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Post by Heisenberg on May 20, 2022 1:20:50 GMT -5
In early March, OCM Design announced they would be building a new course in Minnesota which was to be called Tepetonka. They shared some drone footage of the land that was to be used (see below) and that fact the location was somewhere near the New London / Spicer area. I also read somewhere that Shakopee Creek ran through the property. The location looked incredible so I wanted to see if I could try and find exactly where it was and try and build my own virtual course on the same piece of property. I was hoping to just build a similar plot for the NT Design comp however I couldn’t get Minnesota. In the end I’m glad I didn’t because I was then able to use lidar instead and do it far more accurately. After a few hours of scanning Shakopee Creek (unfortunately it’s a frickin long creek) and matching the drone footage, I was able to find exactly where the course was to be built and then went about getting the lidar for it. As soon as I pulled in the lidar, I knew the plot was going to be really fun to build on. I imagine that it’s going to look incredible in real life when OCM have finished with it. I’m certain my course build will look significantly different to the real one when it’s completed in 2024 however it was a fun project all the same. I had some limitations such as not knowing exactly where their property starts and ends, what areas of the plot look like in RL that weren’t covered by the drone footage and what their design style / bunkering was potentially going to look like. Anyway, this is what I came up with…… Ideally I wanted it to play somewhat like an RCR so it’s not particularly long or difficult. There’s a fair bit of blindness mainly through the holes weaved through the rolling hills but I feel that’s to be expected. I also barely touched the lidar other than around the greens and tees and tried to treat it like a design that could actually be used in RL. I only put new trees in if they were small and tried to remove a minimal amount of trees (albeit there were a lot taken out around the creek admittedly). The clubhouse was inspired by Interlachen County Club in Minnesota. It was a really fun project. I look forward to seeing if any of my green sites match the real ones when it’s done and what they do with the plot overall. Hope others can get some enjoyment out of it as well. Also a quick shoutout to scottish67. As a local from Minnesota (and a great designer obviously), it was really helpful having him run his eyes of it before I hit publish. Thanks again.
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Post by b101 on May 20, 2022 1:48:32 GMT -5
Looks like you absolutely nailed this, buddy. The space and unassuming course looks perfect on this plot. Can't wait to give it a spin this evening.
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Post by scottish67 on May 20, 2022 6:32:12 GMT -5
This was just an amazing piece of land. When Heisenberg first sent me the lidar and his initial routing, I was like wow!, this land built a golf course on it's own and when he says he didn't move any land....he didn't, I can attest to that. It will be interesting when the real course is finally built and where their routing is compared to yours. You did a great job of creating a course set in the prairies of Minnesota, very realistic and natural. Thanks again for allowing me to take a look at your project! Cheers mate!
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Post by cd06 on May 20, 2022 7:15:19 GMT -5
Wow buddy this looks awesome. Can't wait to give this a go
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Post by b101 on May 20, 2022 10:38:28 GMT -5
Yep, my favourite of yours and it's not even close. Awesome work highlighting the land!
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Post by cd06 on May 20, 2022 10:55:22 GMT -5
This did not disappoint one bit. Awesome work mate. Absolutely loved the openness and simplicity of the course on offer. The lidar terrain is a lesson on what can work for fairway sculpting and I think you nailed the routing across the land. Superb job, loved it man
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Post by nogoal05 on May 20, 2022 13:19:51 GMT -5
As a Minnesotan that lives 20 minutes from Shakopee I can say that you have captured the look and vibe perfectly. Well done man, my hat is off to you.
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indijesstion
Caddy
Posts: 44
TGCT Name: indijesstion
Tour: Challenge Circuit
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Post by indijesstion on May 20, 2022 14:40:17 GMT -5
This is an awesome idea! Also the course was a blast to play. I'd be curious to know how much sculpting you did
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Post by Heisenberg on May 20, 2022 17:55:04 GMT -5
It will be interesting when the real course is finally built and where their routing is compared to yours. Thanks again for your help. Honestly I think the holes on the NE side of the creek won't exist for the real design. If they actually own that land where the farmhouse is they'd still need to remove a heap of large cedars to run the 5th fairway along the creek. So I doubt the 5th & 6th holes will be realistic but other than that I'd imagine I may have got a few holes similar. Time will tell. If lidar wasn't so incredibly slow to plant on in the designer, I'd definitely prefer designing this way for all future non contest courses. I'd encourage others to do the same too - was damn fun. b101 - Appreciate the play Ben. I've designed better visually IMO but I'd agree this is my best collection of 18 holes. @cd06 - Cheers Charlie. Routing the holes on this plot is easily the most fun I've had routing a course. nogoal05 - That was 100% my aim so really appreciate that. Unfortunately those deciduous trees (I think they may be birches?) aren't easily replicated in the game. Hopefully 2k23 will give us some. indijesstion - Most sculpting was around the tee boxes. Dropped some land a couple of feet here and there in front of the tees but nothing that wouldn't normally be done in RL. I also sclulpted the green sites obviously but even then the predominate slope was kept to make it look as natural as possible.
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Post by sandgroper on May 20, 2022 21:08:40 GMT -5
Love this! Such a feeling of an RCR, and I guess one day it will be, so it will be exciting to see if their routing is as good. The plot looks great i.imgur.com/y09Hse2.jpg draped over those wonderful rolling hills. Such a great looking clubhouse i.imgur.com/cISw8NA.jpgThat creek plays such a great feature i.imgur.com/frlxkAt.jpgAttention to detail that will never be seen like the culvert running under the road i.imgur.com/PGRAPNg.jpgVery rugged transition off 1 i.imgur.com/lqYIKG4.jpgLovely first hole with the (nearly) dry creek bed running down the left. The first green looks great nestled down in front of that mound with the bunkers framing the green. The bunkers themselves are really nicely done in the Royal St George style. Nicely pinched fairway on 2 where I must say I got lucky with the approach/recovery shot. Went for it on 3 and got into trouble. Hit a peach into 4. Not perfectly hit, but the execution was what I was hoping for. The sightline of the 5th tee shot must be the prettiest in the game, perfectly placed tee and fairway taking full advantage of the creek through that valley. Such a great approach shot with the centre line hazard protecting the ground play into the hole. The 6th is great where you aim to the right hand side of the green and use the natural slope to bring you down to the hole. The 7th tee shot gave me flash backs to the 5th at the dunes. A blind tee shot up over the ridge. I've got some great footage of hiding behind that rock on top of the 5th and my mate hitting driver pretty much straight at me and cleared me by about 3 metres. Another great green where you can use the ground game to roll close to the pin. Really nice blind approach into 10. I thought I had it's measure with the straight downwind 12th. If the greens were at 169 instead of 168 I reckon I would have had it. Hit another great approach into 13 and that is such a wonderful rollercoaster of a green with so many run off areas. Another great sightline off 15. I thought I was going to be close on 17 and it just kept rolling. The 18th is a wonderful finishing hole with the green perched up above those bunkers. All in all a wonderful course and I'll be back to check out the other tees and pin combinations. And when they actually put a course here it will be great to see their routing and you can go back and do an RCR.
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Post by PlatypusBrig on May 21, 2022 1:04:55 GMT -5
Just an incredibly cool execution of an incredibly cool idea. Well done.
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Post by aeastwood54 on May 21, 2022 12:25:50 GMT -5
Looks fantastic, looking forward to getting a round in, in the coming days.
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Post by karma4u on May 21, 2022 14:01:14 GMT -5
Great stuff here, an obvious fave. Here's a shot of the clubhouse, #2 green in foreground, #3 tee and 18th green to the right with #9 green far left. Thought I'd add the 1st fairway and green. Cheers.
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Post by trailducker on May 22, 2022 19:28:01 GMT -5
Yeah, knew I would of course but I love it. The rolling topography really was used so well and in a veriety of ways. The 18th is a real fun options hole closer. Can't wait to see what you are doing with Nevada
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Post by jwtexan on May 23, 2022 9:36:11 GMT -5
Love this. Always wanted to just take a random plot of LIDAR land and make a course but never had the patience to go back to console speeds when it comes to planting and designer slow downs. Kudos for knocking it out, have really enjoyed following along through the WIP thread to completion.
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