Fab & The BadBody at the Links
With Guest Reviewer, Dave

06/26/01

Rock of America By Robert@

Fab: I had the privilege of being one of the beta testers on this course, and would like to thank Robert for that opportunity.  As always Robert’s courses are great to look at and fun to play.  This course has some dramatic elevation changes and some severely elevated tees.  As a matter of fact if it were not for Bob’s and my rocket packs we’d still to trying to climb the 11th tee box….lol.  Speaking of the 11th tee box, be smart and wash your golf balls before getting to the tee.  That ball washer is in a very treacherous spot and now I too am wearing a body cast…..lol.  Thanks Robert….lol.

One of Robert’s best holes in my opinion is hole 17. This is a very short par three to a green surrounded by sand.  I think the shot distance varies from 65 to 80 yards depending on the pin location.  Sounds easy enough, but a short hole like this can be treacherous and obtaining par here is very good.

Most of the par threes on this course are a challenge with tees at high elevations.  You really have to do some thinking so as not to over fly the green.  Another interesting hole is #10 where it looks like you don’t have a clear tee shot.  That’s because you don’t really….lol.  Some times you make it and some times you don’t. 

Although this course will probably not go down as a classic, since it is a fantasy course it is and will be a great fantasy course to have and to play just for the shear fun. 

 
Excellent – A Definite Keeper 

BadBodyBob:  I need to start out by saying, this is not your ordinary golf course.  It’s more like an outdoor recreation facility. While I was playing my round at Rock of America, I managed to get in some bungee jumping, some hang gliding and some very scary cliff jumping. The high elevation changes made for some excellent adventures.

I couldn’t help but notice that on 4 or 5 holes, I had one tree following me. I swear it was the same tree getting in my way on those holes. Anyway, Robert has done a great job of  bringing us a truly high attitude course. It seemed like every shot was a challenge, whether it was off the tee or on the fairway. I never really had a clue where my ball was landing but it didn’t matter. I must say, I had a blast, especially for not having a clue. The views were breath taking off the tee’s. If you shooters out there really want a challenge, crank it up to very dry and strong winds.

Overall for a fantasy course, Robert@ did a great job, IMHO. What more could you ask for, I mean, golfing, cliff jumping, hang gliding. What a great day in the mountains. All I can say is, what’s next from this designer??? Maybe an underwater course is in the works…lol. Have fun and play nice.


Excellent – A Definite Keeper 

 

Glorietta Pass Country Club By Bryan Carroll 

Fab:  Glorietta Pass is a desert fictional course located in the foothill area of Santa Fe.  As such the fairways are rolling and the bunkers are deep, and I mean deep.  I know that because I visited many of them.  I thought it was the least I could do since BB is still recuperating from back surgery and he’d have a hard time navigating those bunker walls.  Besides I didn’t have that much time to waste laughing at him stumble his way out….lol. 

The bunkers as I said were deep, however extricating the ball from the bunkers was fairly easy, and some of my best shots were from the bottoms of these bunkers.  The biggest problem to scoring well on this course was the greens.  They were all heavily sloped most to the rear, and that made it hard to hold the green or leave yourself with a short putt.  We played this course in dry and breezy conditions, which just added to the excitement…lol. 

Overall Glorietta Pass yielded a fun round of golf, and for those of you who are fans of desert courses this would be a keeper


Nice Course Worthy of Keeping

BadBodyBob:  Hmmm…where to start. I must say I was quite impressed with the read-me file that came with the course. It was one of the most detailed read-me’s I’ve ever seen. The one thing that stood out was it said 53 bunkers…OMG. I figured for sure to get some close-up action in those damn craters. I think some meteor’s landed on this course. Talk about deep bunkers.

Glorietta Pass is a very nice desert course. I thought I lost Fab on a couple occasions. It looked like he was swallowed up in those craters. The fairways were big, so there was really no problem off the tee unless you found one of those big things. The greens were pretty tough, imho. With all the slopes and levels on the greens, nothing was a gimmie. Overall, Bryan has brought us a very fine, crater filled desert course.

Thanks for taking my place in the bunkers Fab. I really do appreciate it bud, I owe you one. The one bunker I did hit, I left a piece of me in it. It was time to say goodbye to my walker, you were there when I needed you most, oh trusted walker but it’s time for me to move on without any help. If anyone ever needs a walker you will find it in the 20ft deep bunker on the 16th hole, greenside. Have fun and play nice.


Nice Course Worthy of Keeping

 

Joshua Ridge By Steve Opfer

Fab:  First of all let me set the conditions for this game, Bad Body and I decided to play Joshua Ridge in Very Dry and Strong Winds, kinda like a hurricane in the desert….lol.  If we had known the slope to these greens we might have chosen something different then very dry…lol.  No actually we had more fun on this course then you can imagine, it was great.  Amazingly for the first 9 holes I was under par, by the finish I was over par, but still respectable….lol.  You’ll have to ask BB about his score, I’m not talking….hehehehe.  Besides this is his first course review after his leave and I’m sure if I told you his score he’d blame it on his delicate condition, “You know it’s hard to drive and hold onto my walker at the same time”…… lol

Joshua Ridge is another excellent course by Steve Opfer.  The layout, terrain and play was all close to perfection.  The only thing I don’t like on Mr. Opfer’s courses are his bunkers.  They all appear to be a ground level at the edges instead of being sunken.  This results in easy outs, and really penalizes the golfer who gets in one very little.  If Steve would sink those edges this course would have been perfect.

For those of you looking for some nice elevation changes, and raised tees, then this would be the perfect course for you.


Nice Course Worthy of Keeping

BadBodyBob: Your too much pard….lmao. Hmmm, my score, let me see. Forget it, I’m not telling, na na na na....lol. How’s 3 touchdowns give or take a safety sound. I must say for my first review in over a month, I had a blast. Oh boy did we ask for it choosing those settings. I was laughing so hard I almost split my body cast.

Joshua Ridge is an excellent course. I can see why Steve is regarded as a top designer. Everything on this course seemed right in place. I enjoyed the way I had to lay up on some holes off the tee. The fairways had some very nice rolls to them. The bunkers were well placed but were easy to get “nice outs”. The greens were a different story. The slopes and dips made for some very challenging putts.

If you want a challenge, crank up the settings to very dry and strong winds. You will not be disappointed. Remember that this is just a game, so instead of getting pissed, have a blast with those conditions. It’s a must to shoot with a partner. Got to go now, looking for some duct tape to patch up my body cast. Thanks Fab for a most enjoyable round.


Excellent – A Definite Keeper 

 

Keperra Country Club By Stefan Lawinski

Fab:  Keperra Country Club is Stefan’s first attempt at course design.  He wrote me an e-mail asking me to take a look at it so he could get an idea of how he did. In that e-mail he pointed out to me that he did a lot of reading and studying of the tutorials that are available on PGA course design.  Well, it paid off.  For a first attempt at course design Stefan did an admirable job.  Not to say the course was perfect, by no means, but if this is what he can do on a first attempt, watch out for this guy, he’s gonna be good.

The terrain of Keppera CC is of the rolling hill variety, the fairways are plenty wide enough and the greens are of ample size.  The bunkers do have sunken lips, however a little more definition of the bunker itself would make them better.  The greens are of adequate size and the one area where Stefan needs to concentrate his efforts on his next course.  They are not bad but most rely too much on the bowl shape method of constructing greens.

Water is a problem as it is with most first time designers.  There were a few lakes where the water level was off from end to end by more then a few feet.  Something that’s easy to overlook, however its an important detail to get right.  Also I would suggest that on the par 3’s that the designer surround his greens with more then just a few feet of fringe and then rough.  It’s OK to do that on some holes but on most par 3 greens, its nice to have some fairway or a wider fringe to chip from.

Overall I was quite impressed with Keperra Country Club.  Stefan surprised me with this first attempt course.  It has some shortcomings but they are small and this course is worth the time to download.


Nice Course Worthy of Keeping

BadBodyBob:  I must say for a 1st time design, Keperra is impressive. Oh sure, it had some minor problems but the key words here are 1st time design. Stefan most definitely did his homework before releasing this course. I was quite impressed with the overall hole design and layout.

I found my driving off the tees enjoyable. Most fairways were nice in size and even had some rolling hills. I don’t believe I found to many bunkers so I really can’t comment on them. But seeing I didn’t hit into the bunkers, I’m going to give Stefan some extra points here…lol. I found the greens to be challenging but fair. The course was landscaped rather nicely. 

I would really like to see Stefan’s next creation. Since he did an excellent job on his 1st design, I’m going to expect bigger and better things from him. Sure this course had some minor faults but none really came into play for me. If your looking for a nice course, grab this one up. You will find some challenges here if you crank up the settings. Have fun and play nice.


Nice Course Worthy of Keeping

 

Bocar Hills Golf Club By Fabita

Dave:  Bocar Hills, is a course when first viewed shows an attention to detail that is not always present in a lot of courses. That is, that the earth is NOT flat! Fab shows this in interesting detail on this course. In fact if you’re not careful you will end up with a bad body after walking up and down all the hills and burm's found on this course. LOL

All kidding aside, the burm's actually play a large role in the course. Hit the shot wrong and end up behind a hill, or worse yet bouncing or rolling off to one side of it, and you will find your next shot a bit more challenging. Think! Don’t jump and you will do great here.

Once again Fab has shown us his love of water by letting us have plenty to play in on this course. You will never say you didn’t have a chance to clean your golfballs! Again, Think! Get the idea? LOL

Fab did an excellent job on this, his finest course to date. It has all the elements of a great course. Each hole makes you look before you leap.. Don’t swing and hope for the best here. The course is smooth and clean and I did not find, in my wondering around in the trees and sand, an area that did not look natural. 

If you want a course that’s fun and a challenge that will keep you coming back for more.. Grab this one! 

Great Job, Bro.


Excellent – A Definite Keeper 

BadBodyBob:  Lately my reviews have been done with some lower standards. I think beginning now I will raise the bar…lol. Ok, I will start raising the bar on my next review cause this course needs all the help it can get…LMAO. Of course, I’m just kidding, just wanted to throw a little scare into Fabita.  Hmmmm…why does this course name sound familiar. I know, it was designed and named for someone who was laying helpless in a hospital bed. My hats off to you Fabita. 

I was honored to have play tested this course before it’s release. Everything that I ever wanted in a course is right here. Of course everyone has different tastes but personally I really enjoyed Bocar Hills. If your into “grip and rip” courses, then read no further. Every shot, I do mean every, needs a major thought. I have never changed so many clubs before in PGA2000 as I did on this course. You will find yourself laying up on the majority of holes. If the deep rough doesn’t get you, the water or trees will. Oh yes, those rolling hills on the narrow fairways give brutal bounces, so take that into consideration off the tee. The bunkers were well placed and always came into play when I was hitting. The greens were tough but fair. Don’t be surprised if you end up 3 putting.  Birdies can be had on this course if you shoot with precision. 

I played this course with the settings cranked up. OMG, what a challenge and a total blast. Fabita has brought us a very fine course. I said earlier about me raising the bar but I think Fab has done that on his own with this nicely done course. So grab a friend, crank up the settings and have a blast. IMHO, this is a FABulous course.

 
Excellent – A Definite Keeper 

 
Excellent – A Definite Keeper 


Nice Course Worthy of Keeping


Nice try -  With a little more work could be a keeper 


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