Driving the Green

Huntingdale Project.

2010-06-21T22:57:00.001+12:00

Well gents the Huntingdale project is in full production now thanks to the Master of 3D Pat Auge. You may see his masterpeice in the background of the pics. Here is a few Pictures of the course in its current state of planting! Please disregard the rough textures as its only a place holder at this stage!

An update and a rant

2010-06-10T10:32:00.001+12:00

Jason has the Huntingdale file back from his builder. I’m sure he’ll be along to give a more detailed rundown on what has been going on.

Pat Auge my co-designer on the Kauri Cliffs project currently has the master file and has been constructing the miles of farm fences on the course. When finished they’re going to add a lot to the visual appeal of the course. I’m not sure when the course will be finished as I’m starting a high level IT course in 6 weeks which covers network infrastructure and the innards of Windows Server 2008.

My rant is about people in the Links community who aren’t IT experts and do not have any IT qualifications of any kind giving half assed advice and opinions on very technical matters. To these people I say just because you have issues with your own PC’s with Links 2003 don’t just assume it’s always Microsoft’s or [insert driver manufacturers name here] fault. In some cases it just may be that you don’t have the technical expertise to correctly setup your PC and then do complex problem solving diagnosis in IT of issues that may have been self inflicted.

All good diagnosis is based on an objective assessment of what does or doesn’t work on a given system. It isn’t based on what operating system or which video card manufacturer you hate the most. Inflicting ones prejudices on others as a way of posing as an IT expert isn’t going to solve any computer problems.

Indeed the same symptoms on multiple computers can have different causes on each. This is common with both desktop PC’s and huge networks in the corporate world.

Anyone who wants to debate my rant well you better come armed with facts, otherwise make my day……

A Kauri Cliffs image

2010-04-28T21:10:00.001+12:00

Here’s an image from the Kauri Cliffs project, It’s of the 11th hole with the recently planted marshlands and the forest on the top of the hill on the right.

Lost family member

2010-03-16T23:11:00.001+13:00

Hi all, well its been a rough 12 months for my wife and family. On the 24th February 2010 my wife’s Sister Judy passed away of cervix cancer at age 38. Just over over a year ago on the 24th December 2008 she lost her mum to an unknown disease.

I just thought to share with you the reasons why there have not been a lot of updates.

Hopefully I will get things back on track over the next few days and try to continue posting more.

What’s been happening around the green!

2010-02-02T23:14:00.001+13:00

Hi All,

There will be new member to our team shortly. We will announce his name once we have him in the blog. Keep an eye out for his posts.

Lindsay is very busy with his IT course and can only post on the rare occasion.

I have been very busy as well with a family Medical drama so I have not had time to post anything. I will do a complete update over the weekend with new pics and some preview info.

Until then happy golfing!

Waterstone!

2009-12-23T22:26:00.001+13:00

OK Gents Here it is Waterstone has Been released at APCD-Courses and of cause links corner! So if you have been following the blog what are you waiting for go get it!

A New upgrade on old Favorite Course!

2009-11-19T20:50:00.001+13:00

Well as I have mention before I have handed over Huntingdale to My Master 3D builder to build the club house. So while he is busy doing his thing with that and other projects he has on the go I thought I would do an HD upgrade of my old Favorite course TAD River West (The Lakes Course) designed by Scott Gavenlock.

So with his permission I have started to get this course playable in the Mod 1.07 Version of links and of cause that means HD textures can be used. At this stage the course is about 95% complete with only minor planting adjustments to do and Beta testing.

The course routing has not changed other than some new greens and minor hole length changes being done to make the course play harder and for possible use on online tours.

Here is a sample of what's being done so far :-

This is the old 3rd Green.

This is the new 3rd Green pushed back over the water

This is the old 4th par 3

New 4th green with a bulk head in front

Stay tuned for more updates soon!

Exam passed

2009-11-09T14:33:00.001+13:00

I managed to pass the Comptia A+ Technicians exam today despite some idiotic Comptia server technician turning off the server that handles the actual exam about half an hour before I was due to start to do some maintenance.

After waiting two and a half hours I sat the exam and scored 867 out of 900 which makes a fully qualified computer technician.

YAY!!

Exam time again

2009-11-07T21:28:00.001+13:00

Have another IT exam on Monday the 9th of November at 9.00am so I haven’t done much else but study for the last few days.

The actual exam involves answering 90 multiple choice questions in 90 minutes. If I pass this exam I will have passed both the Comptia A+ exams and will have my first IT qualification.

Huntingdale on the move!

2009-10-30T22:56:00.001+13:00

Well Huntingdale has moved onto the next phase and is now in the hands of the 3D master Pat. He will be working on it in his spare time as he is also working on some other fantastic projects. So why its away I am still working on some other courses with Mackay in Beta testing as we speak and Cala being worked on in time when I take breaks from my own Designs.

End of the road for the Blackwolf Run project

2009-10-26T22:20:00.001+13:00

As was posted here yesterday the master file with the clubhouse on it is hopelessly corrupt. There is a backup master minus the clubhouse but I've decided that I'm abandoning the project.

As many know already I'm doing a complex IT training course and will be doing two others when the current one finishes in April 2009. I then will be doing a short 3 month Cisco CCNA course then a 9 month high level course which will lead to me doing the very demanding Microsoft exams. I won't be finished the last course till May 2011.

IT is a huge part of my life now and no APCD course will be given priority over this.

In short I don't have any hope of ever finishing the Blackwolf Run project.

I have my hands full just finishing Kauri Cliffs which isn't an easy course to work on.

A major setback for the Blackwolf Run project

2009-10-25T11:18:00.001+13:00

Unfortunately because the master file has become corrupted the project has is going to have a big delay. Pat had the clubhouse well under way but the file will now longer load in APCD in either his nor my computers.

This means that the last working master file is almost back to what it was in May this year when it had no clubhouse on the plot.

There will be an update when we decide what to do next.

I’m still alive and kicking

2009-10-11T11:01:00.001+13:00

Past the first exam on the fulltime IT course I’m doing currently last Friday and thankfully don’t have to do any serious study for 3 weeks when I have to start preparing for the second exam which is on 9th November. This one is a very technical exam so will be a good challenge.

An update on the two golf course projects. First Pat Auge is making very good progress on the very beautiful Blackwolf Run clubhouse. I know Pat loves the building!

I’ve been working on the Kauri Cliffs project again and am preparing the terrain for the laying of the final high resolution textures.

Huntingdale Progress Report

2009-09-14T00:35:00.001+12:00

Ok guys its been awhile from my last post as I have been real busy with RL stuff like work and family commitments. Anyway at this stage Huntingdale is on hold at the present time until the building construction company gets started on the beautiful club house that Huntingdale has.

The Construction of the clubhouse as no time frame attached and I think that having all the time in the world to build it will create more anticipation on the final product so as promised to the person behind it there is no time constraints on this project.

So what have I been up to while waiting you ask? I am currently working on two projects at the same time 1 being a finish job for a fellow designer called Dietmar Kirschner and his course that I am finishing is called Cala Mesquida.

I am also working on my new home course here in Mackay called Mackay Golf Club and its well and truly on the move with 17 holes completed and plantings are at 60%.

I will post some pics of it at the end of this week!

Virtualization and Links 2003

2009-08-19T22:04:00.001+12:00

I’ve had a play around running virtualization (running one operating system within another) trying out various virtualization software packages with Links 2003 and APCD.

Virtual XP inside Windows 7: This is a virtual machine (VM) mode from Microsoft and is free. It is designed for use with older applications that require XP to run properly. This doesn’t work with Links 2003 or APCD as the VM doesn’t support 3D video drivers.

VMWare (with an XP VM): I used the Workstation edition which is a reasonably complex application. Links 2003 and APCD do not work here either.

VirtualBox: This is Sun Microsystems offering. It is free and is an excellent and fairly straightforward application that is easy to configure. It does have some 3D support included.
I actually got APCD to work properly with VirtualBox (an XP VM) and it is very usable. With Links 2003 I actually got the game to load and was able to load a course but the game was unplayable with much of the screen being blank.

VHD Technology: VHD stands for Virtual Hard Drive and is brand new technology from MS that is included in it’s two new versions of Windows (7 and Server 2008 R2). From an IT geeks perspective like myself this is fascinating technology where the only virtualized drivers is for the hard drive. Here the virtualized OS is installed as a dual-boot without the problems a normal dual-boot causes which is do all sorts of funny things to the boot sector of the hard drive.

Links 2003 would almost certainly work in this environment but currently it isn’t fully functional with older versions of Windows like XP.

Re Windows 7 and my new Sapphire 4870 with Links. It works perfectly with no issues whatsoever as long as the Aero GUI is disabled when the game is running. If anyone wants to play Links on a Windows 7 machine, stay away from Nvidia cards and drivers. The game currently has serious issues in Windows 7 with anything based on Nvidia graphics hardware.

Huntingdale: Next stage Now Begins!

2009-08-12T21:29:00.001+12:00

Well Most of the pre planning work has now been complete except for the 18th green. All the preliminary work on the terrain is done now I just have to fine tune it.

The next stage is to fine tune the terrain and start building the clubhouse before any seam blends are done. The only seam blending that has been done at this stage is the road way and paths which still need to be replaced and the right textures added.

Anyway here is a dozen or so new pics to keep the tease going!! ENJOY.

View Full Album

Logging on at BWR

2009-08-09T21:58:00.001+12:00

Pat is working his butt off constructing the clubhouse for Blackwolf Run. This large building with all the exterior walls made of logs is very a distinctive feature of the two course at Blackwolf Run.

As soon as Pat gives permission there will be some exclusive screenshots of it here at this blog.

The Blackwolf Run clubhouse

2009-08-07T19:01:00.001+12:00

Pat Auge will be have the BWR master file in the next day or so to begin building the 3D structures on the course. The 3D on this course isn’t as much as Kauri Cliffs but does include a very large clubhouse made of Canadian Pine so it will be a complex build.

New bits and pieces and Windows 7

2009-08-01T14:04:00.001+12:00

Currently in the process of upgrading my home PC with some new parts on the way. First part is a new video card, my current dinosaur is a 8000 series Nvidia which totally sucks.

Here is a photo of my new graphics card which I ordered yesterday:

It is a HIS HD 4870 IceQ 4+ with 1GB GDDR5 ram. The GPU on this card is one of AMD’s high end graphics processors for desktop systems with a mind boggling 956 million transistors in the chip.

The other hardware is 2 x Western Digital 640GB 7200rpm hard drives which will be used in RAID 0 setup.

I will have the new parts installed this coming week prior to installing the final release version of Windows 7 which I get free through the IT course I’m doing.

I’ll post how the new system is going and some information on how it all works with Windows 7, Links 2003, and APCD.

New Pics from Huntingdale

2009-07-23T17:37:00.001+12:00

Well here is a new series of pictures from Huntingdale.

I am currently working on the first 11 holes as they lay on 1 half of the plot and holes 12 to 18 are on the other side. At the present time i am doing the basic elevations and bunker work no seam blending as yet as that will be done after the clubhouse as been constructed. The elevations may not be as they are in real life due to the lack of information available however I am doing it based on Google earth and the 250+ photos available at this website HUNTINGDALE.

So here is the pictures and each one has the relevant information on them..

Good Luck to Lindsay!

2009-07-18T22:24:00.001+12:00

Hey Lindsay from myself and your friends here, APCD Courses and LC wish you the best in your new endeavors of real life training and education and hope you are successful in your chosen career path.

A quick note on what’s up IRL

2009-07-15T14:39:00.001+12:00

I will probably only be working on the BWR plot at weekends in the meantime so updates may a bit spasmodic for a spell. The reason is that till the middle of April 2010 I’m doing a full time IT course. At the end of the course I will be a fully qualified network systems engineer.

I”m sure young Jason will have plenty of swanky looking new images to keep everyone happy if I cannot post as often as I have been.

I will try to post updates on BWR once a week though.

Three aerials of BWR

2009-07-12T11:52:00.001+12:00

Here’s three wide angle images of the course with the wireframe view turned on.

The 15th is in the foreground, the 16th on the left and and 14th next to the lake on the right.

The holes from left to right are the 16, 15, 14, and 1-3 in the far right top of the image. The framework of the clubhouse is schematic only and will not be used in the final version of the clubhouse. The green directly in front of the clubhouse is the practice green.

Holes 9 –11 going anti-clockwise with the 9th middle left and the 10th partially obscured by the tree’s in the foreground.

BWR - Dune hills and tee boxes

2009-07-12T10:50:00.001+12:00

The image below is of 16th hole boxes and newly contoured dunes like hillocks and mounds on the left. The 16th hole is now at a very advanced stage with only the fairway and green needing fine tuning of the elevations.

The dry grass areas will have longer grass planted on them eventually.

This image is the view from the waste/dunes area adjacent to the 9 – 11th holes. The hole on the left is the 9th. The waste area has new test texture on it.

Finally a view of the 14th hole tee boxes.

More BWR

2009-07-11T10:10:00.001+12:00

Here’s some images of holes that haven’t been seen close up before.

First the par 4 2nd hole:

The par 3 4th:

The par 3 17th:

The view from the 14th fairway with the 4th green on the other side of the lake:

None of these greens have had the final contouring and shaping yet.

The 15th at BWR

2009-07-10T22:34:00.001+12:00

Here is an image of the dangerous 15th. A par 4 with very deep and dangerous bunkers and a narrow landing area. The long 16th winds it’s way off in the distance to the left.

The hole is still very much a work – in – progress.

Aerials of the real Blackwolf Run

2009-07-08T16:28:00.001+12:00

Here are four aerial images of the real BWR. The images were taken using Bing Maps (previously known as Virtual Earth).

In this image shows the 1st (on the left) and 2nd holes. The first is a very testing hole for an opening hole.

The next image shows the 5th hole on the right, the 8th at the top (with the split fairway near the green), and the par 3 13th in the middle.

The 6th and 7th holes are shown in this image. This is the highest point on the course with the hole in the foreground the 6th high above the Sheboygan River.

The final image shows the par 5 16th on the right and the 18th on the left.
Note the highly unusual waste area to the left of the home hole. The hole on the left of the river is one of the holes from The Valley Course.

More BWR images

2009-07-07T22:46:00.001+12:00

Here’s the latest images of the course. It has nearly all the old low-res textures removed now.

The first image is taken from near the 14th fairway which can be seen left just beyond the cart path. The par 3 4th hole is on the other side of the pond. Beyond that the unfinished practice range.

The next image is of the par 4 9th. This hole has had some changes to the green (both the actual shape and the contouring) and the fairway has been slightly altered.

The final image is of the par 3 10th and shows the long greenside bunker. In the distance the dry grass area will eventually be covered partially in longish grass to simulate links style dunes.

The course is currently fully playable. The greens and fairways haven’t had the final contouring as yet.

The Kauri Cliffs clubhouse

2009-07-06T20:13:00.001+12:00

Pat Auge has been working on the clubhouse on and off for quite a while. Here is the first publicly released image of it.

For further details on the Kauri Cliffs project there is a separate blog which charts the progress of the course. It can be viewed here.

The image is a straight screenshot , the only editing it has had is some cropping. It has not been edited in Photoshop

The latest BWR images

2009-07-05T21:53:00.001+12:00

As promised here are some screenshots of Blackwolf Run. The first is of the 6th hole:

This one is taken from the 7th green.

The benefits of the smoothing the terrain is starting to pay dividends.

The green texture on each hole is a temporary low resolution one.

Shaping, bulldozing and digging at BWR

2009-07-04T14:00:00.001+12:00

I’m working on the Blackwolf Run file currently doing a lot of minor tidying up of the mesh, laying down the two lane road that winds it’s way through the course.

There are miles of cart paths and roads on this course so it’s very time consuming to get them looking good. They play an important part in the visual appeal of a course and must complement and blend in with the rest of the terrain. I’ve also been working on the practice area of the course.

I should have a couple of new screenshots in the next few days all going well.

Huntingdale Progression Pics

2009-07-03T21:47:00.001+12:00

Ok guys and Gals its time to show some more progression Pics of Huntingdale.

This picture is the 2nd Green it slopes from left to right with 2 bunkers protecting it and as you can see there is a small bunker at the right rear of the green there to catch the way wood approaches. This green when complete will have very subtle slopes around the green on through out the green complex.

The 2nd Picture is taken standing on the 3rd Back tee looking slightly uphill to the well bunkered green, Its one of them holes that’s not overly long but can punish any shot that misses the green left, right or short. Oh yes the green has two tiers on it as well so pin placements will be crucial'.

This is a Picture of the 3rd Green

The next two pictures are the from the par 4 4th hole. The 1st Picture is looking towards the green from were you are 9times out of 10 you will be playing your approach shots from. I won’t go into detailed playing tips as they will be include in the course download.

This is the last of the Pictures in this post and they are from the Par 3 5th hole. This hole plays slightly uphill and has a 3 tier green that will make for some interesting putts depending on pin placements.

In remembrance of courses past

2009-06-29T11:27:00.001+12:00

I’ve been laying out a new course that will be a very long term project. The routing is that of a famous course that sadly no longer exists save for the imposing clubhouse and the lagoon partly shown in the screenshot below.

Three of the finest golf architects of all time had input to the design of the real course. My version isn’t a recreation of that great course but uses the routing and some of the design philosophies that went into this classic links layout.

Once I’ve finished the basic layout of the holes etc the course will be probably laid aside whilst I work on Kauri Cliffs and Blackwolf Run.

The screenshot shows the 3rd green (par 3) right at the bottom of the image whilst the other hole that dominates the picture is a recreation of the par 5 4th which experts still consider one the finest strategic par 5’s ever built.

If anyone wants to guess what the real course name was, a clue. It’s a course that was in the USA and wasn’t in Florida as the screenshot may suggest. As mentioned above it was a 100% links course.

Huntingdale Coming alive!

2009-06-26T00:13:00.001+12:00

Well this is a quick update on the Huntingdale. At the current stage I have drawn in the basic shapes of the tees, greens, fairways & bunkers. I have also started terrain painting these areas.

At this stage I am only doing very basic work on the terrain with bunkers being built with just the bare minimum of detail which of cause will be added later and just the very noticeable area’s of terrain being added as I work my way around each hole.

Huntingdale golf Club

Coore & Crenshaw website

2009-06-25T09:33:00.001+12:00

The famous golf course design partnership have unveiled their revamped website which has tons of information and many excellent images of their work. The site can be seen here, they also have a blog.

A well laid out site that is well worth a look.

Shinnecock Hills

2009-06-24T21:56:00.001+12:00

Here is a monochrome image which has a very slight sepia tint to it. The image is from Dr Robert MIller’s APCD rendition of the course. This seminal example of golf course architecture from the golden age is perfectly suited to black and white.

The hole is the 9th. See the previous post for a stormy color image of the same course.

More digital images and a clubhouse

2009-06-24T20:34:00.001+12:00

These images of mine have been hanging around my hard drive for a long time apart from the Bethpage Black image. The color images are quite different to the monochrome images forgetting the obvious difference.

First an image of the clubhouse at Los Joyas (the course a Mike Jones design). It was built by Pat Auge the leading exponent of building 3D structures using APCD. Sadly Pat’s superb structures don’t get anything like the recognition they so richly deserve. The Kauri Cliffs project will extensively feature his work.

Next a different version of an image I posted on the blog previously. It is of the 15th hole at Pacific Breaks designed by Mike Jones. Like the image above it has a the look of a digital painting.

Finally two images of courses designed by Dr Robert Miller. The first is of a storm approaching Shinnecock HIlls. This image had a lot of manipulation using Adobe Lightroom.

And a monochrome image of Bethpage Black. The hole in the foreground is the 17th.

Heavenly drama above Crystal Pines

2009-06-21T23:50:00.001+12:00

Here is a new image made from an early Mike Jones' fictional course named Crystal Pines.

The intensely dramatic sky dominates the scene.

As always click the thumbnail image for the full size version which is 1400 pixels wide.

Shaping and refining BWR

2009-06-19T18:15:00.001+12:00

I’ve been working on the Blackwolf Run terrain most of the afternoon ( part of this morning to) mostly adding a lot of mesh in specific places to make the course a lot better to look at. The holes that now look a lot better are 9-12 and 16. No elevation changes of note where made during this process.

I also added mesh to the Sheboygan River especially the riverbank. The look of the river is critical to the overall visual appeal of the course.

[UPDATE:] Here’s three in game screenshots that have been cropped in Photoshop but haven’t been sharpened or manipulated in any way.

The first two are of the 12th hole, the last is of the 16th.

A note on the 1024 textures in the screenshots, the fairway is pretty much the final version same for the main rough. The others are works in progress at this stage.

Pilgrim Trails and the olde world look

2009-06-18T18:53:00.001+12:00

Here is the first completed image of Mike Jones’ Pilgrim Trails.

The image began life as a multi-layered PSD file in Adobe Photoshop and many hours later this is the final result. The sepia tint is an important part of the olde world look the image has. A hint of grain it has I have added on purpose.

Click the image to see it in it’s full size in a new window. It isn’t meant to be viewed just as a thumbnail image.

Changes to the blog

2009-06-18T13:39:00.001+12:00

I’ve added some new content including some links to some favourite golf websites and blogs. All cover either golf art and/or course architecture.

I’ve also updated my contact details in both my Blogger profile and added my Facebook page to my contact details on the footer of the blog homepage on the left hand side (just click my name to go there).

All my new posts will be added automatically to Network Blogs on my Facebook page as well.

Coming soon – more digital golf images

2009-06-17T23:39:00.001+12:00

I’m currently working on a new digital image from Mike Jones fictional course Pilgrim Trials. This is a layout inspired by the classic Coore – Crenshaw design called Old Sandwich.

The image is still in the they very early stages so no sneak peeks of it just yet. It is currently a multi layered PSD file. Mike Jones has done more work to another image of Pilgrim Trails that I created earlier today. T

he final result is here at his blog.

I will also be doing a couple of new images of Dr Robert Miller’s 3D visualization of Bethpage Black.

Digital golf images in black & white

2009-06-14T21:33:00.001+12:00

Here are some images from fictional golf courses all designed by Mike Jones. Mike is golf course visualization specialist who works with top golf course designers in the real world. With his kind permission these images of his courses by myself are presented here at Driving the Green.

Click the thumbnail images for the full size versions in a new window in your browser.

Atlantic Point

These images where originally extensively edited in Photoshop when they were in color. The new versions have had even more work on them as have all the images in this post.

Cara Brae

These two images are of a design that was inspired by the courses of Ireland. The first image is of the first hole the other is of the 7th hole. The bottom image with an approaching storm looks much more dramatic in monochrome than it does in color.

Pacific Breaks

This is the most complex image of those shown here which is actually four images composited and then carefully blended together in Photoshop. The golf hole part of the image was extensively manipulated using a Wacom Tablet. Pacific Breaks is of the style of the famous courses from the Monterey Peninsula region of California.

For more about Mike Jones and his 3D golf course visualization work go to his blog.

Blackwolf Run Update

2009-06-14T13:02:00.001+12:00

I’ve been working on the 11th and 12th holes The last couple of days. The 11th a long par 5 the 12th a par 4.

Here is the the mesh view of part of the 11th on the left and the 12 on the right.

On the 12th tee the player must decide to play safe and go right of the pond and be faced with a more difficult approach shot or risk early and go straight of the pond with a forced carry and get a good angle to the green. Missing left is no bargain either as the rough is nasty.

Here is the 11th with interim 1024 textures:

The fairway is partially contoured now and the mounds have been added to the surrounding terrain which now give the hole a links style ambience.

Huntingdale in the Nude

2009-06-13T21:17:00.004+12:00

Well here it is, The start point of Huntingdale golf Club. Although I have not completed Waterstone I thought I would take a small break from it and start the laying out Huntingdale.

So here is a couple of pics of the first stages of the layout plan.

The 11th at Blackwolf Run

2009-06-11T16:22:00.001+12:00

This hole is a par 5 that is right next to the Sheboygan River and is a dogleg right. The landing area for the tee shot if using the driver is a very narrow neck of land between the river and a pond on the left.

Here is an overhead with the mesh view:

Here is a screenshot with hole still being a work in progress:

Please note the textures will get their color changed before the course is finished. It isn’t quite right yet.

BWR with HD textures – a teaser

2009-06-09T09:25:00.001+12:00

Here are a couple of screenshots after some initial testing using hi-res 1024 x 1024 textures on the Blackwolf Run plot.

NOTE: The bunker hasn’t as yet got a high resolution texture.

[UPDATE:] Here is a screenshot of the par 5 16th. The texture color isn’t right yet but it gives an idea of how the hi-res textures handle the humps and bumps that dominate this superb hole.

Click any image for the full size version (approximately 1400 pixels wide).

Finally an update on progress on the course. Currently a lot of work is going into tasks like doing the myriad of cartpath’s adding the many humps and hillocks to the course. The course has a very strong links like feel to it with areas that resemble dune hills like on the classic Irish and Scottish links courses though not as sandy.

Waterstone Planting Tests

2009-06-08T22:10:00.003+12:00

So here is a couple of pics of the current planting scheme I am playing with, Hopefully this will be the planting final.
The course should be ready for a public Beta in the next two weeks so check here regularly and of course check out Linkscorner and APCD-Courses for updates!

BWR – the 5th and 8th

2009-06-04T18:44:00.001+12:00

I’ve been doing the 5th and 8th holes at Blackwolf Run over the last 24 hours. The 5th is a par 4 with the green near the top of a hill on a ledge. A very tactical hole as the driver can be a risky play as you could run out of fairway.

The 8th is a par 5 with the tee boxes well above the fairway landing area. And the other end of the fairway near the green splits into lower and upper levels. The green isn’t huge and is raised up with a large bunker below to catch any inaccurate approach shots.

The hole on the left is the 5th, on the right is the 8th with the split fairway near the green. The hole at the top (middle) of the image is the par 3 13th, The other green and bunker just above and to the left of the 8th green is that of the 12th hole.

This part of the course is still unfinished with a largish pond to be added in the area between the 5th, 8th and 13th holes, and the cartpath needs extending to the left of the 13th. Much work has been put into contouring the surrounds of the various bunkers and immediate cut’s of rough adjacent to these holes to ensure the terrain looks natural.

The 6th & 7th at Blackwolf Run

2009-06-03T18:13:00.001+12:00

I’ve been working on the 6th and 7th today which has been mostly fine tuning the terrain on these two beautiful holes which are high above the Sheboygan River in a gorge setting.

The 6th is on the left with the 7th on the right. The blue mesh is the river.

The 6th green in the foreground with the 7th hole tee boxes at the back.

The 7th green.

Click any image for a hi-res version in a separate window

Blackwolf Run - Contouring the 10th

2009-06-02T13:57:00.001+12:00

Currently working on the 10th hole at BWR. The hole is par 3 with each tee requiring different strategies.

The green has had some changes as have the surrounds of the bunkers and the small slither of fairway. The hillock to the right has to be contoured to look like the terrain found on typical links land.

Blackwolf Run – renovating the 9th

2009-06-01T13:46:00.001+12:00

I’ve started work on the course and have done the mesh on most of the bunkers and all the tee boxes. I am currently working on the 9th hole which is pictured below. The hole is a short par 4 which gives the golfer lots of options off the tee because of the layout of the fairway which has three different landing areas.

The hole has had the green slightly reshaped and bunker surrounds re-contoured. Fine tuning of the fairway elevations hasn’t yet been done. The course as yet only has temporary textures.

[UPDATE:] Here is another image of the same hole snapped from a different angle after a number of subtle changes were made to the contouring.

Click the thumbnail images to see a full size version in a new window.

Waterstone Clubhouse Progress!

2009-05-31T18:59:00.005+12:00

Well Here is some photo's of my first ever attempt to build a 3D clubhouse, There is still plenty to do with additon of AC, Drianage pipes and Gutters and of course the planting of gardens and dining equipment. Drop in and leave some feedback or leave a MSG in the Shout box if you think of things that need to be fixed or added on to it...

The clubhouse at Blackwolf Run

2009-05-31T12:29:00.001+12:00

We need more photos of the clubhouse at BWR. Here is a photo of the building as seen from the 18th hole on the River Course. We need some photos of the building as seen from the other side.

If you can help us please post a comment on this topic or in the shoutbox.

Contributor’s wanted

2009-05-30T23:30:00.001+12:00

We are looking for more people to become contributors at Driving the Green. Ideally you will probably be an APCD course designer or at least be a lover of golf course architecture. If interested email me (Lindsay) at lindsay.addie@gmail.com and present your credentials. You must be able and willing to post on a regular basis. If you’re a designer it could be an additional outlet to promote your work. Designers who work in the commercial sector are welcome to apply.

I look forward to hearing from interested people.

The River Course at Blackwolf Run

2009-05-30T20:16:00.001+12:00

The real Blackwolf Run is in Kohler Wisconsin in the USA. It is an outstanding design by Pete Dye. Here is a photo of the 18th hole:

I had a look at the unfinished Links 2001 version by Jim Colton in APCD. The course has the shapes and the terrain elevations as well.
The elevations only need fine tuning whilst the golf course shapes seem to be very accurate. So what else is needed to bring this course up to date:

1. A quite a bit of mesh work because for starters the mesh in many places is sparse which is no real problem. Also more mesh is needed to insert the texture blends.

2. The course currently has low resolution 256 x 256 textures. An update to hi-res 1024 x 1024 textures is badly needed.

3. The planting needs to be completed as there is no grass on the course at all.

4. The large clubhouse is merely an untextured shell. This is a large structure which in real life is very distinctive with it’s old world look.

It has the potential to be an outstanding course if it’s ever completed.

Here are some images of the course as it now looks:

The first image is of the 9th hole:

The 13th hole.

I would love to do this course myself but I doubt if I’d have the time to complete it.

[UPDATE:] Myself, Jason and another very distinguished personage are going to finish this course.

Waterstone

2009-05-26T00:52:00.001+12:00

Pics Coming soon!