APCD Courses

The Fictional Courses 13-18

   
Duine Mara
Paul Seaman
6999 yards. Par 70.
Difficulty Medium

Coastal Links

Fictitous - 153mb
Jul 2011

Overall Rank 13th

Duine Mara is the latest release from Paul Seaman, one of the most prolific designers of the current decade. The course is a fictional links design set in the gorse lands very close to the coast of western Scotland. The course plays to a par of 70 with five par threes and only three par fives which is slightly unusual, but not in fact unique, and has a yardage of just under seven thousand yards. It is as usual for Paul a well crafted design and has a darker gorse feel to it that we are used to which makes it quite imposing off the tee. It is also packaged with a superb panorama featuring a coastal view and some great new skies from Daniel Watson. You will find a tough enough test here with bunkers, water and out of bounds to contend with, so watch your step. I also feel this course will be a grower and likely to become more interesting the more it is learnt and the holes are remembered. It is another excellent links style design and has a neat ruin feature which helps pull the venue together and gives a focal point for the course. Planting, bunkers and lakes are all of high quality. Finally we must remember that this course was designed as a memorial to one of our community friends Paul Cirino who passed away this year.
     
Bull Run
Eddie Schmidt
7061 yards. Par 72.
Difficulty Medium/Hard

Woodland

Fictitous - 58mb
Mar 2004

Overall Rank 14th

Eddie Schmidt is one of those designers who just keeps getting better and better. He has already produced a couple of the best ever top American courses, Brookline and Spyglass Hill, and here he has returned to fictional designing with Bull Run. Retaining a flavour of the civil war theme begun in Southern Pines, this is a woodland course which winds among the trees and small lakes to create an inventive and clever course which is always waiting to catch you out. One of the designers trademarks is his fabulous eye for effective tree planting, and this course easily measures up to the high standards set by Brookline. On the ground level though this course goes much further than he has done before, with intricate long grass, bushes and coloured wild flowers bordering the fairways and growing under the trees. Buildings are plentiful, partially hidden by the woodlands in true Harbour Town style, and offering a very realistic effect. Another one of the key course strengths are the hole designs, with bunkers and small lakes are used to full effect, and are often a worry when playing. The lakes are beautiful, slighly overgrown with a touch of algie, and when you look back down the greens across the lakes you will get some awesome views. The landscaped bridges, walls and rails add an extra touch. All the par 5's were extremely well set up to offer a chance at improving your score, but there is always a risk, and the par 3's are all visually beautiful and with different challenges. To outline a few of my favourite holes, the water approach at the 2nd is an early test, and the par 3 7th hole is arguably the most beautiful visually, complete with a lovely isolated shack. The uphill then downhill 13th was a really clever design, followed by the drivable (on a good day) peninsula at the 14th. Then an awesome drive at the 15th to open up the par 5, and the long tough 17th and 18th. This is a classy course in every respect, all the options are catered for, with Paul Woodbury helping on some of the amazing screen graphics.
Hole Previews : Excellent Tournament Option : Excellent
     
Stansbury Country Club
Beta
Peter Beckwith
7405 yards. Par 72.
Difficulty Medium/Hard

Woodland

Fictitous - 192mb
Jun 2011

Overall Rank 15th

This course is still considered still at beta release stage, but do not let that put you off downloading as this is a real beauty. Whilst a fictional design this is about as real as they come, its design model a US Open style venue set within woodland treelined fairways. As a beta you would wonder how unfinished this is, the good news is from a visual perspective it is hard to see anything really missing with the exception of hole previews, a tournament crowd and some texture renaming just to tidy up. The rich green textures are great, with generally nice seam blending, and the trees are well chosen also blending in really well together for a consistant look and as good as any woodland course i have seen in this respect. At grass level there is loads of underplanting to give it realism, plus many little features that help make holes stand out such as flower borders, custom objects, an expansive clubhouse and tennis court area and a really good background view. There are small lakes and ponds dotted around too, some in play with other less so but all adding to the feeling of a well groomed location. The course plays in US open style, so pretty tough but fair, and as you have treelined drives it always seem like you are more enclosed than perhaps you really are. However you do need to work out the risk well as straying off the fairways often leads to some tough approaches or recovery shots. This design takes its roots from other releases from the designer such as Ridgewood and Carsten Acres but this is his best and i trust will get its completion as it deserves a place as one of the best this year so far.
Hole Previews : None Tournament Option : None
     
Tish Island
Steve Mihelarakis
7381 yards. Par 72.
Difficulty Hard

Tropical Dunes

Fictitous - 90mb
Jun 2004

Overall Rank 16th

Steve Mihelarakis is the designer of the lovely Desert Lakes, but this new 2003 release establishes his skills at the highest level. Tish Island is a Kiawah Island style dunes course with plenty of sand, water and tropical foliage. You can instantly see this is a quality design, the textures and blending, the planting and edging are all superb, as are the hazards. There are few, if any, courses that look visually similar to this, hence its high chart appeal, but if you are eagerly visualising an open sandy wastland with low planting and no trees then this isnt quite it. This is a heavily planted landscape, with an abundance of bushes and grasses, tall trees including many palms, and with loads of sand and large lakes. Visually this course is excellent. Playing the course is tough, and a deliberate move by the designer. The fairways are pretty tight, and hazards border the holes on both sides, a mixture of sand and water, so errant shots are quickly punished. The course is long, so expect some long irons or woods into the greens, and your sand play will be a real key to a good round. Greens overall are fairly heavily sloped and fairly small. Normally i admit these more difficult courses dont easily make the chart, but after playing well and making my first par score i believe it to be playable on easier settings as the fairways are not too over sloped making it a little easier to judge approach shots. My favourite holes were the 2nd, a right to left dogleg, and the 15th, both are a little more generous off the tee than most other holes. Some tough holes include the long 3rd, the 11th where water really cuts into the approach shot, and the small green of the 13th, but all are well designed. The 18th would really have better as a par 5 really and this together with the 17th can ruin any good round if you are not very careful. Overall this is a great design, one that will challenge even the best players, but also one you will find frustrating if you dont bring your best game. A quality release offering something visually awesome and also a little different. The new ability to set different tees within a tournament mean this course is now better then ever.
Hole Previews : Good Tournament Option : None
     
Royal County Kilderry
Mike Jones
6734 yards. Par 70.
Difficulty Medium/Hard

Irish Links

Fictitous - 34mb
Apr 2002

2002 Course of the Year

Overall Rank 17th

Royal County Kilderry became the amazing 5th course creation by Mike Jones. The designer's love of Links courses is so readily apparent, with this course set in the beautiful Irish countryside, overlooking the surrounding fields and farmland in amazing fashion. This landscape is so realistic, rolling fairways are surrounded by deep grass and bracken, overgrown with wonderful mauve heather, white flowers and yellow gorse. Distant quaint farmhouses overlook the scenery, and an old railway line runs alongside the 8th hole, still one of the greatest course features ever seen. Deep pot bunkers cover the course to provide some superb strategy, with fairways which whilst being very fair and sometimes generous, are humped and rolling to make for some tricky lies on approach shots. The natural beauty of this course is complemented by the expertly added features, including extremely smooth cart paths, wooden steps leading up to the tee off areas, fencing around the fields, and wonderful stone walls which look fabulous. The course flows together really well, it is slightly shorter than many designs but being a par 70 you wont feel any benefits, and with par 3's especially that all have their own unique attributes and clever design for risk against reward. For instance, just try and hold the ball on the 14th green after clearing the front bunker. The clubhouse by Guenter Kujat fits the location perfectly, standing near the coast with the sea coming into view down the final few holes. Comparisons are perhaps likely to be made to his earlier release called Ayrshire Dunes, but the look and style is very different, seemingly more gentle and softer than the wilder Scottish location. Hole previews and crowds are of the highest quality to round off this gorgeous Links course, with sound effects adding to the experience and an amazing use being made of the panorama. A quite brilliant design, in fact it has the some of most realistic planting ever seen in the game, and some of the best natural strategy too of any apcd design. The 2003 revised version now features a new groundbreaking form of texture blending on the fairways to add an even more realistic patch effect on the rolls and dips and is quite stunning. A Course of the Year winner, this one stands the test of time well.
Hole Previews : Excellent Tournament Option : Excellent

Download this Course at > Mike Jones' Links Course Designs

     
Rotherly Park
Leigh Seaman
6725 yards. Par 70.
Difficulty Medium/Easy

Parkland

Fictitous - 137mb
Feb 2010

Overall Rank 18th

Rotherly Park is the most recent design from Leigh Seaman, and is also by far the best achievement from one of the youngest regular designers Links has at the moment. This is a fantastic municipal English style parkland course and what marks this out from the crowd in particular is its lush green grass bordered by contrasting burnt grass areas and lavender bushes. Visually this course really appeals to me a great deal, in fact it is one of my favourites, reminding me just a little of a very early release from way back in 2003 called Spring Valley. Bunkers are deep, with a soft orange sand, and dark borders which from a distance especially look absolutely amazing. The planting here is lovely, and the trees are especially well blended with dark ferns complementing more bushy varieties bordering the fairways. Elevetion feels just right here, there is enough to make you work a little whilst retaining its municipal style views. Playing this course is in relative terms a gentle experience, this is not to say you wont find trouble, but fairways at times are relatively generous giving a rare opportunity to use gusty conditions or fast greens without the whole experience becoming way too much, and i really like this as an option. The front nine contains a series of slightly wiggly fairways winding around bunkers and making your club choice important, and in fact the opening few holes feel amongst the hardest to play. Then the course opens up into a lakeside area with a superb 7th signature hole, both visually stunning and fun to play too. The back nine feels a little easier, as the fairways open up and allow you to feel bold. That said if you get sloppy a couple of fairway bunkers will cause you difficulties. The closing hole is a peach, a waterside par 5 that is certainly reachable in two but there is plenty to worry you and it becomes a great risk v reward hole. Look out for the par 4's at the 9th and 12th holes which are simply stunning in every way. This is such an appealing design, i feel it will become one of my all time favourites. As a final note the loading screens and hole previews from Paul Woodbury are superb.
Hole Previews : Excellent Tournament Option : None
 
     

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Courses 19-24