Video: Florida Palms Blue by pgapro
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IanD
Re: Video: Florida Palms Blue by pgapro
Felt I could write something about this course.. as it is being used in our Week 23 PGA 18 Tournament here..
Having never seen this before, Round 1 was the introduction to a design I initially thought to be in the top 25% of courses. Where it would sit with me, after that, would be something my mind decided after playing a few more rounds, naturally. However, the further into the course, the more I felt I was walking in a minefield. Not that I'm aiming to take anything away from the designers approach, but I'm playing the round far more thoughtfully, than freely. I felt unable to flow around the course in the manner of my natural game. My natural game isn't unusual, but a mix of missed snaps and recovery shots. If my game is off, it's rarely the long game that loses me shots, but my short game. However, this course began to hurt my game in where I felt were my strengths, my long game!
The par 4's in this course are quite long. I have no numbers to offer facts, I am only offering an initial impression not a detailed review. The par 3's impress upon you, their length too. However, I believe only one par 5 may offer respite in terms of rewarding the player. I may be wrong obviously, but it felt as if the designer, wasn't going to give this course up without offering a fight. No mortal shall shall demolish this course...I have an impression of Zeus suddenly being displayed in the sky, larger than life, with a white beard flowing into the many sand bunkers scattered around this course.
Some hole layouts, well, were 'smirkable' if a word easily used..... Around the 275yd aim area, the fairway pinched, or turned a direction. Water would be in play, if not, a bunker loomed ahead of your huge drive. It seemed every hole offered a danger, and never quite allowed me to play the hole without concern. My game alone is enough to worry about lol...
My second round on this course has now confirmed some initial thoughts I had, regarding the design. The design itself is almost faultless, but the course design is where I feel I'd rate it in the lower scale of my top 25% courses. Technically, the course forge has been utilised excellently and you won't suffer many issues, if any. But the course, isn't something I'd happily throw into a solo round to enjoy a game of golf. It doesn't offer enough reward, but it does give a huge challenge.
The conditions also causes some hiccups, for which I'd excuse the course here. Round 2, see's hard fairways and soft greens. Something many courses may not fair well with, Florida doesn't either. The small fringe areas around the greens, which have small fairways circling them, play havoc with missed approaches. The greens are shaped viciously with pin locations, and any attempts at the flag, need pin point accuracy. Miss fractionally, and endure a bounce on the fairway, some 5yds from some pin locations, and find not just numerous sand bunkers, but trees in wait and water monsters lurking in drop zones. As I felt obliged to say, this isn't strictly a designers fault, but where two extreme conditions occur, I feel there should be some saturation. Maybe it is a thought for current designers though...
All in all.. I'm not likely to return to this course outside Tournaments. Perhaps that's a measure I should use, rather than figures if ever attempting a review..
I hope this doesn't put anyone off playing this visually impressive course.
Having never seen this before, Round 1 was the introduction to a design I initially thought to be in the top 25% of courses. Where it would sit with me, after that, would be something my mind decided after playing a few more rounds, naturally. However, the further into the course, the more I felt I was walking in a minefield. Not that I'm aiming to take anything away from the designers approach, but I'm playing the round far more thoughtfully, than freely. I felt unable to flow around the course in the manner of my natural game. My natural game isn't unusual, but a mix of missed snaps and recovery shots. If my game is off, it's rarely the long game that loses me shots, but my short game. However, this course began to hurt my game in where I felt were my strengths, my long game!
The par 4's in this course are quite long. I have no numbers to offer facts, I am only offering an initial impression not a detailed review. The par 3's impress upon you, their length too. However, I believe only one par 5 may offer respite in terms of rewarding the player. I may be wrong obviously, but it felt as if the designer, wasn't going to give this course up without offering a fight. No mortal shall shall demolish this course...I have an impression of Zeus suddenly being displayed in the sky, larger than life, with a white beard flowing into the many sand bunkers scattered around this course.
Some hole layouts, well, were 'smirkable' if a word easily used..... Around the 275yd aim area, the fairway pinched, or turned a direction. Water would be in play, if not, a bunker loomed ahead of your huge drive. It seemed every hole offered a danger, and never quite allowed me to play the hole without concern. My game alone is enough to worry about lol...
My second round on this course has now confirmed some initial thoughts I had, regarding the design. The design itself is almost faultless, but the course design is where I feel I'd rate it in the lower scale of my top 25% courses. Technically, the course forge has been utilised excellently and you won't suffer many issues, if any. But the course, isn't something I'd happily throw into a solo round to enjoy a game of golf. It doesn't offer enough reward, but it does give a huge challenge.
The conditions also causes some hiccups, for which I'd excuse the course here. Round 2, see's hard fairways and soft greens. Something many courses may not fair well with, Florida doesn't either. The small fringe areas around the greens, which have small fairways circling them, play havoc with missed approaches. The greens are shaped viciously with pin locations, and any attempts at the flag, need pin point accuracy. Miss fractionally, and endure a bounce on the fairway, some 5yds from some pin locations, and find not just numerous sand bunkers, but trees in wait and water monsters lurking in drop zones. As I felt obliged to say, this isn't strictly a designers fault, but where two extreme conditions occur, I feel there should be some saturation. Maybe it is a thought for current designers though...
All in all.. I'm not likely to return to this course outside Tournaments. Perhaps that's a measure I should use, rather than figures if ever attempting a review..
I hope this doesn't put anyone off playing this visually impressive course.
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MiMiC
Re: Video: Florida Palms Blue by pgapro
The course is a fairly accurate rendition from what I say when taking pins for the event, of what it seeks to bring to the game, being based on the Trump Doral Blue Monster course, which was a regular on the US Tour but has only just come back into commission last year after the current president-elect bought it and undertook a major redesign of some of the more famous routings and holes.
It does play tough in terms of length, just as it has in previous versions we have played in other games. Whether the length is to protect it now against the real-life PGA Tour's longest hitters is a possibility, which is going to make it a tough one for Pros and above with the length it plays. That is a consideration I should and do make in set-ups, and the final two rounds move forwards to give a slightly less extreme experience in terms of length around the course.
For me, in all titles I have played. the course is one where I plan my way around and try not to get frustrated by the impossibility of some of the carries required to score very low. Instead, if played with a strategy, it becomes one which presents opportunity if you are getting close and putting well.
I imagine it'll be scary for my mis-firing Tour Pro swing, so I'll reserve judgement until I've played some rounds.
It does play tough in terms of length, just as it has in previous versions we have played in other games. Whether the length is to protect it now against the real-life PGA Tour's longest hitters is a possibility, which is going to make it a tough one for Pros and above with the length it plays. That is a consideration I should and do make in set-ups, and the final two rounds move forwards to give a slightly less extreme experience in terms of length around the course.
For me, in all titles I have played. the course is one where I plan my way around and try not to get frustrated by the impossibility of some of the carries required to score very low. Instead, if played with a strategy, it becomes one which presents opportunity if you are getting close and putting well.
I imagine it'll be scary for my mis-firing Tour Pro swing, so I'll reserve judgement until I've played some rounds.
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IanD
Re: Video: Florida Palms Blue by pgapro
Ho hum... t'isn't to everyone's taste then... ;)
Had a nightmare 3rd RD today.... and walked off the course unfortunately. Shan't return to that course for some time methinks.
The pin positions for that round were cruel. Three times, I 3 putt'ed. I also had a 3+ putt, but I'd begun to spiral into just getting it into the hole lol. The three putts hurt... especially when you lip and are thrown a little further than expected, and have a nasty 7ft return which is missed. On some returns, the break never happened... it was too tough for me to fathom.
I also had the mispleasure of water... when splashing out of sand, to land near the pin, but the run of the ball took it off the green and it found the Hazard markers. Not quite water...but enough hazard to cost me another shot. And this was soft greens...?
The palm trees are not quite specific enough to master shots through... a design flaw (game not designer). I had a shot stop dead, when a good 5ft to the right of the actual trunk. If I'm to bear the penalty for that, then I may as well be playing fairway golf...
I also note the end of the mesh around the holes, are not quite smoothed... they appear very 45 degree sharp and I found a few shots taking a strange angled bounce and causing further issues. It could be argued I was in no mans land with a ball landing there anyway, but not when water snakes along holes...
Whether it's true to the real thing is likely moot.... the course forge doesn't technically have the capability to master all elements a course requires.
Had a nightmare 3rd RD today.... and walked off the course unfortunately. Shan't return to that course for some time methinks.
The pin positions for that round were cruel. Three times, I 3 putt'ed. I also had a 3+ putt, but I'd begun to spiral into just getting it into the hole lol. The three putts hurt... especially when you lip and are thrown a little further than expected, and have a nasty 7ft return which is missed. On some returns, the break never happened... it was too tough for me to fathom.
I also had the mispleasure of water... when splashing out of sand, to land near the pin, but the run of the ball took it off the green and it found the Hazard markers. Not quite water...but enough hazard to cost me another shot. And this was soft greens...?
The palm trees are not quite specific enough to master shots through... a design flaw (game not designer). I had a shot stop dead, when a good 5ft to the right of the actual trunk. If I'm to bear the penalty for that, then I may as well be playing fairway golf...
I also note the end of the mesh around the holes, are not quite smoothed... they appear very 45 degree sharp and I found a few shots taking a strange angled bounce and causing further issues. It could be argued I was in no mans land with a ball landing there anyway, but not when water snakes along holes...
Whether it's true to the real thing is likely moot.... the course forge doesn't technically have the capability to master all elements a course requires.