Playgroundhoo WIP - Andorra (alternate)
May 30, 2021 16:17:06 GMT -5
coggin66, tpetro, and 3 more like this
Post by playgroundhoo on May 30, 2021 16:17:06 GMT -5
Love all the inspiring courses so far...which are certainly motivating to create something fun...
Andorra is one of those countries that walks into the Olympic Opening Ceremonies with a small, proud team that you've probably never heard of. Blessed with an abundance of high peaks, it's a tiny little country in the middle of the Pyrenees between France and Spain. But unfortunately, it has not yet won an Olympic medal.
Andorra is actually ruled by two co-princes, the President of France and the Pope-appointed Bishop of Urgell. You might think having two Heads of State - one secular and one Church - would create quite a drama-filled Andorran version of The Crown, but there's a reason Andorra has not been in a war in over 1,000 years. It's beautiful, but probably not worth fighting over.
Anyway, there are essentially only two places to put a golf course in Andorra - on top of a high mountain or at the bottom of a tight, steep valley. That's one reason there are only two 9-hole courses in Andorra.
I thought about making something up with the Swiss theme, but having done a lot of hiking in the North Cascades and Olympic Mountains of Washington, I spied a spot in Andorra that reminded me of the Enchantments area of the North Cascades - a string of beautiful, high alpine tarns and glacial-carved moraines set in an amazing high cirque.
The Enchantments - Washington
Estany (Lake) Meligar in the Circ de Pessons - Andorra
So, perhaps ill-advisedly, I thought I'd build a golf course here. Starting and ending at the Restaurant Refugi del Llac dels Pessons (if possible).
My goal was to recreate the major land forms, lake detail, and relative elevations and distances between points as much as possible with the satellite information I could find. It surprisingly worked out fairly well - with a little creative adaptation, too.
Then, I wanted to try to route a course as naturally as I could, "move" as little land as possible, and visit several lakes without unrealistic elevation changes. It's definitely too rugged to be a tight routing, but finding holes has been a lot of fun. It's definitely quite a hike, but could be possible. The plot limits aren't quite big enough to get the walls of the cirque in with peaks, but much of the floor fits with peaks in the background.
Anyway, here are a few WIP shots. With a complete routing and mostly-built holes, I still have most of the planting and detail to do, and there's a whole lot of rock to get in.
Winding up the lower glacier carve-out with a bit of a natural Alps hole - kind of literally, except it's the Pyrenees...
Some of the Estanys de la Solana - with a nice spot for a short par-3 green
My version of Estany Meligar looking downhill at a string of Pessons lakes
Driving Estany Forcat
More to come as I'm new to a contest format, but will hopefully produce something good...great work by everyone so far...
Andorra is one of those countries that walks into the Olympic Opening Ceremonies with a small, proud team that you've probably never heard of. Blessed with an abundance of high peaks, it's a tiny little country in the middle of the Pyrenees between France and Spain. But unfortunately, it has not yet won an Olympic medal.
Andorra is actually ruled by two co-princes, the President of France and the Pope-appointed Bishop of Urgell. You might think having two Heads of State - one secular and one Church - would create quite a drama-filled Andorran version of The Crown, but there's a reason Andorra has not been in a war in over 1,000 years. It's beautiful, but probably not worth fighting over.
Anyway, there are essentially only two places to put a golf course in Andorra - on top of a high mountain or at the bottom of a tight, steep valley. That's one reason there are only two 9-hole courses in Andorra.
I thought about making something up with the Swiss theme, but having done a lot of hiking in the North Cascades and Olympic Mountains of Washington, I spied a spot in Andorra that reminded me of the Enchantments area of the North Cascades - a string of beautiful, high alpine tarns and glacial-carved moraines set in an amazing high cirque.
The Enchantments - Washington
Estany (Lake) Meligar in the Circ de Pessons - Andorra
So, perhaps ill-advisedly, I thought I'd build a golf course here. Starting and ending at the Restaurant Refugi del Llac dels Pessons (if possible).
My goal was to recreate the major land forms, lake detail, and relative elevations and distances between points as much as possible with the satellite information I could find. It surprisingly worked out fairly well - with a little creative adaptation, too.
Then, I wanted to try to route a course as naturally as I could, "move" as little land as possible, and visit several lakes without unrealistic elevation changes. It's definitely too rugged to be a tight routing, but finding holes has been a lot of fun. It's definitely quite a hike, but could be possible. The plot limits aren't quite big enough to get the walls of the cirque in with peaks, but much of the floor fits with peaks in the background.
Anyway, here are a few WIP shots. With a complete routing and mostly-built holes, I still have most of the planting and detail to do, and there's a whole lot of rock to get in.
Winding up the lower glacier carve-out with a bit of a natural Alps hole - kind of literally, except it's the Pyrenees...
Some of the Estanys de la Solana - with a nice spot for a short par-3 green
My version of Estany Meligar looking downhill at a string of Pessons lakes
Driving Estany Forcat
More to come as I'm new to a contest format, but will hopefully produce something good...great work by everyone so far...