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APCD Courses
The Fictional Courses 37-43
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| Walnut
Grove |
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| Art
Patscheck |
| 7168
yards. Par 72. |
| Difficulty
Hard |
Woodland
River Valley
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| Fictitous
- 75mb |
| Dec
2005 |
Course
of the Month
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Overall
Rank 37th
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Art
Patscheck is a fantastic designer with a host of
great designs under his belt, and his second pay
to play release is the sister course to Buck
Creek set in an area near Somerset, KY and called
Walnut Grove. Once again a wide river creek
dominates the terrain, and is surrounded by thick
woodland. I would say that Art is probably the
best terrain lay out designer around. His
landscapes are awesome, modelled on real areas,
the golf courses really do feel realistic, and
the use of elevations is almost unprecendented.
Walnut Grove is quite lush and green, with
grasses growing all around the rough areas. The
tree planting is quite dense and looks excellent.
This is a tough course, not overly narrow but the
heavy rough properties have been deepened using
the modified apcd and make it a real hazard to
get out of. Lakes and rivers bisect fairways, so
if you start to stray into the rough then often
you wont get onto the green in regulation. There
are loads of treats in store, and Art is one of
the great par 3 designers. Take the beautiful 2nd
hole overlooking a large lake with amazing
planting around the edge, or the landscaped 12th
next to the river, or the postage stamp short 140
yard 17th green, where if you stray left you will
almost be in unplayable territory down a steep
slope. There are clever holes throughout though,
as the 8th wraps itself around a lake, the 9th is
split into 3 tiers bisected by creeks, and the
14th is lovely uphill dogleg. The 4th hole will
go down in history as an absolute classic, an
elevated par 4 tee at 290 yards with a stunning
view of the green, a river runs to the right and
trees left, but you will feel like its worth
taking it on - and walk away with anything from
an eagle to a triple bogie, just fabulous.
Finally down the home stretch is a lovely rocky
outscrop overlooking a lake, with one of the best
textures ive ever seen. All the extras are here,
great previews which show the green slopes (which
i always like), tourney objects, clubhouse,
superb blending with dry and worn places. Just
another fantastic design.
| Hole
Previews : Excellent |
Tournament
Option : Excellent |
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| Woodbridge
(Old Course) |
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| Matthew
Woodbridge & David Russell |
| 7284
yards. Par 72. |
| Difficulty
Medium |
English
Links
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| Fictitous
- 40mb |
| Jul
2006 |
Overall
Rank 38th
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Matthew
Woodbridge has designed this traditional English
links style course very much in the mould of
Royal St George's and Muirfield. Visually this
course is simple but stunning, it has a wide and
open aspect view, with a gentle rolling terrain
by links standards, viewable far into the
distance, and a backdrop varying from the sea on
the coastal side to the clubhouse and tall
electricity pylons inland. Cleverly the designer
managed a blended approach to the textures from
the fairways through to the first cut which
separates the encroaching tall grass rough, with
barely a visible join in sight and no actual seam
blending in place. Within 2003 the original
textures still look great and work well in a dry
patchy style. From the tee there the tall dry
grass beautifully frames the fairways, and it is
quite an achievement to produce such a very
realistic view. This design is a highly
commendable effort, and for those interested the
custom wild grass has a lusher spring green look
when played at 16 bit graphics to the dryer
summer 32 bit look within the game. The course
plays quite beautifully too, with rolling
fairways containing humps and bumps, and hazard
bunkers that are deep and of course are to be
avoided at all costs. The fairways seem just
about the right width, but are tricky at times,
and the clever texturing encourages brave shots
off the tee, until the tall grass catches your
ball. You really need to plot your way around the
course, which is fairly long and makes it into a
decent challenge, but with recovery shots always
on offer. The occasional bushes and plants really
make the course special and along with some nice
buildings become themselves features of the
course. To further add realism, wooden fences
line some of the out of bounds areas, and trodden
grass paths wind superbly around the course.
Greens are varied in difficulty, some containing
quite tricky slopes and pin placements, and
fairways often allow a bump and run approach onto
them. On fast setings it really comes into its
own. This fictional design has been based on the
real Muirfield course, and as representative of
links course play it is outstanding. Once you
witness the Open Championships, this course takes
on a new lease of life and the realistic design
quality is superb, for instance the 9th seems to
play so like the 14th at Royal St Goerge's, and
the 18th matches Muirfield's finishing hole. The
original just cried out for crowds to be added so
i completed a tournament version with full crowds
and leaderboards, and fixed the presence of some
steel grass for the updated version now called
the Old Course. This course just oozes realism.
| Hole
Previews : Excellent |
Tournament
Option : Excellent |
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| Links
at Ballylecum Castle |
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| Jon
Weinrieb |
| 7055
yards. Par 72. |
| Difficulty
Hard |
Coastal
Links
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| Fictitous
- 82mb |
| Aug
2005 |
Course
of the Month
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Overall
Rank 39th
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Jon
Weinrieb has quickly become one of the great
designers, recently specialising in the links
style of course. Quidnet, his first links design,
was unquestionably a fabulous looking course and
his follow up Scottish course is called
Ballylecum Castle and bears many of the same
trademark qualities, especially in the depth of
the ground level planting, the use of an amazing
panorama, the small shacks and outbuildings, and
tight fairways. Both of these courses are set on
the coast, but Ballylecum Castle really uses the
cliffside as an integral part of the strategy,
creating nerve tingling hazards on over a third
of the holes. This design is dramatic looking,
contains many interesting visual features and has
numerous overgrown rocky outcrops littering the
horizon. The ground level planting is very dense,
featuring loads of colour in the gorse and
flowers, but it does make recovery shots near
impossible. The building structures are unique,
an amazing castle and lighthouse set at the
cliffside, coming into view at the 7th hole, and
the old stone buildings at the 4th are especially
fitting for the location. Pat Auge deserves
special credit for this architecture, along with
some beautiful stone bridges. The panorama by
Rick Weathers is excellent and really brings the
whole location to life, and from the opening
holes the texture detail and blending is very
impressive, with divots and worn spots evident.
The 3rd hole stands out early on, a superb par 5
with a creek to negociate on both the tee shot
and the approach. The ocean and surf is
beautifully rendered and plays its part in a
tough stretch from the 5th to the 8th before you
potentially get a chance to make some shots back
on a series of neat holes around the turn. The
finish here is stunning from the 15th, a long and
difficult par 5 alongside the cliffs, then a 9
iron tee shot over the ocean at the short par 3
16th, and a reachable but scary drive at my
favourite hole the 17th. Finally a par 4 18th
hole that may well ruin your round at the death.
This course has dramatic views, high quality
textures and blending including worn fairways and
very deep bunkers, and is a very busy design that
requires a lot of accuracy.
| Hole
Previews : Excellent |
Tournament
Option : Excellent |
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| Hunter's
Wood |
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| Ken
Boltz |
| 7267
yards. Par 72. |
| Difficulty
Hard |
Woodland
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| Fictitous
- 43mb |
| Mar
2002 |
Course
of the Month
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Overall
Rank 40th
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Hunters Wood is the debut design
by Ken Boltz and is set within the Hunter’s
family estate with the mansion overlooking the
property. It launches him as one of highest
achievers in apcd design techniques. This green
woodland course is fantastic, containing a
natural realistic beauty that is quite stunning.
The lay out of the course is exemplary, with
beautifully smooth edging and amazing use of
elevation to roll the fairways around its many
natural slopes. There are so many great holes to
play, full of individual identity and challenges,
many will become memorable very quickly, but
nothing ever really seems too forced in terms of
difficulty. Visually the course looks wonderful,
with excellent varieties of trees for the
woodlands, and with deep ground level grass and
bushes bordering the rough. Fairways are
extremely well sloped, contain good variations in
width and difficulty and are completely playable
at harder levels. Watch out for the 8th and 11th
holes around the turn which are a little tighter
than the rest and will make players worry a touch
off the tee. The rough is a darker green texture
than most apcd courses, and was a welcome change.
The course hazards are formed by excellent orange
sand bunkers which look fabulous, particularly
visually off the tee in the distance, and the
very well crafted Apple Creek meanders around the
course joining the lakes which are very often in
play. You will definately need to learn the best
ways to play some holes, as rolling fairways may
well kick your ball off the short grass if you
stray close to the rough. This is a charming
design, the natural setting is enhanced by the
array of wildlife lurking around the course, some
of which won't be easily seen, and includes a
deer, fox, rabbit, squirrel, a pheasant and a
marsh heron. Overall this is one of the all time
greats, it is a real treat, containing clever
hole designs which make it so interesting to
play, and with elevation work that is perhaps
second to no other course. The hole previews are
superbly made, and there is also a nice tourney
option for those interested, although the course
really seems to lend itself more to the natural
look.
| Hole
Previews : Excellent |
Tournament
Option : Very Good |
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| Kill
Devil Hills |
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| Eddie
& Dawny Schmidt |
| 7157
yards. Par 72. |
| Difficulty
Medium |
Coastal
Links
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| Fictitous
- 38mb |
| Jul
2005 |
Overall
Rank 41st
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Eddie Schmidt is one of
the best exponents of the apcd programme with a
string of fantastic releases to his name from the
fictional courses of Southern Pines & Bull
Run to the real simulations of Augusta Par 3,
Spyglass Hill & Brookdale Country Club. Here
he has teamed up with his wife Dawny to release a
lovely fictional links style course interestingly
called Kill Devil Hills. The course was born out
from a vacation to the outerbanks, and some of
the holes are similar to famous links holes, but
not direct copies. The high quality of the design
is to be expected given Eddie’s previous
releases, and this course looks and plays
beautifully, laid out alongside the ocean with
scenic views coming into play, particularly down
the back 9. There is good variety off the tee, a
couple of early drives at 2 & 3 and then at
16 will provoke a lot of decision-making as you
really wont be sure what club will avoid the
fairway bunkers, a regular menace to your round.
Drivable par 4’s will also feature if you
dare take them on at the 9th and 11th. There are
many links style course to choose from now, but
visually this does again thankfully offers
something a little different to what you already
have. Dry, almost brown looking grass textures
soften the views with hole boundaries bordered by
stone walls, with light grey rocky cliff faces
and great ocean texture blending. A few 3D snack
buildings are visible, together with benches and
ballwashers at the tees. The planting is great, a
deep covering of yellow and white gorse bushes
and flowers, it is all light and almost somehow
almost scorched looking which hasn’t ever
been reflected before. The course is very
enjoyable indeed, with some great atmosphere
created by the ocean and the many gulls over the
closing holes. I wholeheartedly recommend the
course, and its chart position deserves to be
higher, but I do try to spread out the links
style courses to create a balanced list of
designs. Eddie is a fantastic designer and this
course is another beauty, with the tournament
option becoming a real high point.
| Hole
Previews : Excellent |
Tournament
Option : Excellent |
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| El-Escorpion |
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| Mike
Jones |
| 7121
yards. Par 72. |
| Difficulty
Medium/Hard |
Mediterranean
Scrub
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| Fictitous
- 56mb |
| Jan
2005 |
Course
of the Month
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Overall
Rank 42nd
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Mike
Jones originally produced this mediterranean
scrubland vista in June 2001. It remains the only
one of its kind today, and now has received a
welcome update using the latest texturing and
blending. The scene is captured superbly well,
with a light dry looking green fairway,
surrounded by an arid brown dirt textured land,
planted up with small trees, dry bushes, and
predominantly brown and green plants. Here and
there though coloured flowers and bushes will
poke through on the dry scrubland adding great
visuals to the course. The textures chosen are
perfect and among the best around any course.
Small lakes are a key feature, especially over
the beautiful opening holes, being nicely
textured and edged and affecting both tee and
approach shots, adding extra thought to safety
play. The 3rd tee shot is a stunner. Green plants
spread out on top of the water are a great
feature. Sounds additionally add atmosphere,
mainly comprising native birds and bubbling
water. Strategically the course is much improved,
making sure that it challenges all areas of your
game, and offering up some excellent choices too.
Attempts to outdrive bunker hazards will be
rewarded with short approaches, but punished if
you are wayward. Safer lay up shots are offered
where the entrances to greens are toughest, and
key trees and bunkers will always affect your
shot choice, it is superbly designed. The greens
were the weakest part of the original course
design, and are now much improved with less
slopes and with more tiers playing their part.
New hole previews are excellent. Mike Jones has
now remade El-Escorpion to match up with his
other releases. What it offers most is a
mediterranean feel that i havent found elsewhere,
and this does make it into an extra special place
to play.
| Hole
Previews : Excellent |
Tournament
Option : Excellent |
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| Copperhead
at Old Works |
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| Lacy
Gearheart & Bob Hankla |
| 7179
yards. Par 71. |
| Difficulty
Hard |
Parkland
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| Fictitous
- 55mb |
| Sep
2005 |
Course
of the Month
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Overall
Rank 43rd
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Copperhead
at Old Works is the fourth design by Lacy
Gearheart, one of the most prolific early apcd
designers, and was released in January 2002. The
course is fictional but is based on a real
location called Anaconda in Montana, designed by
Jack Nicklaus. The backdrop location is set
beside an old copper mine with slag heaps a
feature of the excellent panorama by Paul
Woodbury. This has quite a unique look, with
black sand bunkers, dark rocky outcrops, and a
dead dry look to the trees which surround the
course. The textures and edges for the fairways
and rough are beautifully smooth, with fabulous
fencing and winding cart paths evident. There are
two types of bunker, small shallow ones and large
slag tips edged with grasses. The lakes here look
superb also edged with excellent planting and
featuring an array of birdlife, and lovely river
creeks wind around the course. The fairways widen
and narrow spectacularly on their way to the
greens, so you always have to think strategically
and pick your best spot to aim at. They are
however reasonably generous and will tempt the
one wood driver on many occasions, but you must
always be wary for the deep bracken grass which
surrounds the edges of the holes. Play into this
tall undergrowth and it will impact on the
distance of your recovery shot, which gives an
excellent edge to playing the course boldly.
Copperhead has a wild and overgrown, but somewhat
dry and dead look to it, a result of the
extensive mining works in the past. Animals have
now returned to the undergrowth, and elks and
deer will be spotted from time to time. The whole
feel of this design is unique and is executed
superbly. The hole previews really do add extra
value, they look great and are full of
information, including details of the slopes on
the greens. The tournament option is also
amazing, with deep crowds, leaderboards and
advertising boards adding immensely to the
experience. Some of the tee views are awesome. A
complete course package that is full of excellent
ideas, and is perfectly presented. A 2005 update
by Bob Hankla to update and blend the textures
and make the greens more mod friendly has only
enhanced this courses longevity and standing.
| Hole
Previews : Excellent |
Tournament
Option : Excellent |
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| Pebble
Beach Classic |
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| Les
Wellard, David Russell, Joel Geysen &
Ross Mackenzie |
| 6800
yards. Par 72. |
| Difficulty
Medium/Easy |
Coastal
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| Fictional
- 97mb |
| Dec
2004 |
Overall
Rank 44th
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Pebble
Beach is one of the worlds greatest and most
recognisable courses, using its natural cliffs
and coastline location for many of its awesome
hazards, it is rated at number 5 in the Golf
Digest listings. Les Wellard originally recreated
this course for Links in 2000 as the 1930's
edition, setting the version in the past to
capture a more idealistic look before the course
became more built up. A year later on, David
Russell who contributed in testing to the
original design, reworked the course as a
replanted and updated version which became known
as Pebble Beach Classic. The latest version
features 2003 custom textures and effects with
the help of Joel Geysen & Ross Mackenzie. The
hole lay outs of the course are instantly
recognisable as Pebble Beach, and this version
has a very beautiful and natural look and feel to
it. Most importantly too it does retain many of
the key strategic elements of the real course.
Trees and hazards are generally placed where you
expect them to be, and ground level grasses and
plants add a superb extra touch visually. Its
rugged nature at times certainly shows through
via the planting and rocky cliffs. The soft sound
of the sea filters through at appropriate moments
when these cliffs are in view, together with some
nice bird calls from around the course. The
bunkers are now fully reworked and some contain
discarded rakes. The course is so well known as a
US Open venue and host to the annual Pro-Am
Tournament that it largely speaks for itself,
with the famous 3 difficult cliffside par 4's
around the turn, and the 18th tee shot, one of
the most memorable anywhere in golf. Many of the
views around the course are really quite
spectacular. This is a Major Championship course,
which does make it even more exciting and
attractive to play, and the designers have
produced a beautiful reflection of this amazing
golfing experience. It is very playable and
enjoyable, it looks good to the eye, and the hole
previews and tournament crowds are extremely
good. For the 2004 release new textures and
blending have been added, with bunker
improvements, planting changes, a new coastline,
extra crowds and a few buildings. It has also
been set up to be very playable with the new
Links Mod. Now known as Pebble Beach Classic
Edition, it remains an historical fictional
interpretation of the real Pebble Beach course.
| Hole
Previews : Excellent |
Tournament
Option : Excellent |
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| War
Acres |
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| Steve
Pope |
| 7062
yards. Par 71. |
| Difficulty
Medium |
Parkland
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| Fictitous
- 36mb |
| Jan
2004 |
Course
of the Month
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Overall
Rank 45th
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It really seems a short
time since Steve Pope brought us the excellent
Sorento desert course. This is his follow up
design called War Acres, a mix of parkland and
woodland styles, with wide open overgrown plains,
surrounded by lakes and creeks and with a
woodland backdrop. This is another very polished
design, with great planting and a nice choice of
trees, from the tall thin woodland variety that
border the plains, to the small fir trees that
are dotted around the edges of the fairways. The
wild grass is beautiful with two distinct styles,
the brown bracken bordering the deeper woods, and
the light green thin whispy grasses which cover
the plains in a links style, and render so well
at a distance that it almost seem to have a
rippling effect to them in the wind. There is
some excellent texture blending to be seen,
especially around the soft white sandy bunkers,
and a couple of small rocky outcrops poke through
the grass down the back nine. This is a fairly
open course visually, but the water hazards will
really play their part, with lakes and creeks
often in play to provoke thought on how risky you
wish to be off the tee, and they also look quite
superb too. Splashes of colour are evident from
some neatly planted borders. This course plays
well, and also draws you in visually, with some
visual elements of the course DriftWood by Mike
Jones evident, but distinct too in its own right.
The 8th par 4 features a split green which is a
nice touch especially when playing across the
water for the second shot, and I particularly
enjoyed the 7th hole which wraps itself around
the lake, and the par 3 hitting out over the
water. This is a course from one of our top
designers around that is well worth purchasing,
and again comes very highly recommended.
| Hole
Previews : Very Good |
Tournament
Option : None |
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