APCD Courses

The Real Courses 43-50
   
Talon @ Grayhawk
John Andersen
7017 yards. Par 72.
Difficulty Medium

Desert
Real - 26mb
Sep 2001

Overall Rank 43rd
A great name for this beautiful real life desert golfing experience. Set in the Arizona desert at Scottsdale, this course has been re-created by John Andersen, a well known and highly accomplished designer. This course has been designed with the desert sand being comprehensively planted up with varieties of cacti, flowers, bushes and rocks, and everything is in keeping with the arid setting, but adding just enough colour variety to remain beautiful. The grass texture looks superb too, a soft green shade, and with a fair measure of rough before you reach the actual desert. Individual dry looking trees are cut into the edges of the rough in circular cleared patches, with flowers planted beneath, which all adds to the lovely detail provided. Holes are laid out really well, seemingly very fair to play and often with safer driving areas to lay up to. It is superbly designed for the harder levels of play especially, but fairways do roll to keep approach shots interesting. Hole previews in the game compare to the very best and enhance the experience, as do the birds calls and occasional rattlesnakes, a small hawk is perched at the first tee, and an owl at the 3rd green. Water features do come into play at times, also great looking, with the 10th tee shot looking exceptional, and bunkers are varied, some with the excellent lighter brown/green edging which is common to the region. The 17th hole has its own unique look, a short par three across a lake and edged with red flowers and wooden boards and a tricky undulating green, it is a wonderful hole. This is an excellent desert course which has a wonderfully involving background panorama that really complements the course beautifully, and it comes with some excellent notes which set the scene perfectly. and include a course map, pictures and a scorecard. This is a design which really captures the feel of the location, and is a complete high quality package.
   
     
Mount Juliet
William Carano & John Aherne
7282 yards. Par 72.
Difficulty Medium/Easy

European Parkland
Real - 69mb
Mar 2007

Overall Rank 44th
Mount Juliet was chosen as the first and only Jack Nicklaus signature course in Ireland, sited 12 miles south of the medieval city of Kilkenny and opened in 1991. It has hosted many major golfing events including the World's Top 50 golfers playing in the World Golf Championship American Express Championship in October 2004 won by Ernie Els. Other events include the Irish Opens of 1993-95 along with the Shell World of Golf match between Tom Watson and Fred Couples in 1998. The par 72, 7300 yard layout boasts rolling fairways, many feature water hazards and contoured greens, enclosed in the spectacular setting of the famous old Irish Estate. Feature holes abound on the course, but the 3rd hole, a stunning par 3 from an elevated tee to a green guarded by a natural stream and lake is one that golfers always remember. The par 5 10th hole with its copse of trees which tests the golfers strategy is also a favourite. The final hole, a long par 4 with water all down the left and a narrow approach to the green can decided many a tournament result. Originally this was designed for Links in 2002 by William Carano and some five years on received a full upgrade for Links 2003 by the well known designer John Aherne who produced The K Club courses. As an addition to the Irish set of playable designs this is a simple but beautiful course, a European parkland style with an excellent blend of trees that work fantastically together. Nothing seem over elaborate here, but what you get is a smooth, and extremely playable course that lends itself well to difficult conditions or elite play levels. The rough is never deep so recovery is always an option unless you hit into the water hazards. The excellent tournament option includes numerous advertisements championing the WGC-American Express Championship. It is really enjoyable course to play and adds to the impressive list of European tour venues.
   
     
Torrey Pines South
2008 US Open Edition
Chuck Clark
7607 yards. Par 72.
Difficulty Medium/Hard

Coastal
Real - 25mb
Jul 2002

Overall Rank 45th
Chuck Clark has already completed a few designs including the Players 18 before tackling this famous venue at Torrey Pines. Well known to Links players, the South Course is available under a conversion from Microsoft, however this release surpasses it in every respect. This apcd design is quite simply outstanding with grass textures that are beautifully chosen and still work nicely in Links 2003, bunkers that are wonderfully smooth and nicely edged, and the greens are gently rolling to provide the slopes. The tree planting is awesome, containing loads of custom pines which blend really well to form a superb thin canopy around the fairways, and matching the look of the real course extremely well. There is some sparse grass planting here and there in the rough areas, but believe me this is not a course that needs deep undergrowth. The fairways are quite tight and challenging for elite level play, but not overdone and the rough is set as normal to always give you a change of running shots up to the greens. It plays quite tough, but superbly well, the bunkers often pinch the entry into the greens. Visually the course is excellent, the wild areas together with the beach and cliffside providing an amazing backdrop to the course. There are some nice objects to look out for too, occasional benches, hole signs, rabbits and 3 paragliders to see. The is a majors venue, and expected to become host to the 2008 US Open. This design appears accurate to tv coverage, well presented, plays really well, and the tournament option and hole previews are both excellent.
   
     
Congressional Country Club
2011 US Open
Andrew Jones
7651 yards. Par 71.
Difficulty Medium/Hard

Woodland
Real - 124mb
Jun 2011

Overall Rank 46th
Congressional is a prestigious country club located in Bethesda, Maryland and was opened in 1924. It hosts its third US Open Championship in 2011 and is an annual stop on the PGA Tour. In 1997 the US Open here saw a classic head to head battle between Ernie Els and Colin Montgomorie which was won by Els, and featured a par 3 18th finishing hole for the first time for the event. For 2001 the course has now been redesigned with the 10th now a par 3 over the lake and the 18th a long par 4 at over 500 yards with water wrapping around the left and back of the green, making for an exciting and tough finish. A surprise for Links golfers was the course was secretly being designed for the game by Andrew Jones ready for the major event and the results are excellent albeit not quite the finished article. The lay out maps the current course, the textures are superb and the planting is full with close treelines fairways and even with grassy areas included and a fantastic clubhouse. There are some unfinished aspects though such a seam glitch here and there and quite a number of floating trees which i am sure will be fixed soon after the real event is over. This is still a great design and a really lovely course visually but tough one too, and the rough has some deeper properties than usually seen. Once the floating trees get sorted out then this has potential to break into the top reaches of the chart. However it is a massive improvement over the old converted 99 version from Microsoft and will become a firm favourite i am sure.
   
     
Riviera Country Club
Chuck Clark & Pat Auge
7188 yards. Par 71.
Difficulty Medium

Woodland
Real - 54mb
Jan 2006

Overall Rank 47th
The Riviera Country Club is the very famous course in Pacific Pallisades, California (near Los Angeles). It was orginally designed by George C. Thomas Jr and Billy Bell in the early 1900's on a steep sided canyon with a flat bottom and may be one of the greatest jobs by a golf course architect ever performed. Riviera is a woodland course that has many difficult drives and some well placed tree hazards, and there isn't a weak hole here, with a number of exciting and fascinating strategic challenges. Many people for instance believe that the 10th hole is one of the best par 4 holes in all of golf. Your game needs to good right from the start here, with out of bounds tennis courts down the left at the first, and a wire fence bordering the 2nd again out of bounds down the left, and a green that is hard to reach in 2 especially when windy. The 5th needs an accurate drive to the right of the fairway to avoid a well placed tree protecting the entry to the green. The 6th par 3 is noted for a bunker in the middle of the green, and the 8th has a tall tree to drive over, to find a safe place on the fairway to ease your approach to the green. The back 9 features the drivable par 4 at the 10th assisted by a light wind, before a number of tight tree lined drives and a dogleg at the 15th begin to make life difficult again on the home straight. The course is an annual stop on the PGA Tour at the Nissan Open and has also hosted a number of major events, including the USPGA in 1995 and the 1998 US Senior Open. It became a well known association with Ben Hogan and was nicknamed 'Hogans Alley'. Chuck Clark has done another fantastic job restoring this old Microsoft course to new heights, and giving it a complete make-over. Everything is smooth and well presented, the trees look to fit the real life location well, and the objects such as tennis courts, wire fences and small buildings are expertly created. Pat Auge has re-created much of the 3d work including the amazing clubhouse, one of the most famous in golf, and it stands proudly over a fine design. For challenge and enjoyment there are few big name courses that can match this one and the start up screens and hole previews are spot on for emphasising the history of this venue.
   
     
TPC @ Scottsdale
Jess Gagnon, Eric Dorsey & Ross Mackenzie
7089 yards. Par 71.
Difficulty Medium

Desert
Real - 41mb
Mar 2005

Overall Rank 48th
This is a very famous PGA Tour venue known as the Stadium Course and is the home of the annual Phoenix Open. The course was the debut design from Jess Gagnon and was the first that was originally created using the MAC version of the apcd. As a first release this was an amazingly good recreation of a superb looking course in real life. The visual appearance is nicely captured, a mix of rolling soft green fairways bordered by desert sand areas, deep bunkers, and lighter wild bermuda grass areas, with lakes coming into play, mainly down the back nine. The hole design lay outs match very accurately to my comparisons with the real thing, and this is a real credit to the designer and elevates this into a must have status. Houses border the edges of the course early on, the planting seems accurate and well chosen given the palette limitations, and all the edging to fairways and lakes seems nicely smooth. The course is a great one to play, especially given its tour status and has beautiful contrasts in colours. The back nine especially offers up some great golfing, with the closing holes among the best around any real course. Hole previews are really good but could have benefitted from some extra distance markers being added at 250-275 yards from the tee. The tournament option is also comprehensive with some excellent amphitheatres created using tents and grandstands. In 2005 Eric Dorsey and Ross Mackenzie updated the design to include latest textures and blending, some tweaks to increase accuracy, and general polishing of this design to match the higher standards we now see. The new textures especially lift this near the top bracket of designs, becoming smooth and lush as you see it on television coverage, albeit wihtout the proper panorama for the venue. It is a great addition to the PGA tour collection.
   
     
Doral, Blue Monster
John Andersen
7125 yards. Par 72.
Difficulty Medium

Tropical
Real - 38mb
Mar 2003

Overall Rank 49th
John Andersen, continues his set of superb real course Florida designs with the Doral Blue Monster course, now updated for Links 2003. A wonderful style is apparent, with a natural tropical style setting complete with palm trees and edged by a large complex of lakes. It offers a rich green view off the tee and is nicely laid out, with tee areas containing excellent signs showing the hole lay outs, and planted with red and pink flowers. White sand bunkers litter this course, all offering different shapes and are of an excellent standard now. The lakes really set the scenes, and deep rough borders the fairways, offering tough shots if you stray, but planting is not dense, consisting mainly of palm trees and reflecting the real course design as you do look over large expanses of the rough to the waters. The course excells at feeling alive. Herons and water birds are located in streams and at the lake edges (2001 version only), and the clubhouse looks amazing as you reach the back nine of the course. The first tee is well worth looking around to see a fountain, and a putting green, and the 10th holds sound effects from the driving range and a tannoy announcement of the tee off pairings. A giant leaderboard can be seen from a peninsula jutting into a large lake. All these are excellent features. Playing the course is not too tricky, as fairways and greens roll gently and if you avoid the water you should score quite well. Par 5's are mostly reachable in two shots, but you have to take on some water, and the 18th, a par 4 is a great hole. There is variation in play around the course, i liked the huge fairway bunker at the 11th, and the par 3's are generally quite long and need woods to hit the greens. The 2003 update has worked wonders with lovely blending although there is little underplanting on this course and still a lot of duplication in the trees. Playwise the lay out and real PGA venue makes this course is one of the better available to play.
   
     
Creek at Dubai
Lloyd Henchey
7534 yards. Par 72.
Difficulty Medium

Tropical
Real - 54mb
Feb 2007

Overall Rank 50th
Lloyd Henchey is not a newcomer to the apcd, his early release in 2002 of Le Versant showed a promising talent which has taken its time to develop itself into another final release. The Creek at Dubai is a tropical venue in the style of Doral, Blue Monster where lush green fairways are surrounded by water hazards and bordered with beautiful palm trees. This is a real course, but with limited available information, so this version may not be an exact replica, but being as close approximation as could be done and certainly feeling like the real venue, it was good enough for me to label it a real design. The quality is high, the designer has done really well with a limited available tree palette to avoid obvious duplications and the look of the course is very neat indeed. The panorama really stands out here, complete with the tallest clubhouse in golf, and the cityscape is a very prominent feature overlooking this course. You can really imagine returning to your yacht after the round is over. All the features are expertly built, from the cart paths and bridges to the beautiful lakeside edging in wood and stones. Splashes of colour appear here and there, and the blending is neatly presented. The strategy is both interesting and challenging, as water plays a prominent part. The views over the harbour are great too with a lighter than usual water texture. Given that there are very few good tropical designs around, this helps elevate the design into a course that is a must have to own, and will certainly feature on many tour lists at certain key times of the season. The tournament option is pretty much the default one here, as like Augusta the stands are re-built, but given its location it looks much better with everything turned on anyway.
   
 
     
Augusta Par 3
 
Lee Harris & Eddie Schmidt
2070 yards. Par 54.
Difficulty Easy

Pine Forest
Real - 54mb
Apr 2006

Overall Par 3 Rank 1st
This beautiful design was a joint effort initially laid out and elevated by Lee Harris, famous for his apcd tutorials and Bomber's Tour. Eddie Schmidt, the creator of Spyglass Hill then undertook the second stage of bringing the course to life by improving the accuracy and via planting and custom object creation. Comparing this design to photos of the real course, it is quite probably the closest real course replication that has been created with the apcd. The lay outs, grass textures, colours, buildings and planting all looks just like you would expect it to from the pictures. Additionally there are so many extra features, often hidden away within this design gem. Scoreboards, one at the 9th showing the 2002 leaders, signposts, benches, an excellent crowd option for the tourneys, and many other custom built items too, including a boathouse cabin and pier at the 8th and the wonderful steps leading away from the final hole, together with drainage ducts in one of the lakes. The course looks amazing, with Eddie Schmidt becoming possibly the best apcd planter we have for this style of course. The trees, custom made flowers and bushes have been crafted with care and precision to make this so enjoyable. In terms of playability, it is very hard if not a little unfair to compare this course to an 18 hole one, as it offers a very different experience, so i have ranking it on its own. This is a 9 hole par 3 course which tests your short iron and wedge shot capabilities, with greens that are extremely well designed and do make life tricky at times. To get the best out of the course it is recommended that you play it on a harder level than you are used to, turning off all the usual aids you may normally use. This is an outstanding design and provides some of the best fun you’ll ever have with the game. The 2006 update added new textures and more custom plants which are just fantastic visually! I cant compare this to a full 18 hole design so it gets its own number one rank, it is that good and may be the most fun you will have with this game!
Hole Previews : Excellent Tournament Option : Excellent
     

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