GMT -5
I was able to find it now, don't know why it didn't pull up before. As for the course, I feel like you have an okay start. Playing through the 18 holes, I felt like about 10 of them were the exact same hole with a slightly different contour here or planting there. There didn't seem to be much strategy and most of the difficulty seemed to come from overly narrow fairways and tiny sloped greens. Also, even though there were hills the course as a whole felt quite flat. I think that could be helped with more contrasting contouring, say where the sand meets the grass, or even some movement and ripples in the shapes of the fairways. The back 9 did seem to do a better job in terms of the fairways and greens being an appropriate size and shape, I think 14-16 was the best stretch of holes. They were still pretty simplistic and straightforward, and I didn't really have to engage too much with them to score. I wish I had a reference of real or in game courses for you to check out to help you along in getting ideas and design elements to help you improve, but the Tara Iti mentioned above is the best I can come up with at the moment. I don't mean to be harsh or overly critical, hope I didn't come across that way. Anything other than being clear and honest in my review I don't think would help you improve or give you anything to think about or work on. I remember being new to designing (I still am fairly new to this game at least) and there is a learning curve. Keep studying the success and greatness of others courses, and don't be afraid to "borrow" the ideas that work! Not too harsh or critical, really appreciate the feedback and info. I do agree some of the fairways are way too narrow and don’t give you any options for shot making or strategy. I’ve started to go back in and try to reshape the bunkers to give more room for that. Which also helps the same hole over again you’re talking about. I’ve started to add some elevation changes throughout as well. Thanks again for the feedback I’ll let you know when I publish another beta when I get further down the road with improvements.
|
|
|
Post by abpg1812 on Apr 15, 2021 12:49:42 GMT -5
Haven't played it yet, but 3 things spring to mind from the pictures: 1. Planting. Especially in the wider sand swaths, you could definitely use more patches of heavy rough with grass/trees/rocks on and around them. You don't have to overdo it, but from what I can see right now, it looks very sparse. 2. Sculpting. The transitions from the fairway to the sand look very clean, which is good! However, I feel like a little more elevation change is needed along the overall hole construction. Make some holes have elevated tee boxes, elevated greens, or fairways that have a high and low side to really put the focus on shot placement. Also, consider making some of the sand higher than the fairways for an interesting look. Rather than focusing on holes here, I would recommend maybe sinking (or raising) 6 or so holes (of course, based on routing) roughly 30 feet below the average height of the plot. This could allow for a long downhill par 3, a split fairway par 5, a relatively sloped par 4, or any other creative hole combinations. This will also help break up the look of the course. You very clearly know how to sculpt (not being condescending here, I'm not that great!), so doing this would really help the overall course. 3. Fairway width. They definitely need to be widened in some spots. I would say the narrowest I would go on this type of course (barring immediate green approaches/tee box exits) would be around 25 or 30 yards. Right now, I think your fairways make the course look (and probably play) too narrow. While you are definitely going to end up in the sand a lot on this course, wider fairways that result in bad angles into the green can be just as punishing! Overall, looks very nice and I like the theming. These are just my ramblings regarding how I feel it will play. I'll try to give it a go tonight or this weekend! Thank you for the suggestions and feedback. Yeah I agree I’ve started to add some elevation throughout which will help give some contours to the land. Also the fairways are getting widened as well to give more options and decisions based on angles. The planting is bare right now as I have a lot more to go but I do think the dune planting does looks good, which will continue throughout. Let me know once you play it. Thanks again!
|
|
gr2951
Caddy
Posts: 24
Tour: Challenge Circuit
|
Post by gr2951 on Apr 15, 2021 21:58:13 GMT -5
Haven't played it yet, but 3 things spring to mind from the pictures: 1. Planting. Especially in the wider sand swaths, you could definitely use more patches of heavy rough with grass/trees/rocks on and around them. You don't have to overdo it, but from what I can see right now, it looks very sparse. 2. Sculpting. The transitions from the fairway to the sand look very clean, which is good! However, I feel like a little more elevation change is needed along the overall hole construction. Make some holes have elevated tee boxes, elevated greens, or fairways that have a high and low side to really put the focus on shot placement. Also, consider making some of the sand higher than the fairways for an interesting look. Rather than focusing on holes here, I would recommend maybe sinking (or raising) 6 or so holes (of course, based on routing) roughly 30 feet below the average height of the plot. This could allow for a long downhill par 3, a split fairway par 5, a relatively sloped par 4, or any other creative hole combinations. This will also help break up the look of the course. You very clearly know how to sculpt (not being condescending here, I'm not that great!), so doing this would really help the overall course. 3. Fairway width. They definitely need to be widened in some spots. I would say the narrowest I would go on this type of course (barring immediate green approaches/tee box exits) would be around 25 or 30 yards. Right now, I think your fairways make the course look (and probably play) too narrow. While you are definitely going to end up in the sand a lot on this course, wider fairways that result in bad angles into the green can be just as punishing! Overall, looks very nice and I like the theming. These are just my ramblings regarding how I feel it will play. I'll try to give it a go tonight or this weekend! Thank you for the suggestions and feedback. Yeah I agree I’ve started to add some elevation throughout which will help give some contours to the land. Also the fairways are getting widened as well to give more options and decisions based on angles. The planting is bare right now as I have a lot more to go but I do think the dune planting does looks good, which will continue throughout. Let me know once you play it. Thanks again! Just finished my first playthrough and I ended up finishing with a 63 (-9). Honestly, a lot of my criticisms from the photos don't hold up. The greens were really something (especially hole #2, the punchbowl one (hole 6?) and hole 18 with the mounds). Course was also visually good looking, however, I honestly think less is more with this one and you should remove the little pond around holes 2 and 7. The fairways didn't play as narrow as they looked, which was surprising in a good way. However, I'd still recommend widening a few of the smaller ones (I think 1 and 2?). Only ended up in the sand 4 times! Overall, great unique course. Definitely not "traditional" which in this game is a huge plus! P.S. make sure to update the waypoints! Almost every single tee shot I had to club up to driver, which was a moderate annoyance, but not a dealbreaker by any stretch. Great course! Excited to see what it turns into.
|
|
|
Post by abpg1812 on Apr 16, 2021 13:32:29 GMT -5
Thank you for the suggestions and feedback. Yeah I agree I’ve started to add some elevation throughout which will help give some contours to the land. Also the fairways are getting widened as well to give more options and decisions based on angles. The planting is bare right now as I have a lot more to go but I do think the dune planting does looks good, which will continue throughout. Let me know once you play it. Thanks again! Just finished my first playthrough and I ended up finishing with a 63 (-9). Honestly, a lot of my criticisms from the photos don't hold up. The greens were really something (especially hole #2, the punchbowl one (hole 6?) and hole 18 with the mounds). Course was also visually good looking, however, I honestly think less is more with this one and you should remove the little pond around holes 2 and 7. The fairways didn't play as narrow as they looked, which was surprising in a good way. However, I'd still recommend widening a few of the smaller ones (I think 1 and 2?). Only ended up in the sand 4 times! Overall, great unique course. Definitely not "traditional" which in this game is a huge plus! P.S. make sure to update the waypoints! Almost every single tee shot I had to club up to driver, which was a moderate annoyance, but not a dealbreaker by any stretch. Great course! Excited to see what it turns into. Glad you enjoyed what I got down so far! Thanks for the tip on the waypoints I just had them all set at 200 yards as a base reference but that makes more sense. Also I agree on the pond I think I’m gonna go the opposites way and just do a large dune or dunes in that area but higher then the rest on the course kinda like some of the larger dunes at streamsong or Tobacco Road’s larger dune structures. Happy you like the green complexes, some of them have some work to go but overall I’m happy with the general concept of them. I’ll let you know if I do another update before the final publish. Thanks again!
|
|