Beta test open to play

[Midnight_Fox81]

After accidentally deleting a WIP I laid out a new one in fairly quick succession. Looking for testers to look at playability.

It is yet to be planted or filled with objects. A few bunkers I might have to re-do (can you guess which ones)

Feedback welcome if it’s constructive.

Course name KP81 Beta.

Thanks to anyone who tests it out and let’s me know about the playability in case I missed something.

[DragonAggie95]

This is my first play test, so you’ll forgive me for maybe not covering what feedback you desire.

Tees: Black
Pin: 3 (I figure everyone usually plays P4, so choose a different one)
Default everything else

Overall, I thought the course played fantastic. Long, but very fair. I intentionally put myself in a few bad spots just to see the recovery shots, and each time it was okay. Throughout the round, if I hit a good shot I was rewarded, and if I hit a poor shot (or really bad shot) I was penalized appropriately (see comment below).

As you mention, there are a few bunkers to clean up, but that is expected at this stage. And you also mention that you haven’t planted yet. To that, I say I love the look of the terrain and (if it were me) I would go with some minimal planting.

There’s only two holes that I specific comments about:

Hole 11: I went for it. I had a cross wind and had to hit 104% or 105%, high fade it into the wind and land against a hill to slow the ball down, and let the ball release towards P3. I executed it exactly as I wished, but still rolled all the way across the green and all the way down the front. While this may be designed to do that, I feel that if you’re going to OFFER a drivable par 4, then you should ALLOW it to be drivable. I felt as though I was unjustly penalized for making what I thought was a great shot.

Hole 17: Landing zone for P3 is extremely tight. While I understand “why” (you approaching with a W and should stick it), maybe it’s a bit too tight.

Otherwise, I loved the course and look forward to playing the final release.

[mctrees02]

Played pin 2

Hole 1 - there are bunkers for the tee shot and then nothing but 250y of straight fairway until you get to the green. Do something here to make the player stop and think if they are laying up.

Hole 2 - I'm never hitting a drive up the left fairway. It provides a bad angle that requires a full forced carry over the bunker to every pin. Connect the right fairway tongue to the second fairway because the land doesn't justify breaking the fairway there. Are you going to add a bunker into the deep cavern or resculpt to better fit the land? The green sloping in the back center of the green doesn't work. Balls will get stuck in there and lead to triple breaking putts from 20' away.

Hole 3 - Consider a framing bunker along the fairway. Otherwise it's an empty hole until I reach 295y. The green nipple from the 2nd green is back again. You can use it to segment greens here and there but 1) don't use it back to back and 2) I would have it more in the middle of the green instead of right next to another slope.

Hole 4 - Three holes in a row now with the green nipple. Let's find another way to contour the greens. Also, this front to back green is crying out to be a biarritz with bunkers front left and right for the ground game approach.

Hole 5 - This hole doesn't work well. You either hit a straight drive and have 150 in or you hit driver at the green. There's no reason anybody would ever hit a driver anywhere but those 2 spots because it's the same length of carry over water for me to be 100y out as it is to go at the green. Glad to see a different w/ green contouring though.

Hole 6 - The tee shot needs more bunkers around the fairway. Same comment as hole 3's tee shot. Also feels like a bit claustrophobic in a half pipe sort of way. Not saying it should be changed but that was my first impression of the hole

Hole 7 - From the tee I thought this was a duplicate of 4 but it's clearly not. This green working left to right is further justification for the 4th to be a biarritz. Good hole here.

Hole 8 - Green shape needs a bit of work. It reminds me of Among Us. Also, part of the green above the ridge is moving in the opposite direction of the rest of the slopes. Otherwise this hole works IMO

Hole 9 - This hole needs some work. With the wind in from the right, I'm trying to land a driver on a 15-20y wide fairway with bunker right, OB left and, if I hit the fairway, I have 200+ left for my approach. If I don't hit the fairway, I'm either hitting 3 back on the tee or laying up. If I hit 3w off the tee, then I probably can't get home in 2 shots unless I get a lucky bounce with driver off the deck. Also, the back right tier of the green shouldn't be split into 2 really small landing zones. That's overly severe penal for such a long approach.

Hole 10 - This appears to be a really long trek from 9 green. You could consider moving the tees back and going with a reverse redan hole. The land calls for it IMO.

Hole 11 - Adjust this hole so the option to drive it is gone. Instead, I would look at some of the great short 4's on Mullen County Municipal and imitate one of them here.

Hole 12 - The problem with a really big dogleg hole like this is that I'm always going to hit driver at the 14th green instead as that left me 170y instead of 300y if I played the hole as intended.

Hole 13 - Rather narrow off the tee and nothing of interest except a bunker at 295. The bunker 20-30y short of the green is really well done. It presents the proper visual deception.

Hole 14 - This hole works.

Hole 15 - This hole is fine. It's not my favorite and I really wish it was a short par 3 with a really big, bold green. This feels like a course which should have big fairways, bunkers and visuals yet so much of it feels like narrow, target golf.

Hole 16 - Way too narrow off the tee. We have to do something else with our par 4's besides pinch in the landing zone at 295y with bunkers. This is the 4th or 5th one now? Easily the best use of the green nipple.

Hole 17 - I'm sure you know what I'm going to say here...but another hole with bunkers at 295. This time we have two pinched landing zones thanks to the giant central bunkers taking up at least half of the fairway. Everything between the tee shot landing zone and green is an air strip fairway with no interest. When you show me a really big, wide fairway off the tee but the hole I play is straight and narrow, you probably want to start over on this one. Also, the circular green broken into thirds with red slopes is a miss for me.

Hole 18 - This is a much better fairway width given the left to right and uphill slopes. We get one final runway fairway on the way home but this time the green is a solid finisher.

You've got a lot of good things going here for an early beta. Keep massaging the ideas until they flow together into a cohesive project. And seriously...go give Mullen County a play or three. I think it presents a lot of what you're going for here. Gray County GC would be another great course for you to look at.