Call for Play Testers - Sleeping Bear Downs

[JReel]

The only thing I noticed is, behind the green on Hole 8, it indicates that you are playing off a teeing area. Not sure if this is intended or accidental. Just thought I'd mention it.

I particularly love the challenge of the green on Hole 9. Now that's what I call fun!

Thanks Brad. Yeah, I often use the tee texture on the run-off areas around green complexes because there's a bit more run out with that texture as opposed to the fairway texture which is a bit more "sticky." Usually the ball will run out through the tee texture onto fairway texture, but every once in a while the ball will stay on the tee texture run off. But, I've seen no real impact in playing from that tee texture around some of the greens.

Yeah, I think the second shot into the 9th green is my favorite shot to play. Fun to see how the ball runs out on that green!

Thanks again you guys for playtesting, really appreciate it!

[BradTheDad]

Hi Jeff,

I have finally gotten around to playing Pins 4 and 5. I found all the pins quite playable but, if I may make a suggestion, Pin 4 on Hole 12 is very close to the edge of a very severe slope. Personally, I think you could move the pin slightly closer to the sea side of the green and maybe slightly closer to the back of the green, just to get it away from that steep slope.

Overall, I love the course. i love the aesthetics of the holes (I think one of your skies looks slightly familiar (ie. the Sapphire sky I created for Sapphire Lakes), so thanks for that.). I also love the challenge posed by each and every shot. There is no easy drive or approach and, once on the green putting is one of the most enjoyable experiences I have had on a JN6 creation. What a challenge!

To put it simply mate, you have created a masterpiece, of which you should be very proud!

Cheers

Brad

PS: If ever you are coming to Brisbane, please let me know. I would love to catch up for a chat.

[tarheel]

I played again tonight. This was pin 5 in medium winds, normal greens. I thought this was a very well done course. It truly is a challenge. I didn't find any pins particularly problematic (unfair). The green variety is interesting, and the Biarritz green in particular is fun.

You have a fantastic course, immediately ready to be amongst the best of JN6. I need to play a bit on a couple other pins

[JReel]

Personally, I think you could move the pin slightly closer to the sea side of the green and maybe slightly closer to the back of the green, just to get it away from that steep slope.

Done.

Overall, I love the course. i love the aesthetics of the holes (I think one of your skies looks slightly familiar (ie. the Sapphire sky I created for Sapphire Lakes), so thanks for that.). I also love the challenge posed by each and every shot. There is no easy drive or approach and, once on the green putting is one of the most enjoyable experiences I have had on a JN6 creation. What a challenge!

To put it simply mate, you have created a masterpiece, of which you should be very proud!

I love that sky, thank you for it!! And, thanks for the comments Brad and the efforts in playtesting the course. I truly appreciate it and really value your and tarheel's feedback. You guys have made this a better course and for that I am truly greatful! Thanks again!

PS: If ever you are coming to Brisbane, please let me know. I would love to catch up for a chat.

I would love that! Getting to Oz is definitely high up on my bucket list!

[JReel]

I played again tonight. This was pin 5 in medium winds, normal greens. I thought this was a very well done course. It truly is a challenge. I didn't find any pins particularly problematic (unfair). The green variety is interesting, and the Biarritz green in particular is fun.

You have a fantastic course, immediately ready to be amongst the best of JN6. I need to play a bit on a couple other pins

Thanks tarheel! I really appreciate the help and feedback. I could not have asked for two better playtesters! I will continue to polish things up and will wait for you to play a couple other pins to see if you have any further comments or suggestions.

Thanks again!

[BradTheDad]

Jeff, you are more than welcome mate! Always happy to help a fellow designer.

[tarheel]

I played a round today in Strong winds, pin 2, normal greens. This is a really strong golf course. Even with tough winds, players have a chance on this pin. I will admit to at least 3, maybe 4 incredibly fortunate green reads which were a bit of a prayer. So far I think this is a really well done course. I encountered nothing odd or strangely unplayable at all during this round.

Sleeping Bear Downs - Tarheel - Strong - normal - pin 2.round

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I'll be playing another round tomorrow on different pin.

[tarheel]

And here is a play from the BLUE tee, pin 3, Medium winds, normal conditions.

This course is really great. The greens are really challenging, but not in an annoying unfair way. You just have to find the right valley or peak to get into/onto. I may play one more tomorrow from short tee with mild winds.

Sleeping Bear Downs - Tarheel - blue - medium - normal - pin 3.round

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[tarheel]

Played another test round. This time it was WHITE tee, mild winds, soft greens, pin 1

In all rounds, I have found the challenge is the putting surface and trying to get close enough to the pin to reduce the difficulty of the putt. Regardless of which tee I used, this was the same puzzle. Its funny, because I don't think the distance from the different tee locations offers as much challenge as the wind does. Obviously, I did best in this round, but this is to be expected with WHITE tee and mild winds. It was still an interesting game.

I will tip my hat to you on a very well created golf course. Each hole was unique in flavor.

Couple of favorite holes:

The Biarritz green and
There is another one I can't remember the number of, but its a par 4 where after the drive you are dropping the ball way downhill to a green. Thats a really fun one.

I encountered no glitches on this course.

Sleeping Bear Downs - Tarheel - white - mild - soft - pin 1.round

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[JReel]

Played another test round. This time it was WHITE tee, mild winds, soft greens, pin 1

In all rounds, I have found the challenge is the putting surface and trying to get close enough to the pin to reduce the difficulty of the putt. Regardless of which tee I used, this was the same puzzle. Its funny, because I don't think the distance from the different tee locations offers as much challenge as the wind does. Obviously, I did best in this round, but this is to be expected with WHITE tee and mild winds. It was still an interesting game.

I will tip my hat to you on a very well created golf course. Each hole was unique in flavor.

Couple of favorite holes:

The Biarritz green and
There is another one I can't remember the number of, but its a par 4 where after the drive you are dropping the ball way downhill to a green. Thats a really fun one.

I encountered no glitches on this course.

Sleeping Bear Downs - Tarheel - white - mild - soft - pin 1.round

tarheel,

Thank you so much for you help with this! Good to hear that from a playtest perspective it sounds like the course is ready to go. I'm going to do a little clean up work and then will hope to get it released in the next couple weeks.

I definitely designed this course to be a puzzle that players will need to figure out. So, it makes me happy to hear you refer to it as a puzzle! Visual deception is one of the best tools that course architects have to make a course challenging, yet fair for the player who figures out the deception. The two primary areas where I worked to employ visual deception on this course are the par 4 & 5 tee shots and the approaches into the greens. On a number of the tee shots there is either a visually intimidating hazard that distracts the eye from the task at hand, or dunes and sandy scrub areas that visually make it appear that there is a lot less fairway out there than in reality (which is a primary feature at courses like Pine Valley and TPC Sawgrass). Similarly with the approach shots, some pins might appear to be in very tight spots when in reality there may be a large landing area with a slope that will feed the ball into the tight area (something very common on Macdonald and Raynor courses... the Redan being a perfect example).

Glad you like and enjoy the Biarritz green! I think the other hole you mentioned is the 13th with the downhill approach into the punchbowl green. That is definitely a hole where you must use the slopes to feed the ball into the pin locations!

Again, thanks to you and Brad for the help in playtesting the course! Your feedback was extremely valuable!

Best,

Jeff