Limberlock Island (WIP) - CR_io

[crio]

Really excited about my new project that's taken inspiration from Bigwin Island Golf Club in Muskoka, Canada.

Here's a couple photos of the Bigwin Island Course IRL:





I was really inspired by my trip to the Algonquin Park area during the fall season this year and I love the scenery around that area. The colors were so vibrant this fall!

I've gone and created an island plot I'm really happy with right now and I've gotten started on a few holes (1,2,3,17,18) so far. I'm loving the look of the autumn tree selections in the new game, they are so much improved from previous games. 

With the rock collisions being fixed I can use the super scaled up rocks to imitate the Canadian shield prominent in the region. I had tried this in a previous course of mine (Mica Ridge Golf Resort) but the scaled up rocks had pretty awful collision so I had to use them as smaller rocks or as decoration only. 

I'm also pretty happy with the routing and there's plenty of cool looks at the island throughout the round. 

Here's a look at some of the work I've done so far:

Routing:


Hole 1:


Hole 2:



Hole 18:


Here's an Imgur Album Link where I'll post extra photos for those interested in extra views of the course and background info like the Bigwin Island Routing: Link To Album

Some things I'm still struggling with is what theme/backdrop to use. I feel like Autumn and Harvest both fit the theme nicely (Harvest is the current backdrop, but Autumn has some more rocky cliffs in the backdrop that suit it well, but less colorful and less dense trees), but we'll see how nicely I can decorate the ridges on the other side of the water. Or I could try and make a few small islands on the highlands theme and go with the full island option. I'll have to do some testing with how that looks. If I go Highlands theme I could move the theoretical location of the course out to Georgian Bay to make the massive amount of water around the course make more sense.

I think my bunkers will need some extra care and attention at some point as well, I'm just using the default shape bunkers and doing basic sculpting, so I'll probably need to improve my bunkering skills to really make the course pop. 

I'm unsure whether the steepness needs to be more extreme in some areas or if I've already set up the plot with enough height elevation to take advantage of the plot best. I've got a couple holes around the 90ft. drop region, and there's some holes with great views of the lake, but I think it's not quite as extreme as the photo in Bigwin Island I grabbed. That could end up working out well though, we'll see how the holes develop as I make them. 

Let me know what you think so far, what works, what doesn't etc. Looking forward to sharing my progress with you all through this design!

[scottiewalnuts]

i've played lots of muskoka golf (muskoka bay, deerhurst, grandview, others) but never bigwin island. looks fantastic, looking forward to your rendition

[fargo]

Looks good so far, lots of trees to plant!

It's hard sometimes to replicate the drama of professional photographs, photographers can vary things like focal length and crop their images correctly. Personally I wouldn't go more than a couple 90ish foot drops.

[crio]

Oct 20, 2022 22:14:02 GMT -5 fargo said:

Looks good so far, lots of trees to plant!

It's hard sometimes to replicate the drama of professional photographs, photographers can vary things like focal length and crop their images correctly. Personally I wouldn't go more than a couple 90ish foot drops.

Thanks for the advice, glad to hear this, I think I've got a good plot then. I definitely agree with you. I think if it's too much more than that it sort of turns in to a mountain course/fantasy course and it might seem a bit unrealistic, not a bad thing but not the realistic rendition I'm going for. 

[crio]

Front 9 coming along nicely now. Holes 1-8 are now surfaced and mostly planted, there's still a few gaps that I need to plant for those holes but overall looking good. 

I think I need some work behind Hole 6 to make the rocks look a bit more natural, there's a blank space that I'm not sure how to plant yet, I'm sure once that gets filled in it will look better. So far I'm liking the variety of holes I've created and I'm liking the look of the course the more I fill it in.

I'm really happy with the tunnel effect off the tee on Hole 4 here. Also happy with the rocky outcropping behind hole 8, I like how the trees frame the big rock back there. 

Hole 4:



Hole 5: 


Hole 6:


Hole 7:


Hole 8:

[crio]

Been a while since I've updated this, got a bunch more of the back 9 done. Only a couple of holes left to be surfaced (9&10). The last big decision I have left is what to do on the outskirts of the map where the water ends and I have some room to plant. I think I might make the cliff faces rocks (or the big fallen tree item) and then plant trees above the rocks. Maybe add a couple beach areas and a few houses or something. 

I think I also need to add some grass or bushes at the start of the tree line to transition a bit better between the rough and the woods. Hoping to be done the course by Mid-December. 

Hole 11&12


Hole 13


Hole 16


Overview of the course, getting close to the island being filled in now. 

[crio]

Posting that most recent update got me back in to the groove of designing again and I worked on 9&10 so I now have all 18 holes playable. I also went and worked on doing the entire outskirts, the picture of 9 shows what the outer edge of the plot looks like now. I also went and added the dead brush type grass all over the place to imitate places that wouldn't be cut by groundskeepers and has sort of grown out a bit, and with it being a fall theme, I thought the slightly dead grass worked well (and it's one of the best grass textures for seeing at a distance which is a big bonus). 

I also went and updated the textures of the course to more closely imitate the bigwin island grass during the fall. I did some tweaking to the lighting to match the inclination to the time for October at that lat/long (I have found this to be a great tool for checking this: Sun Angle Checker). I also worked on the weather and went with an overcast look that still lets in some light, as the trees are a bit too bright and harsh colors in the full sunlight, but I didn't want the darkness of the regular overcast. 

Here's a photo of 9 (I knew it was going to be one of my favorite views on the course as soon as I did the routing, did not disappoint):



And here's a photo of 13 with the new background and grass:

[crio]

Course is now published and I've created a separate post in the Completed Courses list: tgctours.proboards.com/thread/32494/limberlock-island