Hirono Golf Club - Japan's #1 golf course - LiDAR 2K23 WIP
May 19, 2024 10:12:48 GMT -5
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Post by sirish19 on May 19, 2024 10:12:48 GMT -5
Hi All, I have just published in TGC2019 (for simulator) my latest Japanese LiDAR version of The Hirono Golf Club, universally recognized as the #1 golf course in Japan and one of the top 50 golf courses in the world. 2K23 version is currently under construction. Any advice and recommendations would be appreciated.
The course was opened in 1932 and designed by the legendary British golf architect, Charles Hugh Alison. C.H. Alison is best known for his unique design of bunkers that have come to be called "Alison bunkers". The course was closed in 1944 by wartime edict and was requisitioned for Kawasaki Heavy Industries' use as a farm. The course was later rebuilt in 1947 and opened in 1949. In 2019, the club was completely renovated in 2019 by Martin Ebert, and Tom Mackenzie, who have renovated the likes of Turnberry, Carnoustie, Royal Troon, St. George's and Royal Liverpool. They worked meticulously to redesign the course and restore it back to the original Alison specifications.
Hirono is often referred to as the Pine Valley of Japan and sits 17 miles northwest of the port city of Kobe in Western Japan, the country's sixth largest city. It is 325 miles from Tokyo but is an easy 3 hour "shinkansen" bullet train ride.
Hirono’s routing made dramatic use of the site’s natural ravines by using them as diagonal features that created strategy and a sense of drama. The course sported Alison’s trademark regard for deep, sprawling bunkers – some of them bigger than the greens they guarded. He was a big proponent of “irregularizing” the bunker edges – making them look choppy, partially eroded and natural. It was a look that evoked Pine Valley, Garden City Golf Club and the National Golf Links of America, all of which Alison knew well.
When it comes to a set of par 3s, Hirono’s are unsurpassed in Japan, if not the world. Gnarly bunkers look like they are eating their way out of the front of the green on the slightly uphill, 170-yard fifth hole (“Fiord”). And all of the “irregularized” influence of Pine Valley is on display on the seventh hole (“Devil’s Divot”).
I haven't had the opportunity to play Hirono myself but hope that I could do it justice from lots of research. I have included 5 tee boxes and 4 pin positions. Following renovation by Ebert & Mackenzie, they included two sets of tee boxes on the signature par 3 #13 (there are actually several signature holes at Hirono), one set for the 2005 renovated version and another set for the original tee position from 1932. I left all of the tee boxes in the 2005 version except the white tees which features the original 1932 position.
Cheers,
Stephen
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The course was opened in 1932 and designed by the legendary British golf architect, Charles Hugh Alison. C.H. Alison is best known for his unique design of bunkers that have come to be called "Alison bunkers". The course was closed in 1944 by wartime edict and was requisitioned for Kawasaki Heavy Industries' use as a farm. The course was later rebuilt in 1947 and opened in 1949. In 2019, the club was completely renovated in 2019 by Martin Ebert, and Tom Mackenzie, who have renovated the likes of Turnberry, Carnoustie, Royal Troon, St. George's and Royal Liverpool. They worked meticulously to redesign the course and restore it back to the original Alison specifications.
Hirono is often referred to as the Pine Valley of Japan and sits 17 miles northwest of the port city of Kobe in Western Japan, the country's sixth largest city. It is 325 miles from Tokyo but is an easy 3 hour "shinkansen" bullet train ride.
Hirono’s routing made dramatic use of the site’s natural ravines by using them as diagonal features that created strategy and a sense of drama. The course sported Alison’s trademark regard for deep, sprawling bunkers – some of them bigger than the greens they guarded. He was a big proponent of “irregularizing” the bunker edges – making them look choppy, partially eroded and natural. It was a look that evoked Pine Valley, Garden City Golf Club and the National Golf Links of America, all of which Alison knew well.
When it comes to a set of par 3s, Hirono’s are unsurpassed in Japan, if not the world. Gnarly bunkers look like they are eating their way out of the front of the green on the slightly uphill, 170-yard fifth hole (“Fiord”). And all of the “irregularized” influence of Pine Valley is on display on the seventh hole (“Devil’s Divot”).
I haven't had the opportunity to play Hirono myself but hope that I could do it justice from lots of research. I have included 5 tee boxes and 4 pin positions. Following renovation by Ebert & Mackenzie, they included two sets of tee boxes on the signature par 3 #13 (there are actually several signature holes at Hirono), one set for the 2005 renovated version and another set for the original tee position from 1932. I left all of the tee boxes in the 2005 version except the white tees which features the original 1932 position.
Cheers,
Stephen