Total Recall - A New Design Contest...With A Twist
Aug 31, 2021 23:20:56 GMT -5
IGolfBad, B.Smooth13, and 7 more like this
Post by jayraygun on Aug 31, 2021 23:20:56 GMT -5
That's right, folks. Smack dab in the middle of Dream Team, Design League, and at least two other design contests (that I know about) I'm dropping details on yet another course design contest that I will be hosting and judging (alongside some others). Here are the details:
Once Upon a Time...In the Not Too Distant Future
You and some golfing buddies are sipping on cold ones after a recent round, trading stories about some of the more memorable courses you’ve played. After one of them mentions shooting a 78 at some resort course in Arizona, you lean in and proudly exclaim, “I finally broke par!”
“No way, that’s great,” one of them says. “Where did you play?”
You sit there for a second, mouth open, suddenly confused. “I can’t remember.”
“You shoot your best score and you can’t remember the name of the place?”
“Wait a minute,” you say. “I still have the scorecard.”
You run outside and come back in holding a rectangular piece of plain stock paper. You drop in on the table in front of your friends. “See!?”
One of them picks it up and turns it over in their hands. Except for the yardage and hole information and your scribbled scores it’s totally blank. No course name, no address, nothing. They start to laugh. “Is this a joke? Did you print this out at home and expect us to buy that you broke par on some course you can’t even remember? This thing isn’t even attested by anyone.” Your face flushes red with embarrassment.
“No, I swear!” you say. “Look, I can’t remember the name of the course, but I can tell you everything about it.”
“Everything?” a friend asks.
“Well, almost everything.” You raise an empty beer can. “I might have had a few. But listen to this…it was awesome.”
Concept:
Each designer has a scorecard from a recent round they’ve finished. Though your memory is a little fuzzy, you can recall a few details about each hole you played. Armed with those sparse details and the yardage/par information from your scorecard, you set out to recreate the course as best you can, hoping that somewhere along the way you can remember the dang course name.
Participants:
In order to keep the playthroughs manageable and the results able to be tabulated and revealed in a timely fashion, the contest will be open to the first ten (10) designers that confirm with me via a response on Twitter, Facebook, or the TGC Tours Forum. Links to all posts below (details will link back to this post).
If the contest manages to garner more willing participants, I reserve the right to either expand the number of participants or implement a criteria (to be announced if necessary) to narrow the field down to ten participants.
Important Dates:
• September 1st – September 15th: Registration window opens. Designers can begin their courses as soon as I confirm their participation.
• November 1st: Publish window opens
• November 14th: Publish window closes. All submissions must be received.
• November 30th: Results announced
Rules:
• Each designer will submit a uniquely named 18-hole course. WIP posts on all media are fine and dandy but designers should not publish BETAs or solicit anyone for a review before their completed course is published.
• All designers will use the same scorecard and have the same “memories” (memories are below). Each course will follow the same hole order, yardage, and par as presented on the scorecard.
• Each hole has a vague memory with clues to details that must be incorporated into that hole’s design. For example:
o Hole #1: "This was a beautiful opener right outside the clubhouse. I remember having to carry a large hazard with my drive and the green seemed really small. I hit my approach fat and ended up in a front bunker."
- So, hole 1 starts near the clubhouse and features some hazard that must be carried with the drive. The green should be small (or at least appear that way) and there is (at least one) bunker in the front of the green.
• If a memory mentions a hazard but does not specify its type, it is up to the designer to choose what kind of hazard to incorporate (water, bunker, trees, waste area, man-made structure, etc.).
• Adjectives within the memories are meant to help guide the designer. For example: “Odd-shaped green” is subjective, so each designer should interpret what “odd-shaped” means to them.
• The only hard restrictions on the course design are the yardage, par, and any details from the memory. Therefore, features like theme, objects, routing, intended line of play, textures, environments, off-course details, doglegs, green size/shape, and hazard location/type (unless otherwise detailed in a memory) are up to the individual designer.
• Hole lengths should be measured starting from the back tees to a waypoint somewhere between the back tees and the green to the center of the green (or as close an approximation of its center as can be measured). This allows each designer to create uniquely shaped holes while still adhering to the specified yardage. For example:
o Hole 1, 350 yards, Par 4
• You do not need multiple tee boxes but if you have more than one, the hole yardage must be measured from the farthest tees and the course will be played from these tees.
• The course is required to have one pin-set (for obvious reasons). If you have more than one, you must indicate which pin-set should be played for judging purposes.
Judging Criteria:
Each course will be played and judged on the following criteria:
• Does each hole follow the order, yardage (as measured by the rules mentioned above), and par as presented on the scorecard?
• Does the designer incorporate all the details mentioned in each specific hole’s memory?
• How well does each designer interpret those details to create a unique experience?
• How well does the designer use their imagination to “fill in the details” not included in any memory and fill out each hole with other design features while maintaining a cohesive look and feel throughout the course?
• How well is the designer able to use the design tools to take the details from their “memories” and their imagination and bring them into reality? This includes standard course design elements such as sculpting, scaling, hole strategy, visual interest, and cohesiveness of design.
Scoring:
• Each course will be scored in two ways – individual holes and as a complete course.
Individual Holes:
• The uniqueness of this contest setup allows for each numbered hole to be compared to the same numbered hole on another course in order to compare the objective controls (yardage, par, memory details) and also the subjective details (everything else). Therefore, each course’s holes 1-18 will be compared and scored against each other course’s same individual holes.
• Each hole will receive a score of 1-10 based on the above judging criteria.
• Each course’s individual hole will be ranked against the others according to score received.
• The top 30% will receive 7 points, middle 50% will receive 5 points, and bottom 20% will receive 2 points.
• In the event of ties that carry beyond the top 30%, middle 50% or lower 20%, those sections will be expanded to include all holes receiving the same scores. Therefore, there may be holes that do not have a “bottom 20%”.
• For example (Ignore scores of 0. This is an example only):
| Rank (Hole 1) | Hole 1 Score | Points | Rank (Hole 2) | Hole 2 Score | Points |
| Course J | 9 | 7 | Course G | 8 | 7 |
| Course G | 8 | 7 | Course F | 7 | 7 |
| Course E | 7 | 7 | Course H | 7 | 7 |
| Course F | 6 | 5 | Course C | 6 | 5 |
| Course H | 3 | 5 | Course A | 5 | 5 |
| Course B | 3 | 5 | Course E | 3 | 5 |
| Course C | 2 | 5 | Course D | 2 | 5 |
| Course I | 1 | 5 | Course I | 2 | 5 |
| Course A | 1 | 5 | Course B | 0 | 2 |
| Course D | 0 | 2 | Course J | 0 | 2 |
• Individual points scored for each hole will be tabulated for each course creating a final ranking based on total points.
Course Overall:
Each course will also be scored based on the course as a whole (using the above judging criteria) and given a score of 1-10. Courses will then be given points based on their score ranks:
o Top 20% - 15 points
o Next 20% - 10 points
o Next 20% - 7 points
o Next 40% - 4 points
Total Score:
Individual hole points totals and overall course points will be added for each course and a final ranking will be calculated. Winners will be decided based on this final ranking.
Accolades:
Special recognition beyond the overall winner will be given for the following:
• Top 3 individual hole scorers (total)
• Best course name
• Best individual imaginative design element
Prizes:
TBD but at a minimum:
• All courses will receive a live playthrough that will later be posted on YouTube for posterity.
• The overall winner will receive a swag pack (contents TBD) and a full-color, hand-drawn 14” x 17” picture of their complete course layout. (Shipping to anywhere, world-wide.)
• The top individual hole scorer (or second place if the overall winner is also the top-hole scorer) will receive a swag pack (contents TBD) and a full-color, hand-drawn 14” x 17” picture of an individual hole of their choosing. (Shipping to anywhere, world-wide.)
• The best course name will receive a free course logo designed by yours truly, JayRayGun.
• The best individual imaginative design element winner will receive a black-and-white, hand-drawn sketch of the design element and its surroundings.
Memories:
Hole 1, 350 yards, Par 4
• "This was a beautiful opener right outside the clubhouse. I remember having to carry a large hazard with my drive and the green seemed really small. I hit my approach fat and ended up in a front bunker."
Hole 2, 550 yards, Par 5
• "I didn't know where to go with my drive. Both the left and right side looked dangerous so I aimed for the middle and hoped for the best. Luckily the green was large enough I was able to roll my long approach shot onto the front."
Hole 3, 205 yards, Par 3
• "This hole didn't look scary off the tee and I know I hit the green with my drive but when I saw where my ball ended up, I prayed I could make a bogey."
Hole 4, 440 yards, Par 4
• "The wind carried me a little too close to the water that was running up along the fairway but I managed to stay dry. Not so lucky on my approach as I took a drink headed into the green."
Hole 5, 325 yards, Par 4
• "After dropping a shot on the last hole I was ready to rip my drive on this short par 4. But the hazards surrounding the green made me think twice and I chickened out and laid up. If I could shape my drive I know I could hit this green in one."
Hole 6, 245 yards, Par 3
• "I almost kept my driver out for this monster par 3 but then I saw the line of play the designer really intended. I was able to hit the right spot on my approach and my ball nestled up 10 feet below the cup."
Hole 7, 430 yards, Par 4
• "I forget exactly how I got on the green. I only remember having to take my shoes off and shake out all the sand before I got to the next tee box."
Hole 8, 595 yards, Par 5
• "There was no way I was making this green in two so I played the safe shot off the tee. Safely in the fairway I had a choice with my layup: take it left and play a shot in line with the green but over water or take it right and have a safer approach but not a lot of green to work with."
Hole 9, 440 yards, Par 4
• "This hole reminded me of a minefield with danger in every direction. It seemed I couldn't miss the huge fairway left or right but I didn't know if I couldn't safely navigate all the hazards between me and the green."
Hole 10, 410 yards, Par 4
• "I started the back nine confident but I misjudged the dogleg and ended up blocked out by some trees. Luckily there was just enough green and fairway to work with I could shape my approach and still get on in two."
Hole 11, 575 yards, Par 5
• "I had to really pick my landing spot off the tee on this one. I knew if the ball kicked to one side or the other, I'd have no real chance of making the green in two. Fortunately, my drive was dead on. Unfortunately I completely missed this odd-shaped green."
Hole 12, 365 yards, Par 4
• "I had to go to the top of a hill before choosing my aim spot in the distance. The tee shot is blind but the green is pretty accepting if you know where you're going."
Hole 13, 160 yards, Par 3
• "My knees were shaking on the teebox, even with my trusty 8 iron in my hands. Hitting the green was one thing; staying close to the hole was something else entirely."
Hole 14, 440 yards, Par 4
• "I loved this hole because I don't hit many fades or draws and if I just kept it straight, I could stay out of danger. What a time to shank one!"
Hole 15, 450 yards, Par 4
• "Another dropped shot on the last and I was ready to send this drive to the moon. I didn't care about the hazard I had to carry off the tee, I was all 'grip it and rip it'. Sometimes I think I'll never learn my lesson."
Hole 16, 180 yards, Par 3
• "Honestly, the only thing I remember is that I'd never seen a green complex quite like this one. The group behind us had to play through because I just couldn't stop staring. Wow."
Hole 17, 410 yards, Par 4
• "As if the last hole wasn't distracting enough, the 17th had this really unique central hazard I felt like I wanted to hit into just to get a closer look. But with my personal best score on the line, I bailed out and played it safe. Maybe I am learning."
Hole 18, 510 yards, Par 5
• "The closing hole had everything: water up the side begging me to take a swim, bunkers peppering the fairway daring me to hit it close, a green whispering its secrets that maybe going right at the pin wasn't the best way to get it close, and the clubhouse, neatly perched behind, beckoning me inside for a cold drink. What a finish."
