CR_io WIP

[crio]

My plan was to make a parkland course with a nice variety of open holes on the front and more cramped/uncomfortable tree lines on the back as you head in to the valley. 

I did a bunch of work in November getting the holes laid out and the main trees in play down, but I'm tempted to scrap this and start with a new plot. Sort of a crossroads for me. 

I feel like there's some stuff missing to make it a more believable plot, and the tree lines feel a bit forced in places. I feel like the greens and approaches play relatively interesting, but I feel like there's something I can't quite place my finger on that I'm not happy with. Maybe it's just that I'm missing the planting along the water and some grass in places, but it seems like a deeper rooted issue.

Here's some holes/looks I'm relatively happy with/where they are going. There's some holes I'm not quite happy with, I think they need some more background planting or trees to make them a bit more like the rest of the course. 

Wouldn't mind some feedback on the lighting and whether people prefer the overcast dull look on the last few photos or the bright morning look. 

Hole 18, pretty happy with my downhill river here and the dramatic finish on a long 4.




Hole 12, a mid length par 5 that descends in to the valley with an uncomfortable/suffocating tree line.




Hole 5, a long and open par 3 on the front, like the ground play on this green and happy with how it plays.




Hole 8, an interesting short par 5, 3 wood-3wood can get you there, or if downwind you can carry the creek to have a mid iron in to the green.



Hole 11, an uphill par 4, decided to change the lighting on these photos, not sure which lighting I like better.



Hole 17, tough mid-long par 4 with a shallow green.



Overview of the entire course:

[crio]

Writing out this post really helped me to re-evaluate what's needed to continue with the course. I had sort of hit a dead-end with the course and didn't really know what to do next, but writing out my post and writing out what I thought my issues were really helped and I have a new sense of direction for the reminder of the design challenge.

Since I posted my intro post earlier tonight, I've gone and added a Main St. up on the hill above the clubhouse. I feel like it's made a big difference in the feel of the course and turned it from a farmland/middle of nowhere valley course to a valley course hidden away in a city. It also gives a narrative flow to the round that I think was missing, playing away from the city and then making your way back towards it on both nines. You can tell where you are on the golf course with some of the landmarks so you get a better feeling of the plot while making your way around it (like the black cylinder tower pictured).

I'm also going to redo the background planting as I was pretty lazy with that earlier on. I have a few other ideas to fill up some of the space around the course without filling it in with trees that could help make the course feel more alive in the city. Things like a public park, tennis club, and school perhaps. 

Here's a couple updated photos of 5 and 8 with the cityscape in view. 

[irishgolf]

Agreed. The city skyline specifically on the Par 3 hole looks really nice

[crio]

Got some more work done on some background environment details (got some farmland, a park, a college campus and industrial district around the plot). I really feel like it's starting to come together and feel like a real place now. Feel much more confident in my ability to finish this course off now. Main bit of work left now is planting in the valley on the back 9 around the water and thickening up background trees in the valley. 

Here's how the farm plots look from the fairway of hole 3:



Here's how the park looks from the city:



And here's a view at the 8th green and Hole 9 from the soccer field:



Here's the college campus up on the hill in the city district.



Also added an industrial district in the far corner with a water tower as well that you can see on 12,13 and 15:

[crio]

Some new photos of some more planting I've done. Took a break around Christmas since I didn't have my PC for a few weeks, getting back in to it now. 

Just trying to get some of those details to fill up the background and make the course feel more alive in the valley. Debating whether or not to continue this cliff usage made popular by ArcticFury by using the giant logs at the steepest parts of the cliffs, thoughts on how it looks in this context?

I like the little bog/pond behind the green here that I've added as well, I tried some heavier planting in this area but it looked really bland and just not very enticing to look at, so I'm not really sure what I'll end up doing with other areas in the valley with no water. I was hoping to make it like a long weed/overgrown area but struggled to find the right bushes/grass to make it fit the theme. 




I tried these heavier bushes on a steeper part of the hill in front of 16th green and 15 tee. Thoughts on if these bushes work with the theme? Still a bit unsure about them, but not sure what I'd replace them with. It could also look strange because of the dirt underneath, maybe it would work better with the heavy rough underneath instead.  

[pizzastrangler]

I like the little cliff area. Maybe try burying the bushes a little bit? They look a bit odd as they stand right now

[crio]

Jan 7, 2022 16:26:17 GMT -5 pizzastrangler said:

I like the little cliff area. Maybe try burying the bushes a little bit? They look a bit odd as they stand right now

Yeah, I might have to change the type of bushes I'm using there as well. Currently I'm using the tops of the Mesquite trees as bushes on that cliff but I might need to swap to more traditional bushes perhaps. Thanks for the advice!

[crio]

I've got a bunch of planting done recently and feel like I've got enough of an update to share with everyone. I'm tempted to put out a beta this week to get people on the course and get some playability feedback. 

I feel like I've finally found the missing piece to filling out some of the emptier/grassier parts, I finally found a grass texture I like and I've started planting that in a bunch of places around the course. Makes the wooded background feel a bit more wild and gives me the look I was going for in a few other places. 

Here's a few photos of the grass in some places:

Hole 2:


Hole 3:


Hole 15:




One thing I'm still struggling to decide on is whether to plant around the water. In some places it looks good, but in others, it looks a bit forced and unnatural, and I'm looking for some suggestions on what to do with planting near the water. 

On 18 it seems a bit forced, like it's too neat and with the water so close in elevation to the fairway it seems a bit awkward:


But on 12 I like the look of it better:



Would it be weird to have it planted in the valley and not planted outside of the valley? I'm very tempted to only plant near the 12-16 stretch that goes across the river with the higher land on the one side. I feel like the water in flatter places might not need the planting. Pretty torn on that. 

[crio]

I think I finally figured out the water edges. I had to lower all the water planes to make room for it but I think it's worth it. I decided to go with grassy banked ledges around the water, I feel like this does a really good job of getting the look I wanted with the bushes earlier and also looking much more realistic.

Big thanks to MicFoley on the Discord for helping out with ideas for the water planting!

I've been trying to go for a North East US/Southern Ontario/Great Lakes type of vibes and I think this planting style does a good job of being close to the types of river banks you would see around there. Might be a bit too grassy and not bushy enough, but I like the look. This also fixed some issues I had on the front 9 with the water being a bit unrealistically high in some places. 

I've also gone and changed the lighting/weather back to partly cloudy instead of overcast, the plot just looked a bit too bland in overcast conditions I think.

Here's some looks of places around the plot that have changed the most with these changes.

Hole 8:

Tee shot:



Approach:



Hole 18: 
Tee Shot:



Approach:


Hole 17 Approach:


Hole 12 Approach:

[crio]

Course is now published under the name Hartwells Park!

tgctours.proboards.com/thread/30400/hartwells-park-rookie-design-contest