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Post by crossers7 on Jan 6, 2022 9:28:51 GMT -5
Just published 12 holes, named Crossers Island Beta. Apart from filling in the spare land where the remaining holes will be and around the clubhouse, I'd like as much feedback as possible. Mostly on the playability of the holes that are done, as well as suggestions on planting and anything else that can be improved on. Thanks to anyone that helps.
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Post by sandgroper on Jan 6, 2022 20:15:33 GMT -5
Lovely looking island course i.imgur.com/4ukYfGm.jpgThat clubhouse is outrageous! i.imgur.com/Hkex0VA.jpgThe yacht club is coming along nicely i.imgur.com/3vKebu7.jpg, I'm hoping there is more action there when published. Good opening transition shot i.imgur.com/rTns6jQ.jpg. Hopefully there will be some more planting and possibly holes behind to fill it up a bit. I really like the lighting and surface selection you have chosen. It looks great in the low sunlight. I'm also a big fan of the sparseness of the island planting. There are a couple of places where the gaps between the grasses can be filled up, but I know you're only early into this. The greens are good and get progressively more difficult as you go through the stretch which I liked. The bunkering looks good, although I did avoid most of them. Have a look through my playthrough and you can usually pick up more than when you playthrough testing. Make sure you vary the length of the par 4's. 1,5,7,12 are similar in length. I did like the risk/reward of the drivable 4th. A couple of auto-gen grasses popping up here and there that I know you will clean up. Looks great so far!
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Post by crossers7 on Jan 7, 2022 10:21:49 GMT -5
Thanks sandgroper. Appreciate the play and the feedback. Wasnt sure if I'd gone a bit over the top with the clubhouse tbh lol. I'm hoping to fill in more of the open areas, already on 60% meter though so want to finish the last 6 holes before adding more so I know I've got enough to spare. In terms of the par 4s you mentioned I've tried to place them in different directions and with different elevations to hope they at least play differently to each other. Glad you like the driveable par 4, I normally have the most fun making those. Will probably put in a path and some objects around the yacht club. And yeah, I'll go around and try to make sure theres no autogen grass where I don't want it. Thanks again for your feedback
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Post by sroel908 on Jan 7, 2022 13:56:06 GMT -5
Played this beta on my PS4 with default conditions, Pin 1, white tees. The low lighting makes everything look good, but it's quite bright on the first 3 holes, especially that reflection off the water. Something about the look of Hole 6, the uphill par-3, doesn't quite work for me. I think it's the grass plantings on the rocky cliff? I don't know, it just seems kind of odd with the draw distances of the grasses used in the areas in front of the green. I think the cliff by itself could look better. The design of Hole 7 is not my favorite. Takes driver out of my hand for no real reason. The fairway pinches really tight at about 285 yards, but there's really nothing there that would make sense as to why the fairway is so snug, save for a tiny bunker that's 313 yards away. There's a lot of room here...but the layout of the hole is super tight. Just didn't make sense to me why this was the case. Pin 1 on Hole 8 is on a yellow slope that filters down into orange and red slopes. It's not "illegal", but I missed a putt from the left side of the green and the ball rolled an additional 10 feet past the pin due to the closeness of this slope. Just something to watch out for, especially since your default green speed is just Med. Fast. The sculpting on the shoreline of the water behind the 12th green looks a little odd, like something took a bite out of the land. Honestly, a lot of the holes felt like deja vu, especially Holes 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, and 12. Each hole is a dogleg slightly right, the green is usually up against the water, and there tends to be a bunker on the front-left of the green. And I agree with sandgroper above about the distances of the holes. Many are very similar. I was also unable to even have a chance of reaching any of the par-5s in two, either due to length or due to the wind. The par-5s here are listed on the card as having yardages of 625, 577, and 594. These are really long and if the wind is in your face, like it was for me, they are always going to be pretty straightforward 3-shot holes with no consideration for trying to get on in two. The look of the course is nice, and the environment is pretty solid. The early planting here is good for the setting, save for those grasses on Hole 6 that I didn't care for. Greens are pretty tame, but them some spots there are yellows near the hole. I think this is a solid foundation, just some tweaks might be needed to really bring this all togther!
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Post by crossers7 on Jan 8, 2022 13:50:22 GMT -5
Thanks sroel for the feedback. Done some work on it today, so far I lowered the planting on the 6th so it's not right underneath the green which looks better than it did, will check it again once I've figured out more of the planting on the rest of the course. As for the 7th, I agree with what you said, so I widened the fairway slightly, but brought the ravine a bit closer to it so it's more in play and gives a reason for the fairway to narrow there. Also added another bunker on the right. The back of the 12th will look different once I add the 13th hole. I moved the 3 par 5s about 15 to 20 yards forward too, they should be more reachable now. The next job is to check a couple of those par fours you mentioned to see if I can move anything around to add some more variety. Thanks again for the help
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Post by crossers7 on Jan 26, 2022 18:56:09 GMT -5
Just published another beta, this time called Crossers Island Beta 2. All 18 holes are now in, and the original 12 have been updated and improved on using the feedback I was given. I think it's pretty much finished but would appreciate some more help. If anyone could give feedback and get the final publish to be my first tour worthy course then even better. Thanks
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Post by sroel908 on Jan 27, 2022 17:29:44 GMT -5
Played this second beta on my PS4 with default conditions, Pin 1, white tees - same settings as the last playthru I did on the first beta.
I can tell there have been updates, for sure.
However, Hole 12's view from the tee is partially blind, thanks mostly due to the low lighting. This hole plays right into the sun the whole way, and the lighting is just really harsh, combined with the reflection of the sun off the water. You can just barely make out the fairway bunkers off the tee, and playing this hole in reality in this setting would cause the golfer to lose their eyesight...haha!
Cool look on the 14th tee box...just hope you don't hit a snap hook into the group behind you on the 13th green! As a drivable par-4, this one is OK. Not a ton of danger, but enough to make you think a moment, thanks to the fact the green is surrounded by heavy rough, a bunker, and is perched up on a elevated hill. However, the green here, while very small, is quite flat for a par-4 that's just 309 yards long, so players might be better of to hit 3-wood short of the green, pitch on, and knock in a pretty easy birdie putt. I guess, to me, the risk/reward here could be looked at a bit more - essentially, is going for the green a smart play at all, when laying up is almost a guaranteed birdie?
A drivable 4, followed by a 100-yard par-3, then followed by a 512-yard par-4...an interesting set of holes here from Nos. 14-16!
Hole 18 is a nice finisher: a fun, short par-5 where you can get home in two quite easily. Perhaps the green here could have a bit more contour, since I was over the green with just a hybrid on my second. And easy chip and putt for birdie for me, but this hole would give up many eagles, I'd imagine.
I checked the scorecard again to see if your hole lengths were more varied this time around. Par-3s are 188, 144, 133, 100, and 224, so that's good. Par-4s are 486, 323, 465, 442, 470, 310, and 513, also pretty good, although two drivable holes might be the max you'd want to have. Par-5s are 571, 577, 583, 544, and 545. Not bad either.
I do like the course quite a bit - you have a good grasp on the technical work, on hole design, and the environment. Personally, I feel the lighting is a bit too harsh, but that's a preference thing. I can't speak to Tour Worthiness, as I am not a reviewer, but this course is quite well done in my eyes.
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Post by crossers7 on Jan 28, 2022 10:08:27 GMT -5
Thanks again @sroel908. Appreciate the help. So far since that beta I've added a couple of small slopes on the 14th and 18th greens, and added another island behind the 12th green to take away some of the brightness, which has helped more on the second shot. Will look at the fairway bunkers on that hole to try to make them more visible. Also brought the water slightly more in to play on the 18th too. Got some more plant meter available so will add that soon and hopefully get the final course published soon.
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