Dream Team 2021 - Format and FAQs

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Dream Team 2021 - Key Information

Our homage to the Ryder and Presidents' Cups, Dream Team 2021 sees Team mattf27 face off against Team PithyDoctorG . Each captain will draft a team of 20 designers to go head-to-head over three days of action. FAQs below:

When and where is the draft? 
Mid-August - location and date tbc
 

What if I don't get drafted?
15 will be drafted, with 5 alternates. Captains will select a course from the alternates in their discord in case any of the others has to drop out or cannot finish in time, so do build a course if you are still interested (obviously, no worries if not and completely understand). All alternates will get a full playthrough and feedback from me. Discord servers and teams capped at 20 (see post of 31st July in main thread).

If those of you undrafted wish to organise your own side contest, please do feel free.

How do we chat to our team?
After the draft, each captain will invite their team to a Discord channel, where you can share ideas, show pictures or flyovers and generally help others make the best course they can. No file sharing.

How do the three rounds work?
The captains will do a stream where they select their pairings/order. This will be President's Cup style, so one captain sets out their pair / player and the other responds with a pair they think can beat them. Each of the three days has a little twist in terms of the way we'll judge these courses. Courses can (and likely will) be used on multiple days. Most days you can sit out is one. 

Day one = Fourball. Two pairs of courses going head to head, with the full 18 from each course being judged.
Day two = Foursomes. Two pairs of courses going head to head, with the front nine from one course and back nine from the other being judged. Judges will factor in cohesion between the two courses (more on this below).
Day three = singles. Full 18 from one course vs full 18 from another.

How does the scoring work?
One point per match. Matches can be halved.

What are the key dates?
17th - 31st July - sign up opens; register your interest.
mid-August - Live draft. Following this, captains will set up Discord channels and start discussing plans.
tbc date a couple of days after the draft - designers can start their courses. A slight delay here after draft to encourage discussion of ideas and working as a team.
1st December - 1st January - publish window

Can I build any course I want?
Yes, but part of this is the team environment. Aim for variety - use the days between draft and design window to discuss plans with your captain and get a feel for what will work best with the team. But also bear in mind the foursomes aspect - does your course pair well with another? 

Is there a target difficulty?
NO. You make the course you want. I'll be asking everyone to specify an intended difficulty when they publish (i.e. easy/med/hard), but bear in mind that it needs to play interestingly for that difficulty. 18 auto birdie holes tends to be boring, whilst 18 island greens surrounded by nothing but heavy rough on 500 yard par fours will quickly get monotonous. Find the sweet spot and make sure that it's engaging to play, whatever the difficulty.

When I'm done, do I just publish?
Must be within the window, but chat to your team captain first - they may have a plan for organising releases.

Will there be playthroughs? 
I will do a critical playthrough from a designer's viewpoint for every course on Twitch on release, and WhatAboutAmeobi will do likewise. I have no doubt other greats of the community such as jimgem  gdog  Avakrac etc will cover some of the courses, too, but no guarantee there. As with all contests, I'm sure each course will get its moment.

How exactly is my course judged?

Playability and shot values: /10
Key question: is it fun to play (excluding the visuals) and are you continually engaged from a shotmaking point of view (not visuals) ?
- does the course play well, to the difficulty intended and are you hitting a range of different shots? is there more than one option? are hazards placed thoughtfully to accentuate a hole's strategy and add difficulty in a way that is fair? Was it fun and/or challenging in the way the designer intended?

Variety of hole designs, routing, continuity and strategic value: /5
Key question: Is there hole/strategic variety within an overall, cohesive framework?
- what's the flow of holes like? does the designer have a variety of different hole ideas or do they repeat the same one over and over again? Does the routing make sense (i.e. no crazy long walks, crossing fairways to get to tees, tees and greens being too close, are par threes/fours/fives well-spaced and at different distances etc) and does the routing highlight the best of the land?

Aesthetics: /5
- does it look good? does it feel authentic? does the course belong in its environment? if there is an off-course element, does it enhance the overall atmosphere?

Technical: /5
- how well is everything executed? Consider sculpting (particularly greens and bunkers), surface placements and transitions, handling of elevation changes, use of extras. Don't go out of your way looking for problems though.


Total: /25


For the foursomes round only:

Team cohesion: /5
- how well do these courses mesh together in terms of playing style? N.B. Not necessarily aesthetically, although that would doubtless help. Don't expect planting to match, but the two nines should feel cohesive. Basically, we're looking for a tight, parkland course meshing with another tight parkland course, range of pars, flow of holes etc.

Who's judging my match?
Judges will be assigned to matches at random before the matchups are drawn to ensure fairness.

How does Team Cohesion work? Do I have to use the same style as someone else?
No. Exact theme and visuals do not matter. This is more in terms of width, strategic interest, flow of par and different hole types. For example: captains won't swap between a 6800 yard tree-lined course where you're relentlessly hitting draws and fades to a wide open 7600 yard Sand Hills type course. They'll feel massively different to play, even if both are done brilliantly.

My course is based on this really niche course you'll never have heard of. How can I make sure you guys 'get' it?
I'm going to ask each designer to write a SHORT summary of things to be aware of when judging their course - I'll do this via Microsoft Forms. This will include any influences, key features, location inspiration and intended difficulty. It can't be longer than about 3 sentences, but I don't want us missing something just because we didn't get it. Whether we like it will be a different matter, but at least you'll know we were aware.

I have more questions!
Tag me to ask in the main thread. I'll add it in here if I think it's a FAQ.