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APCD Courses
The Fictional Courses 7-12
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| Wellington
Point |
| Gus
Green |
| 6796
yards. Par 71. |
| Difficulty
Medium |
Tropical
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| Fictitous
- 82mb |
| Aug
2003 |
Overall
Rank 7th
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Gus Green is a designer
who has remained quietly in the background since
the first apcd was released and apparently has
never finished many other course designs, but
eventually he unleashed Wellington Point onto an
unsuspecting links community. This design is
astounding in many regards, a combination of a
variety of styles it is described as a short,
tight course located in a seaside location based
on the sub-tropical East Coast of Australia.
Wellington Point visually is one of the most
exciting designs I have ever come across, it is
stunningly beautiful to look at, captivating to
play, and has an amazing attention to detail
everywhere. The variety within the course will
continually produce unexpected views ranging
across a sandy bay with stunning sea and surf, a
rock cliff face complete with a guarding white
lighthouse, onto the more usual inland course
vistas with long grass, ponds, and even swampy
ground, all unbelievably well done. It is
important to note here that everything looks
realistic, and is full of ingenious planning to
bring out the best visual effects it can. The
texturing and terrain is beautiful, with a superb
long grass look both in the textures itself and
also on the grass planting, and a worn grass
effect is seen in key areas of the fairways. The
bare rock outcrops and sandy waste areas are
excellent, a custom clubhouse complete with
tennis courts is to be seen, and the panorama is
superb. There are plenty of hazard bunkers
around, of all shapes and sizes, and these
together with the cart paths have similarities in
their style to Tall Pines Estate. The strategy of
the course can almost be overlooked as you take
in the views, but this aspect also works well
too, playing fairly and naturally. It is not
overly hard as long as you avoid the difficult
pins, but realistically brings the hazards into
play, and when played with the wind blowing
severely off the coast it becomes very testing.
It is so hard to say which holes are a favourite,
but the par 3 12th is a beauty. For the visual
quality of this design there is a small price to
pay on the rendering side so be warned, and also
a tournament option in not available here. If you
like a busy course with loads to look at, then
this is a great choice, and also it has a
somewhat rare tropical feel.
| Hole
Previews : Excellent |
Tournament
Option : None |
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| Las
Joyas |
| Mike
Jones |
| 7260
yards. Par 72. |
| Difficulty
Medium/Hard |
Woodland
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| Fictitous
- 96mb |
| Dec
2004 |
Overall
Rank 8th
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Mike Jones has now
released an amazing 12 fantastic courses for our
beloved game. This time we locate to Spain for a
manicured and lush course known as 'The Jewels'.
This design, more than any other by Mike uses the
deeper woodland feel, with trees tightly
enclosing the holes, and very much in play at
times as arial hazards. The key distinguishing
features are the excellent lakes and creeks, and
bunkers that are surrounded by a yellowy brown
bermunda grass textures which sets it apart from
the normal look. There are many 3d structures on
this course, from the quant wooden conveniences,
to the beautiful bridges and the amazing log
clubhouse complete with vending machines. A
building site is also included backing the 12th
hole complete with corrugated structures and a
digger. All these are created by Pat Auge who has
done an absolutely superb job to enhance the
realism of this design. The opening hole sets the
scene with a wonderful lakeside view complete
with wooden boardings, the 12th similarly has a
lovely tee shot next to a pond. The 2nd, 5th and
7th are all beautiful par 3's, with the latter
arguably one of the best ive ever seen. The 4th
and 9th holes are must hit the fairway holes,
with second shots over small ponds to guarded
greens. The 10th is a right angled dogleg and the
17th is just covered by bunkers. Mike has called
Las Joyas a thinking man's course, and i entirely
agree with him. It cannot be simply overwhelmed
by power and you will really need to play clever
to out-manouevre the various traps. It is a tough
course, and arguably his most severe 2003 design.
However, it is not unfair at all, more that
wayward shots can lead to compounded errors if
you are not careful, so choose your route wisely.
This is a first class and an exceptional design,
certainly one of the very best in terms of
quality and a real challenge to play well. |
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| Shadowlands |
| Mike
Jones |
| 7159
yards. Par 72. |
| Difficulty
Medium |
Parkland
/ Scrub
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| Fictitous
- 68mb |
| Dec
2002 / Aug 2010 |
Overall
Rank 9th
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Mike Jones is back with
another fabulous fictional course design, his
first full Links 2003 release. Shadowlands is
described as having elements of Pine Valley,
Royal Melbourne and Sunningdale as its
inspiration. It is a majestic design, right up
alongside his very best. The quality of Mike's
hole lay outs to provide excellent strategy mixed
with fair risk versus reward situations remains
intact. There are many different choices to be
make, safe play against aggressive, and
increasing the difficulty levels of wind and pin
positions will indeed change the game for you.
Visually the course is one of the best ever seen.
The planting is, as usual, so realistic in its
design, and the grass is definately setting new
standards for texture design. Red, orange and
white flowers form the main sporadic splashes of
flower colour. Trees are mixed in species which
work well together as a tree lined course, and
shadows are enhanced to provide an excellent
feature well used for effect. At ground
level the dry patchy dirt areas are pretty unique
to apcd and are one of my favourite ideas
for the design. Texture wise this course
took a step forward in designing, the rough close
up is excellent even on the deep grass areas, and
around the course you'll find a blended worn
grass look around the tees and other well trodden
areas, it is exceptional. Playwise the
course is varied and very interesting too, the
par 3's are in true Mike Jones fashion some of
the best you'll see, with the island 10th and the
16th hole set in a hollow looking amazing.
Strategically around the course you'll have to
overcome the long testing 7th par 4, the
beautiful but tricky lakeside series around the
turn at the 9th to 11th, then the fairway bunker
at the 12th. All the little additions are there,
rope fences, superb slate path effects, bird
calls, and great crowds. In many ways, especially
the ground terrain and texturing, this was one of
the most groundbreaking designs in the history of
the apcd. The 2010 HD update is well worth
finding, with excellent darker grass textures
that really lift this course, making it look more
natural and visually better. The back tees have
been extended slightly to 7353 yards, although
some of the more colourful tee views are found
from the middle set. This was always a great
course, but it has has gained that extra level of
realism to make it a classic. |
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| Cara
Brae |
| Mike
Jones |
| 6909
yards. Par 70. |
| Difficulty
Medium |
Irish
Links
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| Fictitous
- 65mb |
| Jun
2005 |
2005
Course of the Year Runner Up
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Overall
Rank 10th
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Cara Brae is the 13th
course release by Mike Jones and is set in the
Emerald Isle. The name roughly translated from
gaelic means 'friendly cliffs'. It is another beautiful design
from his links style portfolio, this one set
right on the cliffside and using the amazing
coastline to form dramatic hazards. Inland the
course is bordered by impressive pine trees, with
yellow course and wild grass bordering the
rolling fairways. The strategy of the design is
among the best seen, revolving around when to
play safe and when to be bold. The aggressive
player who is on his game will reap rich rewards
as he takes huge chances off the tee threading
his way in between and over the rugged, windswept
bunkers, slopes and tall grasses. For the more
cautious player though, guile and cunning is also
rewarded with good angles and lots of
opportunities to run the ball onto the greens
avoiding the deep overgrown bunkers. The course
encourages you to think first and play to your
strengths, with no single style of player having
an advantage. In many ways this course is a
culmination of all Mike's skills from his
previous releases, containing the ocean views of
Pacific Breaks, the wild bunkering of Rugged
Dunes, and at times the rolling lay-out of Burn's
Old Links. However all these elements are taken
up a notch, the ocean blends and rugged cliff
texturing are the best yet. The stone clubhouse
perfectly fits the scene, bunkers even contain
seagull footprints, and the cabbage laden field
is an extremely delicate touch. Favourite holes
include the par 3 5th hole elevated over the
cliffs, and the superb 15th is a split par 5 and
one of the best ever made. In fact the closing
holes from 15 are simply outstanding both
visually and strategically, and as usual the
sound effects will lift your experience to the
highest level. Burn's Old Links may still be my
all time favourite lay out, but this one may edge
home as the best all round apcd course design. |
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| The
Pinnacle |
| Paul
Woodbury |
| 6941
yards. Par 72. |
| Difficulty
Medium/Hard |
Desert
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| Fictitous
- 49mb |
| Dec
2003 |
Overall
Rank 11th
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Paul Woodbury developed
his apcd skills on courses such as Scirroco Golf
Club, The Meadows and the highly rated San Simeon
designs. A great talent, and one of the best
natural planters in setting a beautiful scene
before you. The Pinnacle is a traditional desert
course, but one that contains immense depth with
great hole structures, superb views and some
awesome natural scenery. Desert courses can often
have a similar look and feel to them, and where
The Pinnacle really shines through is in the
striking snow capped panorama, an amazing
backdrop to the course, and the use of buildings
to make it feel all the more realistic. It really
is more comprehensive than even the Microsoft
designs. The landscape is quite elevated in
places, and the 12th par 3 will provide you with
a superb view of the whole course. Its not an
easy course to score well on, fairways are
relatively generous, although you need to learn
the best routes to take, and they roll and dip
everywhere to make approach shots quite tricky.
The greens are in true desert fashion on the
tough side and some pins can occasionally border
on the very difficult side, so nailing a birdie
will not be an easy task. There are many great
holes out on the course, especially the front 9
with the 2nd and 3rd requiring shots over the
lakes, the narrow opening to the 8th guarded by
symmetrical bunkers, the quite breathtaking 9th
hole, where the clubhouse hotel overlooks the
lake, and the dangerous valley at the 11th. As
mentioned every view looks fantastic, naturally
planted with appropriate scrub, palms and rocks
liberally strewn around. Textures work really
well too with the soft colour of the desert sand.
The hole previews are smart looking and contain
good information, and crowds are available in the
tourney option. The start up screens are very
impressive and professional, and in my view are
equal to the best i've seen. A design of this
quality is a must have in your collection to be
honest, it is one of the best desert designs ever
seen.
| Hole
Previews : Excellent |
Tournament
Option : Excellent |
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| Bardgate
House |
| Paul
Seaman |
| 7344
yards. Par 72. |
| Difficulty
Medium |
English
Parkland
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| Fictitous
- 182mb |
| Jan
2011 |
Overall
Rank 12th
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Bardgate House Golf Club
is a traditional English parkland course set
among the rolling hills of the Bardgate estate.
The design is in fact based on a course in
Bradgate Park, Leicestershire which includes the
odd granite face appearing from time to time as
it does in the real setting. I am very partial to
these English courses, mainly because they are
the sort of courses i grew up playing on myself
but also i find them amongst the prettiest to
look at, particularly where the surrounding trees
for the course are well chosen and blend well
together. Paul Seaman is of course now a well
known designer of courses, his best releases
include Adams Tree and Dullatur Antonine, but for
me Bardgate House surpases both. The key to this
is in the naturalness of the course, the planting
is excellent, blended well and with nice long
grass to add that extra touch of realism. The
fairways are stunning and elevation superbly
implemented to make some excellent rolling
landscapes. The little neat touches such as the
granite outcrops down the back nine make the
visuals more interesting and add a bit of
character too. There are a couple of small ponds
or lakes and a nice clubhouse overlooking the 9th
and 18th. The opening holes i would single out
for particular praise from the uphill 1st tee,
through the 2nd clever dogleg that you can bite
off the corner, and then a tricky par 3 with a
pond to the front left of the green. The course
is tight enough to make you sweat now and again
off the tee and pinches in here and there to make
you think about your club selection. If i were to
pick one change out it would have been to chop
down the right hand tree at the 9th to open up a
great view of the side by side fairways and the
clubhouse in the distance. A great course and one
i really enjoy.
| Hole
Previews : Excellent |
Tournament
Option : Excellent |
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