APCD Courses

The Real Courses 7-12
   
Pinehurst #2
Robert Miller
7229 yards. Par 70.
Difficulty Medium

Pine Forest
Real - 100mb
Apr 2008

2008 Course of the Year

Overall Rank 7th
Welcome to Pinehurst #2, home of the 1999 US Open , 2005 US Open, and upcoming 2014 US Open. Pinehurst in North Carolina is a historic golf resort established in 1894 and now comprises a staggering 8 playable courses. One of them, Pinehurst #2 has become an integral part of golfing history, a regular and beautiful US Open venue and the memorable scene in 1999 of Payne Stewart making a 15 foot par putt on 18 to win the US Open title, his second of the 1990s. Rather obviously from its name, this is a forest location surrounded by stunning pine trees underlaid with the fetching red tinge from the layered pine needles. Its unique attribute is the dome shaped greens which when playing fast make it one of the most difficult courses to play in and around the pin, your touch and precision must be spot on and your chipping game at its best. Unlike other well known course names such as the cliffside Pebble Beach and the rolling colours of Augusta, there seemingly is not the run of unforgettable holes in visual or dramatic terms, but the feel and beauty of this as a whole course holds its own against them, and the clubhouse is a fabulous focul point. Robert Miller has become our key US Open designer adding Pinehurst to existing classics Bethpage Black and Shinnecock Hills, and has become one the greatest exponents of the apcd we have seen, modelling courses with accuracy and immense attention to detail. This remake of Pinehurst is simply immersive, the tee areas, houses and buildings ooze quality and the textures and blending are excellent. You will also find little extras like telegraph pylons, sprinkler heads, divots and wind machines at the greens. Playing the course is excellent, visually this a complete picture from every tee as you overlook the red pine areas and adjoining fairways, you feel like this is a complete replica of the course. In design terms i believe this to be one of the great courses, it also gains extra value from being a well known majors venue, and whilst it doesnt offer loads of elevation or signature style holes, it just has the feeling of a complete course package which when played is greater than the sum of the individual holes. An excellent and classic design, and one of the all time greats.
   
     
Bethpage Black
Dominique Bois & Robert Miller
7652 yards. Par 70.
Difficulty Hard

Parkland
Real - 256mb
Jun 2009

2009 Course of the Year Runner Up

Overall Rank 8th
Bethpage Black is one of five 18-hole courses at Bethpage State Park, Long Island, New York, and the biggest public golf facility in the world. The courses include the Red, Blue, Green and Yellow, but clearly the Black is the most challenging of them all and is ranked at 29 on the Golf Digest list. With a first tee featuring a warning sign: "The Black Course is an extremely difficult course which we recommend only for highly skilled golfers'', the course became the host to the US Open in 2002 won by Tiger Woods, and will host the event again in 2009. Originally this was designed by Dominique Bois in 2001, on the back of previous releases Gold Club Des Volcans and Broken Arrow. It was updated in 2003, but Robert Miller then took over re-working and overhauling the course in 2006 and then 2009 to the current yardages, adding new and glorious textures and completely replanting the course. The combined effort now makes this one of the very best apcd designs available and one of the most realistic. This is a tough course to play, at 7652 yards and a par 70 you will not find many others that test your long game quite so seriously. It looks superb in all areas, using great looking textures for the rough, abundant deep rough and burnt rough areas, with excellent blending throughout. The grass generally plays deep in true US majors fashion, and the planting is extensive using varying shades for a very realistic effect, and a prefect replica of the real thing. Fairways are quite tight and prove a tough challenge, but the run off areas are usually generous and a shot is nearly always visible from the deep rough to the green albeit often not reachable. The trees are very nicely chosen, looking even better in the latest version, and with good variety and blending so well. Some of the views across the burnt rough are fantastic, the 7th and 17th tee shots were instant favourites. The whole feel of the design is quite amazing, it really does give the player the impression that they are involved on the real thing, with tee objects and 3d buildings well placed, and a superb clubhouse overlooking the course. Once you add in some amazingly good hole previews, and a wonderfully full US Open crowd, the tourney option offers quite a different experience from the natural one.
   
     
Huntingdale Golf Club
Jason Thorpe
6980 yards. Par 72.
Difficulty Medium

Australian Woodland
Real - 136mb
Dec 2011

2011 Course of the Year

Overall Rank 9th
Huntingdale is an Australian course established officially in 1941 and is located in Melbourne. It has historically been the annual host to the Australian Masters which is often won by home grown players but notable overseas winners include Bernard Langer (1985), Mark O'Meara (1986) and Colin Montgomerie (2001). This apcd design is one to rival and play alongside the great Wagga Wagga design by Wayne Hewitt. It is a comprehensive design from the excellent start up screen and cameo through to the hole previews and contains so many little details out on the course such as the stone objects near the tees, the buildings partly hidden in the trees and a really good quality 3d clubhouse. The planting is superb, complete with comprehensive low level wild grasses and plants, and a great australian themed tree palette to achieve that tricky blend of a woodland course. Where this course really shines is the grass textures which blend a patchwork of dryness and lush to create a hugely realistic ground effect, possibly the best seen on any course design so far. Everything is high quality here with nice details around the ponds and large numbers of bunkers of varied shapes and sizes. The lay out is great offering a real choice of strategy and the close proximity of the trees will always be at the back of your mind off the tee. Jason Thorpe has produced another one of the great course masterpieces and has well deserved his Course of the Year award for the design.
   
     
Turnberry
The Ailsa Course
Stewart Parker
7150 yards. Par 70.
Difficulty Medium

Links
Real - 136mb
Apr 2011

2011 Course of the Year Runner Up

Overall Rank 10th
Turnberry is a golf resort on the coast of the outer Firth of Clyde in southwestern Scotland and was designed by James Miller in 1906 and then redesigned by Mackenzie Ross between 1949 and 1951. It has staged The Open Championship on four occasions in 1977, 1986, 1994 and 2009. At its first Open Championship in 1977, the course was the scene of the famous "Duel in the Sun", when Tom Watson claimed a classic victory by one stroke ahead of Jack Nicklaus. In 1986 Greg Norman claimed the first of his two Opens with Nick Price winning his only major in 1994. After a fifteen year absence, the Ailsa Course hosted the Open again in 2009, where another classic ensued as 59 year-old Tom Watson nearly won his sixth Open Championship. Watson bogeyed the 72nd hole and then lost a 4-hole playoff with Stewart Cink. As a result of this rich history it becomes a fascinating course to play, particularly when you consider it has spectacular cliffside holes and sea views it is therefore one of the more interesting real life links courses visually. The designer Stewart Parker has released a number of Scottish links courses over the years, a is a bit of an unsung hero on this site until now. Royal Troon was his most famous release, but i find this now his best design not only in terms of its quality but Turnberry is just an interesting design visually and strategically. The course has deep bunkers, beautifully created, narrow fairways and deep grass, as tall as i have seen it. It looks great and also plays tough as the fairways are narrow, but its length helps as you can avoid the driver on many holes. This is very enjoyable to play and if his St Andrews Old Course design comes up to looking this good then we are in for a treat.
   
     
Pine Valley
Robert Miller
6690 yards. Par 70.
Difficulty Medium

Pine Forest
Real - 112mb
Oct 2010

2010 Course of the Year

Overall Rank 11th
Pine Valley Golf Club is a course set in Pine Valley, Camden County in southern New Jersey. It is regularly ranked within the top three courses in Golf Digests 100 Top Courses in the U.S. and the World. Pine Valley was founded in 1913 and became George Crump's first and only golf course design using principals that no hole should be laid out parallel to the next, no more than two consecutive holes should play in the same direction, and players shouldn't be able to see any hole other than the one they were playing. He also felt that a round of golf on his course should require a player to use every club in the bag. Pine Valley is distictive and beautiful, set beneath the pine trees this course winds around sand and scrub areas that look amazing. In terms of difficulty this will not present the hardest of tests off the tee, and by many design standards is generous. However the elevations give this its edge, and with fast greens it is great fun to play. Pine Valley is not used for major tournaments despite its high regard, this principally is due to crowd issues that would arise. However this hasnt prevented it becoming one of the most highly awaited designs the Links 2003 game has ever seen. Robert Miller as usual has produced a masterpiece, its natural beauty and planting is second to none and confirms him as arguably the best real course designer we have. With Pinehurst 2, Shinnecock Hills and Bethpage Black already released you just cannot fault his attention to detail and ability with the APCD. Its ranking is purely subjective in that it whilst it equals the very best courses for technical design and visuals, to play it strategically is just not quite as good a challenge off the tee as some of those above it in the list.
   
     
Medinah No.3
John Pineda
7403 yards. Par 72.
Difficulty Medium/Hard

Woodland
Real - 70mb
May 2005

2005 Course of the Year Runner Up

Overall Rank 12th
This is a highly rated course from the PGA Tour, placed at number 15 in the Golf Digest rankings, and was host to the 2000 USPGA Championship. Recreated superbly by John Pineda for Links 2001, this has now been further updated in 2005 and is enhanced in every way. The design excells in every area, with the general attention to detail being very high indeed, and its comparison visually to the real life course seemingly almost perfect. This is a heavily wooded course, with fairways made to feel tighter than usual due to the close proximity of trees lining both sides. The addition of shadows to this course is a major bonus adding visual depth and realism. The tight fairways make tee shots fairly tricky, but when wayward you will often get a playable lie from the deep rough, as ground planting under the trees is sparce. The result is a pretty tough course, particularly at the harder levels. Visually the course is amazing, looking very natural and realistic with good quality textures, a large variety of trees, and some very nicely raised greens surrounded with bunkers. The general course surroundings are also very good, with distance hole signs at each tee, and a very nicely laid out 3D clubhouse fronted by a putting green at the back of the 18th hole. The par 3’s here are especially nice, most featuring shots over water, with excellent lake edging evident and some nice plantings and bridges. Large championship crowds are available in a quite superb tournament option, and there are also lovely hole previews which include descriptions. In addition, a beautifully presented hole by hole guide with great overhead pictures was also included in the original download. It is another wonderfully well presented course, benefiting hugely from the 2003 textures, blending, and shadows, making the course look much smoother and more attractive. Be prepared for a tough putting challenge on some greens, although the 2005 edition has made it more 1.06 friendly. This course design is a real beauty and really gives you an enclosed woodland feel like no other design and therefore remains quite a unique course to play in the game.
   
     

APCD Courses

  

Courses 13-18