Links 2003 Lagalochan Bay G C

Lagalochan Bay G.C.
by Alan Toft

CLIPNOTES

Concept 7/10
This links course winds its way through constricting deep grass moorland with pine forest forever in the background. Large pot bunkers are perfectly placed throughout and provide a constant dark-lipped menace. The clifftop holes are stunning and the picture-perfect highlight of the course. Away from here, the course loses its way a little, with too many 'seen it before' ideas, and not enough variety in the layout or fine detail.

Appearance 6/10
Generally, a good looking course, although on closer inspection, there are some scale issues with the 3D objects and the bunkers look off-colour, and the path extrusions are occasionally noticeable. The ever-present yellow shrubs have been planted well without too much cloning, although this cannot be said for the long grass, particularly when you see it up close from, say, the greens.

Playability 5/10
Lagalochan makes for something of a frustrating game, due to slow rendering, bad ambient sound and the ease of missing fairways. Certainly the green areas are not accommodating, and you will find your ball ricocheting all over the shop. Even odds says you will reach the 18th green with an big sigh of relief. It's not all bad, but it's hard work to want to come back.

Challenge 8/10
Thankfully, the deep grass rough, which lies awfully close to the fairways, isn't very hard to escape. Tricky, certainly, but decent enough to lay up an easy approach to most holes. The bunkers are not as hard as they should be, either, and you'll find most of your drop shots come with entanglements with the OB areas. The Par 5s are the best holes; each one dares you to hit the green in two, and all four will do their damnedest to make sure you don't.. A fair challenge on the whole; perhaps a little too easy.


CLIPNOTES by Ben Bateson