To tell we the truth, we haven't started to do 3D simulations or "fly-by"s of our designs yet. We just don't feel it to be a necessary marketing tool (which is all it is, really), and have yet to see a product that, in our opinion anyway, offers us a good quality simulation for a reasonable effort, and at a reasonable cost, knowing that it wouldn't be used all that much anyway. As was stated, they still look a little "plastic", although they look better and better as new software comes out. It's just a question of when, I guess...
For ambiance or simulation presentations, we often rely on pictures, basically showing the client pictures of golf courses that we believe capture the look and feel of the finished product we hope to create. Of course, sometimes we would do a hand-drawn perspective sketch of a hole of the proposed design. This is pretty rare, though. To do so, like Dr. Kildare mentions, we print out a "3D view" from AutoCAD, which basically just gives us a squeleton of the sketch, from which we can add some human "artistic touch", putting a trace on that skeleton and drawing from there, with this jumble of line that only we would understand giving us a rough guide to give the sketch a realistic perspective.
In fact, for re-modelling work, instead of using the squeleton CAD print out as a base, we use a picture of the existing course. Say, for example, we want to add a bunker to the left of the third green. We'd just take a picture of the third green, putting a trace on that to draw the sketch.
So to make a long story short, we're really not into 3D simulations all that much. Not the ones worth showing to a client anyway. It's a bit of a catch-22, though. We don't use it 'cause we don't know much about it, and we don't know much about it 'cause we don't use it. Maybe someone else here would be able to provide some info. Bill Coggins?
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Does the method employed to achieve that (same) result matter?
The answer to that question, in my mind, would be a definite yes. Ask any Research & Development department, I suppose.
CAD allows us to build an equal or even better golf course cheaper and faster, by giving us a very powerful tool to help us, and the contractor, understand as much as possible the task at hand when the construction process begins.
For example, earthmoving quantities. Before CAD, the was obviously a certain amount of estimation or even guess-work involved in calculating those quantities. Human nature being what it is, this involved some padding of those numbers, sub-consciously or not, both by us and then by the contractor who, quite fairly, charges more to protect himmself from any uncertainties. Reducing those uncertainties reduces those padding, and reduces the overall costs as well as extra worries.