[MayDay91283]

Ok, this if finally happening!   The results show will be tonight at 6:30pm EDT.   Sorry for the short notice but I was finally able to put everything together this weekend.  I definitely want to get it done before the big announcement tomorrow.

www.twitch.tv/hb_studios

Guess I know what I'll be doing this evening  .

Thanks for putting this together, Keith, and good luck to everyone! Excited to hear how it all shook out!

[HB_KeithC]

The results are in!  Check out the results show here:   https://youtu.be/wim9pxvULos

[ErixonStone]

Congrats, MayDay!  Laurel Run is a very deserving course.  Really well done!

Also congrats to the other courses that were ranked in the top six.  All the courses were very enjoyable to play.

Of course, thank you to HB_KeithC for putting this together, and a big thank you to the judges, Drivert, Cally, and CSUGolfer69 for taking the time to play and replay all of these.

My personal rankings were close to the final results (my own course notwithstanding), except that I didn't rate Silver Lake quite as high (I had it 4th of 11), and I enjoyed Napeague Bay more than the judges (I had it ranked 5th). 

A few notes about El Toro:
- The greens are firm/slow and mostly tilted towards the golfer.  I thought they held approaches fairly well and provided a fair challenge. 
- I've watched a few play-throughs of the course and wondered if anyone tried to play the slopes, especially on Nos. 3, 11 and 16.
- I also wondered if anyone used the left fairway on No. 12 for a much better angle at the pin

I'm happy that El Toro was included in the top half, and that the main criticisms of the course were conscious design decisions, and not things I missed.  If I had to make changes, I would alter some of the fairways to eliminate some of that "snakiness," but I probably wouldn't alter the bunkers.  I like those things.

I'd love to hear what other designers thought about the results and the critiques of their courses.  What would you change?  What would you keep in spite of the criticism?

[MayDay91283]

Congrats, MayDay!  Laurel Run is a very deserving course.  Really well done!

Also congrats to the other courses that were ranked in the top six.  All the courses were very enjoyable to play.

Of course, thank you to HB_KeithC for putting this together, and a big thank you to the judges, Drivert, Cally, and CSUGolfer69 for taking the time to play and replay all of these.

My personal rankings were close to the final results (my own course notwithstanding), except that I didn't rate Silver Lake quite as high (I had it 4th of 11), and I enjoyed Napeague Bay more than the judges (I had it ranked 5th). 

A few notes about El Toro:
- The greens are firm/slow and mostly tilted towards the golfer.  I thought they held approaches fairly well and provided a fair challenge. 
- I've watched a few play-throughs of the course and wondered if anyone tried to play the slopes, especially on Nos. 3, 11 and 16.
- I also wondered if anyone used the left fairway on No. 12 for a much better angle at the pin

I'm happy that El Toro was included in the top half, and that the main criticisms of the course were conscious design decisions, and not things I missed.  If I had to make changes, I would alter some of the fairways to eliminate some of that "snakiness," but I probably wouldn't alter the bunkers.  I like those things.

I'd love to hear what other designers thought about the results and the critiques of their courses.  What would you change?  What would you keep in spite of the criticism?

Thanks Erixon!

I had Silver Lake a little lower on my list and I had Napeague Bay in my top 6. I had a personal preference toward realistic-looking courses and was interested to see how the real vs. fantasy battle played out. As it was, 3 of top 4 leaned toward fantasy. My top 5 (excluding mine) we're Black Wood Creek, El Toro, St. Xavier, Velvet & Napeague.

Like I said in the stream, I really loved BWC. Ha3lstrom called his shot with the Midwestern parkland-style feel and I thought he absolutely nailed it in terms of the feel. Doesn't hurt that I have a soft-spot for that type of course. I had BWC, El Toro and Laurel in the same tier ... So I was really starting to sweat it when BWC and El Toro came off at 6th & 5th.

Seemed like the two biggest knocks on mine were fairway that didn't completely wrap around green and the tree on 9. I've taken the former as a suggestion for my CC contest course. Will have to ponder that tree long and hard if it gets a TGCT event. It's there as an aim point for the only semi-blind tee shot on the course, but I can see the point.

In the end, I learned a lot through the contest and our community got some real nice course for our efforts.

[drivert]

Congrats on the win with Laurel Run and great job by all the designers. It was really tough to score and most of the courses came out to just a few points in difference on the judges score sheets.

[numbers]

Damn, so close! Very well done Mayday, Laurel Run is a fine course and judged perfectly in terms of playability - a worthy winner for sure.

Shout out to a few others too: I thought Silver lake was just fantastic, possibly my favourite overall and one of the best winter courses in the game for me. St. Xavier had the biggest visual impact (I actually liked the 18th hole best, brilliant vibe on the final approach). In terms of playability I definitely appreciated El Toro's greens and the possibilities created on approach shots.

Overall I felt there were 6-7 courses that were good enough to win so Keith I appreciate the effort you went to in gathering the judge's opinions and organising everything with such a friendly, positive approach. The creativity displayed in this comp across the courses was so impressive and you clearly took the time to give each one a proper assessment, thanks again.

As for "The Velvet Elvis" (I laughed), it may well be my last design. I became unemployed late last year and this game gave me something to get my teeth into whilst applying for a new job. I spent 8+hrs a day on it 4-5 days a week for 5 weeks and having a big creative challenge like this really filled a gap during a quiet period for me and I think it's the best I could have done so I'm delighted to see folks playing and enjoying it now. I start my new job soon so won't have time for TGC for at least the coming months so wanted to say thanks again to HB for this comp and to the community for all the enthusiasm for this game, it's a real gem.

Cheers guys!

[MayDay91283]

Thanks numbers and congrats on Velvet coming second! The clubhouse area was epic and the rest of the course followed suit. Very visually appealing course.

Agree that any of the top 6-7 could have easily taken this thing. While visually stunning, the reason I had Silver Lake lower on my list was I felt some of the pins were a tad extreme, as if I were playing a PGA event on TGCT. I tried to avoid that w/ Laurel. Resulted in some lower scores, but I was OK w/ that. Feel like if the golfer players well tee to green he/she should be rewarded w/ a birdie bid in most instances. More a personal preference than a knock on the technical aspect of that course. The judges said using winter theme for Silver Lake was the biggest risk that worked and I agree, as the course looked awesome. As far as the visuals Silver Lake, Velvet and St. X could have passed for CrazyCanuck efforts and blew Laurel out of the water.

Numbers, I sure hope you still find time to squeeze in some TGC w/ the new job, because you clearly have an eye for design. FWIW, I've got a job that has me working 45-60 hours, depending on the week, and I still hop on the game whenever I can. Not sure how happy that makes Mrs. Mayday, but I spin it an artistic release 

Cheers!

[drivert]

Numbers you need to design when you get home from work, because Velvet had some real genius to the design. I was thoroughly impressed with the course and some of the bridge work was unbelievable. Please keep designing when time allows

[pyates]

Congrats Mayday, worthy winner for sure... I completely missed this stream/video. Will catch up the video later. Well done all though, the range and quality of courses was excellent.

[MayDay91283]

Got a surprise in the mail today! A swag pack from HB for winning the rookie design contest. Thanks Keith for putting in the contest and Anthony and all of the crew again. This is very cool and much appreciated!




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[Anthony Kyne]

Got a surprise in the mail today! A swag pack from HB for winning the rookie design contest. Thanks Keith for putting in the contest and Anthony and all of the crew again. This is very cool and much appreciated!




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No problem mate, sorry for the delay in getting to you. My fault, I got a little behind on those things

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[ErixonStone]

Certainly a nice surprise.  Congrats, again.  Laurel Run was an excellent course.