Patriot's Point

[Sundance]

[Sundance]

Hole #12 @ Patriot's Point is a lofty par 3 170 yards away and 42 feet above a testy little green. The treeline on the left can definitely come into play as well as the large bunker while water protects the right and the rear of the dance floor.

Views of the tee and green.

Designer notes: Let's talk bunkers. There are several tutorials out there that are quite good and even offer pictorials as a step by step which I highly recommend. The bunker palette offers a nice variety of shapes so that's a good start and bunkers are also very easy to design from scratch but just remember to zoom in and make your work easier! The easiest bunkers are the simple bulge down type where you just click on the shape and go up to bulge down. Now, what I do to make this even more simple is to first right click the bunker shape and then copy it. Now I will share another secret that really helps with any elevation shape. Instead of using the terrain shape, which completely covers any other shape when I'm doing precise elevations I will change the copied bunker shape to a sandy rough shape so that I can completely align the shape over the bunker shape but first I will double click and go to the amount box and do a + 3 or 4 depending on the size of the bunker. The larger the bunker the more I increase the size. I then usually bulge down the bunker twice and then place the sandy rough shape over my new bunker and do one smooth. Now you can play with this as much as you want to get the look you desire. I also do flat bunkers which are a little more difficult to achieve. By this I mean keeping the sand completely flat or close to flat in the recess. To get this affect takes a little practice but uses the same technique. First I size the bunker I want and then double click and increase the shape itself by 3 or 4 unless it's a larger bunker then it goes up accordingly. Then you check the level of the terrain around the spot you want to place your bunker and then click on the shape and right click, choose terrain and click change elevation. Now you get the 'Set to Flat Elevation' box. Choose Set to Height and set your level at -3 or 4 feet below the lowest point in the area. Now double click your enlarged bunker shape and copy and paste again. Change the shape to Sandy Rough and increase the size of it by 3 or 4 and place it over the bunker shape and smooth once. Now click on the bunker shape and decrease the shape by the 3 or 4 that you increased and you have a nice flat bunker shape. Now this takes some practice but it is a nice effect for your design. I use this technique when I make waste bunkers ( Like I designed in Palm Harbor) as well as the 'Pit Bunkers' I developed for Golden Gate Heights. Actually I have been using this technique for quite a while but these are just the latest example. I hope you can make some sense of this and it helps you in your design. Don't hesitate to shoot me a message if you have a question. I know I would probably have a few after reading this babble................Thanks!

[tarheel]

That is a really neat looking hole, and the bunker is fantastic with the tall vegetation paired up with it. Your downhill par 3's are always very special to look at. A pin to the right near the water hazard looks frightening.

[BradTheDad]

Hi Steve,

I don't think there's anything better than an elevated Par 3 and this one is a beauty. Hit the green or take your punishment, and what an outlook! That BG works so well for this course.

Cheers

Brad

[SteveHorn]

#12 IS A true birdie bogey type hole. One club too many or a gust of wind and disaster is lurking. Also short enough to hit one in close. EXCELLENT

[Sundance]

Thanks guys. Appreciate the comments.

[Sundance]

Hole #13 @ Patriot's Point is a 433 yard par 4. Off the tee on this slight left dogleg avoid the bunkers, two on the right and one on the left and you'll be left with a short iron approach. The uphill shot off a sloped fairway must find a smallish well protected green with sublte breaks.

Views from tee, approach and green.

Designer Notes: I have had nice feedback on the notes and will end them here unless someone has a specific question they would like to explore. Thanks everyone for the nice comments.

[Sundance]

[BradTheDad]

I can't believe how quickly you can produce such terrific work.

[Sundance]

Hole #14 @ Patriot's Point is a 472 yard par 4. The wind at your back off the tee will push you closer to the most narrow strip on the fairway making it difficult to avoid the bunkers, two on the left and a large one on the right. The mid iron approach must find a green protected by water, bunkers and a myriad of rough mounds. The dance floor is small and undulated making it difficult to score. Par is good here!

Views from the tee, approach and green.