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| Tiger Woods Golf Forum - Loch Lomond - Designer Notes - Page 1 |
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Homeboy |
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United States of America |
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| Joined: 1/20/2006 |
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B-Day: 10/3/1968 (56) |
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Posts: 256 |
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| Posted: Tuesday, May 5, 2009 at
10:24:45 AM |
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I thought it might be helpful to share some thoughts on the design process of Loch Lomond for newer designers .....
1. The DEM was 90M data that I got from this site: ftp://e0srp01u.ecs.nasa.gov/srtm/version1/Eurasia/
I laid out the rough hole layouts from Google Earth imagery (not the best) and then used the Ghost It program to trace the high-quality hole overheads (with yardages) from the European Tour website to get accurate hole layouts. A lot of work, but well worth the time and effort.
2. As I often do, I took some license on the placement of a few bunkers to make sure they come into play considering most people drive 280-310 yds in the game (I don't worry about the power shot crowd though). Similarly, a few trees were brought a little more into play, like on holes 6 and 7.
3. I actually did the greens twice on this course. After the first round of beta testing, the feedback was that the greens were a bit on the easy side. I then tweaked the greens and took some liberties with green undulations. The general contouring of the greens is true to the course, but I've added some additional breaks so it's not a complete birdie-fest out there.
4. I had a tough time with the reflectiveness of several of the burns/streams that appear on the course. I spent several hours varying the shapes, dropping to different levels, etc. and ultimately converted a few of them to dry creek beds. I think that looks better than the lifeless, nonreflective water. And thanks to Axe for being fanatical about the water during testing. LOL
5. I like the variety of bunkers on the course ... some serpentine-shaped and some pot-bunker style. The pics I found on the web show that the grass tends to flow into the low side of most bunkers and then there is a lip on the high side of the bunker. The problem is that you cannot replicate this look with the CA. Ultimately, I opted to use my typical 3 inch lips on all of the bunkers.
6. The design feature I saved for last was dropping the lake. I didn't want to use a lifeless ocean texture, so it required some trial and error to make sure that the lake wasn't too large of a shape to affect load times between holes. On my first try, the load time between holes was 19-21 seconds, which was far too long. So I modified the shape of the lake to make it significantly smaller and I now get about 9-10 seconds between holes, which is a tad longer than I would ideally like, but is acceptable.
In order to achieve the look of a lake that blends into the pano in the distance, I lowered the terrain beyond the lake about 15-20 feet, then dropped the lake with the two-shape method, and then set the course perimeter just outside the lake shape. This creates sort of an "infinity pool" effect, so you can't see the green rough texture beyond the lake on holes 5, 6 and 7.
7. I was thrilled to find on the European Tour website some info on recent changes to the course that I was able to incorporate:
- 17th hole extended by 10 yards
- large area of rhododendrons has been cleared to the right of the 16th fairway and a pond has been created
- new run-off to the left of the 4th green
- bunker behind the 13th green changed to a grassy hollow
- trees around the 4th green/5th tee have been thinned out
8. This was a fun course to design, with a nice variety of types of holes ... some parkland-style with trees that come into strategic play, some links-style holes, some holes where water comes into play, and my favorite are the holes with the marshland feel, like 14 and 17.
9. And, of course, the pano and the structures really make the course come to life. So thanks again JB and Jimi.
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Munroco |
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Scotland |
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| Joined: 10/8/2008 |
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| Posted: Tuesday, May 5, 2009 at
10:58:08 AM |
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| edited by: Munroco on
Tuesday, May 5, 2009 at
10:58:00 AM
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Very interesting and instructive, thanks for sharing.
Neil |
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Munroco Signature |
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| From Carnoustie, the REAL home of golf. |
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Squirrely |
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General Member |
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United States of America |
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| Joined: 3/21/2009 |
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B-Day: 11/30/1969 (54) |
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Posts: 333 |
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| Posted: Tuesday, May 5, 2009 at
8:20:41 PM |
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Nice insight indeed
Thanks
I bet making a real course is real hard with having to follow all them guidelines, and this is why I will most likely not even try a real courses until I have much experience under my belt. Plus, it must take some time finding out where to look for the info needed for a real course too..
I guess it would be smart for me to start a bookmark folder with all kind of good course design sites or golf course pictures......
Squirrely |
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