[Alex Miller]

What is supposed to be in the 300 words?

A response to any feedback you've received. Commentary about your course, or any clarifications of things that might not be as easy to decipher from the original routing submission.

[Matthew Rose]

What is supposed to be in the 300 words?

An apology.

At least that's what mine felt like.

[Alex Miller]

All entries with text presented BELOW the corresponding image. Posted in 2 parts due to length.  


#1


Design Philosophy
 
A strategic yet playable design maximizing the use of the unique landforms contained throughout the property.  Green sites are often situated on natural ridges or ledges with many providing long views of the terrain. Sideboards exist on many holes and can often be strategically used to funnel balls on to a green.  Examples include the back side of the 3rd hole, the 7th where the green is tucked into a hollow, the punchbowl green at the 9th, the left side of the 12th green, the 15th which is located in a wonderful natural canyon, and the 18th.
Blind shots will play a larger role here than many other courses.  Although not always evident upon first play, many holes have a preferred side of the fairway which will allow for an easier approach and the non-preferable position will, at times, result in a blind or semi blind approach.  Examples of such strategy are apparent on the 1stwhere views on the right side fairway are semi blind; the 9th where the left side of the fairway is well below the green height; the 12th where the green is partially hidden from the right side and the 15th where challenging the left side bunker provides an open view to the green.  Classical features have been included as well; examples include the cape like drive on the 6th and 11th holes and the redan green on the 10th.  The course was designed with the concept that at this altitude, the player will achieve a 5% increase in ball flight.
The player seeking to play a few holes before sunset has several different options.
3 hole – 1, 17, 18
4 hole – 1, 2, 3 tee to 17 green, 18
6 hole – 1, 2 tee to 14 green, 15, 16, 17, 18


#2



#3


•   Course plays at between 90% and 95% of total length due to elevation and climatic conditions
•   Used aerial photography (Google Earth) to locate actual sand blowouts to try and incorporate in the final design
•   Similar method used to find darker green areas which are assumed to be due to water
•   Walks from green to tee average ~60 yards over the eighteen holes – meant better use of natural topography (for tee and greens) at the expense of slightly longer walks
•   No use of tee markers – golfers can choose to play from where they wish
•   Looked for strategic design using natural features and minimal use of bunkers
•   Where natural features were not present used templates eg. Redan, Bottle and Cape to improve interest
•   Minimal use of formalised bunkers – majority of bunkers are cleared out sand scrapes / naturalised areas
•   Sunset golf made available over a six hole combination
•   Wide fairways used to allow for wider dispersal of drives and reduce chances of lost balls – also helps to keep games moving.  Most greens have ideal side of fairway to approach from
•   Green average size between 5,000 – 7,500 sq ft
•   Hole 7 – drive and pitch hole – 392 yards from back tee, plays as 352 yards due to elevation and playing slightly downhill – hence break in fairway short of green which is wide and shallow preferring a short iron approach
•   Looked for variety in length and orientation of par 3’s
•   Two par 5’s (holes 5 & 9) are more often than not three shot holes – Two (14 and 17) have possibility of being reached in two shots
•   Looked for variety in overall hole orientation between E-W & W-E and N-S & S-N so as not to unduly favour prevailing wind from SW in the summer and NW in the winter
•   Course designed to be fun


#4


CLUBHOUSE AND ENTRANCE DRIVE

Located near the center of the property. We envision a patio behind the clubhouse where all can watch players finish the 18th hole hitting over the large blowout are. The entrance is from the southeast.  Visitors, upon entering the property will get immediately golf views, from an elevated position out of the driver side window.  As a destination club, we though the drive in was critical to “get the golf juices flowing.”  The drive will take you past the 12th, 11th and 10th holes before beginning the uphill drive to the clubhouse.  The practice facilities will be on your right.  The plan includes 6 guest cottages, each with 4 guest rooms.

THE ROUTING

The front 9 consists of a core group of holes in the northwest quadrant.  The routing of the front 9 allows for a 6 hole loop; 1, 2, 6, 7, 8 and 9.  An alternate tee box is included for the 17th hole, which will allow a second 6 hole loop; 1, 2, 3, 4, 17 and 18.

The back 9 is generally routed in a clockwise direction around the flatter, valley floor of the property, where we will let the cattle graze.  The alternate tee box at 17 also allows you to sneak in some extra holes, a 13 hole back loop or a 22 hole loop, incase you’re not ready to finish after playing the 17th.

CHANGES/COMMENTS BASED UPON GCA FEEDBACK

Hole 18 second shot landing area will be expanded to be far easier for those choosing safe way to play.

Final plans will include more detail to better show fairway height grass around greens.

Care has been given to ensure that Hole 17 plays well from the regular tees as well as from the opposite direction from the “sunset loop” tee.


#5


Property summary

•   Entrance road from the east of the property
•   Clubhouse and Lodging areas located on a highpoint in the NE quadrant of the property overlooking the entire course
•   Driving range, putting/short-game/bunker areas located adjacent the 1st tee and Clubhouse
•   Maintenance buildings positioned in hidden valley area at rear of driving range and adjacent to entrance road
•   Turf nursery area located adjacent to maintenance buildings

Course specific details

•   Par 72, 6,775 yards from the Men’s back tees (yardages from other tee’s tbc on site), minimal area land use and short green-to-next tee walks
•   Holes 1-3 & 16-18 form a 6-hole loop for late in the day play
•   Front 9 plays predominantly from east to west - so early starters play away from the rising sun
•   Back 9 plays predominantly from west to east - so late finishers play away from the setting sun
•   The 4 par-3 holes all play to different points of the compass, namely NW, SE, SW & NE
•   Half Way House located on highest point of the western portion of the entire property
•   Green contouring and greenside/fairway bunkering to be determined on site - blow-out style to be most likely adopted
•   Entire SE and southern portion of property left unused - unused area provides option for a 2nd course utilizing an out-and-back routing and linking-in with the Half Way House of the 1st course.



#6


I chose to take some risks when designing my course.  On such a large site, there were numerous options but the three keys for me were walkability, mini-loops and FUN golf holes.  I found focusing on a small area allowed me to utilize the natural features to the fullest and still have a great walking course and multiple loops.  For some, the layout may be a little compact but I feel it will be a truly social course and interacting with fellow members on course is a piece of that.
 
Regarding a couple of the controversial features - the crossover of 16 and 18 and the length of a par 70 course:  the crossover was something I wrestled with including or not.  I felt at a smaller private club, it wouldn’t too much of a problem and on busier days the forward tees could be used for a short par 4, really putting the small pot bunker short of the green into play.  I also wanted a tee just steps from the porch of clubhouse.
 
The length of the course is also something I worried about.  For a par 70, 6900 yards is fairly lengthy but with the course being at 3300 feet, some of the length should be negated.  The front nine is where the scoring opportunities are and while the back is long, the two longest holes will play significantly downhill.
 
I know my course is a bit unconventional, but that’s how I wanted it.  I wanted something that was different from any other competitors and one that I thought would be fun to play everyday.  I believe I succeeded on both fronts.


#7



#8



#9


I have to say this has been a rather humbling experience. I took a few risks in my design concept, and in most cases, the feedback was overwhelmingly negative. In the process I think I may have created the most unpopular hole in the entire contest.

The decision to put in a lake was borne from the area where #7 is located. I did the 7th first and then the 8th came out of that. The 7th is kind of a copy of the 7th hole at Streamsong Blue, which I think is just a really cool hole, so I recreated it in the Sand Hills. I decided to make it into a larger hazard and then routed the 8th around it, turning it into what I thought was a well-executed cape hole. I guess I just didn't want to create Sand Hills Part 2, which is what I thought everyone else might do.

Most people questioned the use of the flattish area in general. When I looked at the blank canvas, I saw this kind of "ring of fire" around the flat area which immediately caught my eye and I thought it would be interesting to route the two nines around the edges with some high holes and low holes.

It became clear when I saw the other entries that I made several fundamental mistakes. I'd obviously make a bunch of changes now if I could, but it is too late. I probably focused too much on the holes themselves and not enough on the routing. The practice range is a debacle. I admit I ended up doing a bit of a rush job on this (for good reasons I'll explain) and it kind of shows up badly now when I compare it to other entries.



#10



Points of interest:
 
I wanted the course to be able to be played (not necessarily in regulation) without significant forced carries, thus all of the fairways continue uninterrupted from the landing area to the green. The beginnings of most of the fairways are drawn on the plan around the landing zone or the landform that defines them; however, all fairways could be extended towards the tee if deemed necessary in the field to prevent long carries.
 
The course plays equally well in all winds. Thisis accomplished through frequent change in direction, as well as many holesthat feature a trade-off between distance and angle, so that depending on thewind on any day a different line may be preferable from the tee.
 
This strategy also ensures that the courseremains fresh and strategically interesting after many plays, as every day thegolfer will have to recalculate how to play each hole.
 
The greens range from mildly undulating toextreme, but the specifics will be determined in the field by hands-on work.The overall slope of each green will follow the natural slope in that area.Note that the slope of the greens is important to the strategy of most of theholes. (NB: the 7 th and 12 th greens feature uniquenatural undulations that are visible on the 5’ interval topo, which create avariety of ways to access different hole locations)


#11



Using Jim's amazing tour, I will briefly touch on every hole. #1 is an uphill par 5, where if one can reach the crest of the hill, it is reachable considering the massive down-slope in front of the green. #2 is a fun drop-shot par 3 that would have a beautiful view. #3 could use a fairway extension after viewing the tour to be able to see the fairway from the back tee. The hole has a nice skyline green. #4 is a short 4 that focuses on positioning off the tee because of the horseshoe green, bunkering, and slope. #5 has a great punchbowl green. #6 has a hillock on the right that makes the hole location change how the hole is played. #7 wraps around the bunker on the left. #8 travels across the dunes before rising up a fair amount. One can't go too far left with the massive blowout bunker lingering. #9 sits in a punchbowl. #10 and #11 travel across some big dunes with #11 featuring a blind drive up and over a large dune with a blowout. #12 features a punchbowl green with a deep bunker over the mound on the left. #13 is a reverse redan. #14 plays to a green that has a dune blocking the view of the green surface with the dune growing on the right that would block a view of the pin. #15 is a difficult uphill par 4. #16 is a drivable 4 with a kick slope left with the green sitting behind the deep bunker. #17 features a false right edge that would cause the ball to funnel a fair distance away. #18 requires a layup to have a good angle into the punchbowl in-between the dunes. It takes an accurate approach to the small target.


#12


I’ve tried to create a routing with as much use of ”Hazards” in the form short grass as possible. Examples are.
-          Potential blind 2nd shots (Examples: 6, 9, 17)
-          Greens protected by knolls or angel into the green (Examples :5, 7, 8, 13)
-          Slope of the fairway (Examples: layup for 3rd shot on 14th, drive on 8th, teeshot on 12th)
The few bunkers are mostly of strategic nature where they present the player with a choice depending on skills and weather. (Examples: 1st, 3rd, 10th)
As for the Par threes, three of them may look alike on paper, but I’m convinced that they play very differently.  4th, 11th and 15th all play over depressions of varying depths to create visibility but the holes are 200, 140 and 112 yds and very different.  4th is testing the long game and the different angled tees should make it a fun hole for everyone. 11th is shorter but more tricky. There is a natural false front and hence the front left pin that looks easy is pinched with the semi hidden bunker long of the green. The safe side is right. I found 15th green to be very good for a wedge-shot, many tight pin positions but still a relatively safe option in wind or for the less skilled player.
As for 16th that was shortly discussed on forum. The intention is that a clear preference should be given to the player that hit the preferred side of the fairway (which varies depending on pin). I expect that the knoll in the back right of the green should help and that the front bunker eventually will be sized to get the desired playing characteristics.


...

[Matthew Essig]

What is supposed to be in the 300 words?

An apology.

At least that's what mine felt like.

I think mine might be slightly over also....

[Alex Miller]

#13


Thanks everyone for looking at and providing feedback for my entry.

I only listed 2 sets of yardages and did not consider adding more because I felt the course had great playability and the people who would make the trip out to Hooker, NE would be capable of playing from 6,500 yards (par 72 firm and fast). More tees could be added if necessary.

Response: Holes 2-3-5 each have 100+ yards of fairway to play to, and although it is the most intimate part of the routing, I don’t think safety would be an issue.

Take a look at 5’s green to see where the pin is while on 3’s tee before playing the Alps!

7’s green will remind some of 16 at Pasatiempo, though with short grass in front.

Front loop is holes 1, 2, special tee to 8 green, and 9. Shots hit: Driver-short iron, Driver-wedge, mid-iron, Driver-long iron-wedge. Provides a lot of variety for a 4-hole loop!

Back loop is holes 10, 11 tee to 16 green, 17, 18. Shots hit: Driver-wedge, Driver-long iron-wedge, Short iron, Driver-mid iron. Variety!!! 16 green slopes left to right and an approach from 11 fairway when playing the loop can swing around the bunker using the slope to access all pin positions.

Hole 13 is reachable for the long hitter, but unless the ball travels on the perfect line, the ball will likely find a bunker to a small raised green. Players can hit left or short of the bunker off the tee and approach with a wedge.

Hole 15 is a par 3.5 (BOGEY I BEAT YOU TO IT ) The green sits up with a large false front, but it is also the biggest on the course. You can land short and run it on like the valley of sin.

#14



#15



Red Prairie Golf Club

The plan before you provides for the routing and building at least two full scale golf courses over the 1,000+ acres at the Red Prairie property.  In the AAC III competition it is proposed to split the site into eastern Sunrise and western Sunset parcels with The Lodge and Guest Cabins located centrally between them.  The central southern plain area would initially serve as a range and area beyond it considered for a par three practice area or a course for beginners.

The Sunset 18 routing is presented first to the founding members, as it is believed to provide the site’s greatest potential for a challenging and enjoyable golf course, with its natural and uninterrupted integration with the western vistas.  Also, the opportunity for "sunset golf" loops of 4-7 or more holes fully sustains the membership’s twilight golfing needs.  Teeing lengths are nominally set to provide an ~6700 yard course with the flexibility to extend or shorten as desired by members during their play.

The Sunset course initially heads southwest, immediately engaging the site’s natural character moguls, plateaus, valley, and pothole features in its first 4 holes.  The 191 yard 5th hole, which is the longest of the Par 3’s, starts play northward along the western flank of the property where prevailing winds may strongly help or hurt scoring chances in the #6-8 stretch of inviting Par 4’s.  The Par 5 9th and 14th provide long and short bookends to a middle grouping of holes leading up to and down from the highest elevations of the site, with its own set of unique opportunities and hazards at play.  The closing stretch of 4 holes heading north, east, southwest and southeast captures the site elements of the Red Prairie, but demands pure golf skills to the end.


#16



18 holes, focus also on ‘sunset golf’- late afternoon extra holes, beer/ friends - providing for 3, 6, 9, 12, 15 holes - creative members make up their “own” sunset routings. Note 7th can be the first for member events – playing 5 as the 18th and away from sunset.
ALL features(including sandy blowouts) existed on site - Google Earth, including shrubs growing on site – sheltering carpark and maintenance. Look for a Driver and a wedge par 3’s, back to back 255yd holes. Apologies for the colors – stronger than I had planned. Sand areas in play no greater carries than PVGC. Large fairways to be cut with gang mowers. Note a couple of ‘speed slots’ that reduce length to downhill on 1, 4, 6, 9, 11, 15 using ground game – fast and firm. Sand areas that edge playing corridors, preferred to long grass, non ball losing areas, strong definition. Grassed around clubhouse, is tightly mown (Ballyneal).
All contour lines redrawn, - helping founders understand the slopes, shots and play. Where contours aren’t continued into rendered areas, indicates softening during construction.  Altitude - middle set of tees 6,768yds  - P72 - winding  holes around the compass. Accommodation - morning sun.
Natural sandy areas/blowouts – chose to highlight six main wind-mills - most have large amounts of hardpan sandy areas around from the cattle, unique siting orientation.
No secondary rough: greens, tees and fairways – mown grass, outside this is native!
Green complexes use existing contours, mounds, plateaus and hillocks, wide variety: easy - difficult pins available. Tee shots downhill, uphill, across slope, along valleys, dells, hollows, plus some blind tee shots and approaches and some tempting diagonal carries. 5 holes require carries or serious negotiation of sand areas & bunkering, along with the windmills – we propose  the naming of the club, “Sand Mills GC”.


#17



#18


Clarification – I misread the original post as saying the entrance MUST be from the west. As you can see it can easily come from the north.
General – As a member course I thought sub 7000 yards is important with every club in the bag needed. Teeing areas are large to allow for multiple angles and varying lengths - course can be lengthened easily if required. Fairways and greens set up for different shots e.g. draws/fades, up/down, different clubs on approaches. Wide fairways (60-70 yards) with central and diagonal hazards provide interest. No water hazards.
Routing – The idea was to reach the two major hills on the property without lengthening the course too much (hole lengths and green to tee walks). Each nine needs to be balanced in terms of drama, difficulty and strategic merit. Short green to tee walks are important. For me, sunset golf was an important requirement, so I concentrated on creating shorter loops on both nines. Variety in green locations, uphill/downhill holes and playing directions was priority.
Par3’s – It’s important to have varying lengths and directions (each 3 points different directions). The longer 3’s are open in front to allow low running shots and rely on the ground around to provide challenge and strategy. The shorter 3’s require more of an aerial game with more hazards surrounding the green.
Par 4’s – Varying length of 4’s with only a couple of very long ones. At least one needed to be driveable and a couple of drive/pitch holes. The shorter 4’s require more precise shot making, the longer 4’s have more room/less hazards.
Par 5’s – Varying length, difficulty and direction, with the shorter 5’s having more risk/reward elements and the longer 5’s having more subtle strategy. Varying terrain for each hole is important with different approach shots required.


#19


Arapaho Dunes Golf Club was designed with two thoughts in mind:  1) to provide a layout capable of challenging everyone, the advanced golfer included, while still remaining playable for golfers of all levels, and 2) to be a fun course worthy of repeated plays.  Providing width was the key to achieving these goals.  Wide corridors give the weak golfer the ability to keep the ball in play while simultaneously challenging the advanced golfer to find the appropriate spot within the fairway from which to best attack that day’s pin position.

I envision the course as a walker’s paradise with limited carts available for the handicapped.  No cart paths.  I sought balance while providing short green-to-tee transitions.  I looked for opportunities to place the middle and front tees close to the previous green at times, and not always the back tees.  This was done in an effort to limit the total length of the walk, even if it meant giving the back-tee player a short walk-back like the one found on Hole 6.

Throughout the routing, you will find a series of alternate tees.  The vision was to provide a chance for the members to choose their own tee boxes for the day, ala Ballyneal.  5 of these are shown on the routing, but the idea is to allow for more to be built over time at the discretion of the membership.  Some of these may just provide a different, fresh angle from which to play the hole.  Others, like Hole 9 for instance, can completely change the hole, making a 418-yard dogleg left into a quirky, 310-yard risk-reward par-4 hole.  

The limited feedback I have received thus far has been tremendously helpful, so thank you.  I look forward to hearing from more of you!



#20


“Based on the size of the property and the large spaces between many of the natural features I wanted to use, I chose to include several long par fours and only three par 3’s.  I tried to balance these elements in two ways: 1) by having reasonable birdie chances at the four par 5’s, and 2) by having two par 4’s under 360 yards, one drive-able.  The overall length of the course (7505y) is quite long, but at par 73 it's effective playing yardage is reduced quite a bit.  However, I still would have liked to include at least one or two more 4’s under 380 yards.

       I thought long & hard about adding 'wetlands' to the course.  After looking at aerial photos of the site I noticed many of the low areas had distinctive dark green coloring that stood out against the brown tint throughout the bulk of the site; which I took to mean that the low areas were already collecting moisture and could make interesting water features.  I'm not a big fan of man-made ponds unless they really gel with the environment.  In this case, I decided that some thoughtfully placed 'wetlands' (if their man-made nature was well-disguised) could enhance the strategy and aesthetics of several holes...but it may have been a swing and a miss.”




#21



Clubhouse/Cabins – Golf course views and patio areas facing southeast – away from the afternoon/evening summer sun.

Driving Range – The challenge was keeping it away from highly visible areas. Accessible from first tee or direct access from the clubhouse can occur across 3 fairway on west side of dune ridge.

Routing – Tried to utilize numerous site features and interface with them in a variety of ways:

1 – Across a dune then up a valley to green set between two dunes.
2 – Downhill to green perched above the valley behind.
3 – Partially blind drive over a ridge to fairway and green in valley.
4 – Very wide green set in valley, hole location is key to strategy.
5 – Long, uphill to partial punch-bowl green.
6 – Long, downhill before going back up slightly to green at base of a large hill.
7 – Across the valley to bunkerless green protected by hollow front left.
8 – Uphill to narrowing fairway and punch-bowl green.
9 – Fairway bunkers protect direct route to this skyline-green hole.
10 – Drive across valley to hill-top, then bite off as much as desired if going for the angled green.
11 – Long 4 playing to the base of the large central dune complex.
12 – Wide fairway narrows as approaching this green set between dunes.
13 – Green perched on dune. Two teeing options– uphill over the bunkers or drop-shop from high dune.
14 – Up and over par 4, large bunker cut into dune left of green impacts best approach angle.
15 – Downhill to fairway then back up to green on slight rise with angled bunkering.
16 – Drivable 4 with narrow green tucked between two dunes.
17 – Green falls away in front and behind with views to the 18th, clubhouse and cabins.
18 – Drive toward clubhouse, down the hill into valley. Heavily bunkered green sits above fairway.


#22



#23



#24



When possible, I try to find tee shots that carry a valley to a fairway that is close to the tee box elevation.  The golfer will appear to have a downhill drive and allows more material for shaping a saddle at landing zones.  I tried to place green complexes on a ridge or mound for better drainage and flexibility of a skyline green or green site shaping for a bowl appearance.  Teeing areas with forward mounds/rises allow for shaping of a saddle/chute that frames the hole off the tee.  Aiming bunkers short and long are used on several driving holes.
Evening Loop Holes:  1, 2, 3, 7, 8 & 9.  The irrigation storage reservoir was incorporated as a hazard on Hole 14, a short downhill par 4.
Due to location, this destination course will cater to experienced golfers.  A beginning golfer is unlikely to travel to the middle of Nebraska.  The reservoir may appear out of place but, multiple hundreds of small ponds/lakes are within 80 miles of Hooker, NE (see Google Earth).
Drawing Scale: the quad sheet image was imported into a CAD program and scaled so that Section 23 was one mile on each side.  I didn’t realize this changed the noted scale by about 50% until entry submittal time.  The drawing should be close to actual scale.  Look at the other entries that use the quad sheet and note holes that are a half section long (~880 yards).
Yardages:  Par 72  5,127-7,294 yards
#1-Par 5 405-570      #10-Par 4 308-445
#2-Par 3 125-215      #11-Par 5 408-554
#3-Par 4 355-460      #12-Par 4 243-349
#4-Par 4 284-371      #13-Par 3 106-174
#5-Par 4 230-330      #14-Par 4 317-450
#6-Par 5 422-540      #15-Par 4 343-478
#7-Par 4 267-415      #16-Par 3 138-240
#8-Par 3 155-250      #17-Par 5 420-548
#9-Par 4 294-445      #18-Par 4 307-460



#25

[Alex Miller]

A reminder to all (but mostly the participants) whose votes I haven't received, please just send me an email which is posted in the first post of this thread.

I expected voting to pickup yesterday, but I guess people are still reviewing...


How about a little discussion on the "sunset golf" portion of this contest? Any loops or layouts you thought did this particularly well?

[Jim Colton]

All of the fly-by tours are done. You can find them here:

http://golfaac.blogspot.com/

[Dan Kelly]

I certainly hope that -- for your sakes -- I am the only one who has noticed that "Length" is misspelled on the Big Red Links scorecard.

[Neil White]

All of the fly-by tours are done. You can find them here:

http://golfaac.blogspot.com/

Cheers for these Jim - they have really helped to give a better understanding of the sites etc.

Hopefully those voting will have looked at them as well as the plan views.

Neil.

[Bill Brightly]

Jim.

Thank you so much for doing this! It was so cool "watching the course come to life."

[Michael Essig]

All of the fly-by tours are done. You can find them here:

http://golfaac.blogspot.com/

Jim, thank you for the fly-overs. (Insert clapping hands emoticon).  It really helped to get a feel for the holes.  When I first saw the contour maps, I thought the property would move and roll more, but I think the scale threw me off, and the fly-overs helped put it all back into perspective.  I am not sure I could have fully formed an opinion without them.

Kudos to all of the efforts.  Rarely did I have to say, "what was he thinking?" or the words I had to use for my son's #2 - "yeah . . . that (tee box) doesn't work."

Submitees, I am curious.  At some point did you think, "This is working!"  That the holes just came naturally or logically, and that those holes ended-up being your best?  I have only viewed half the submissions, but I found that I tended to like a series or stretch of holes on almost all submissions.  In other words, and IMHO, you got it right for three or four holes in a row.  I am curious if you had the same opinion when you were designing them.

[Steve Lang]

  So how many voters ?  participants versus others...

[Alex Miller]

So how many voters ?  participants versus others...

More participants than others right now!

Keep the ballots coming in, all. I expect the total number of ballots to at least double since there are many participants who have yet to vote (including yourself Steve  ).

[Steve Lang]

So how many voters ?  participants versus others...

More participants than others right now!

Keep the ballots coming in, all. I expect the total number of ballots to at least double since there are many participants who have yet to vote (including yourself Steve  ).

I'm gettin ready...  we've had too good of weather, and ...

[Alex Miller]

No problem, Steve.

Thanks for the increased turnout in the last 48 hours, folks. Keep 'em coming!

[V. Kmetz]

In the length of this thread I have lost sight of the rules regarding:

1. entering a vote of Top 10? top 5? - where do I send whichever?

2. submitting a <300 word precis of your course...where does that go?

I also apologize for I have not had a chance to enter anything on the Google response pages graciously laid out. I will try one of these weekend nights.

cheers

vk

[Alex Miller]

In the length of this thread I have lost sight of the rules regarding:

1. entering a vote of Top 10? top 5? - where do I send whichever?

2. submitting a <300 word precis of your course...where does that go?

I also apologize for I have not had a chance to enter anything on the Google response pages graciously laid out. I will try one of these weekend nights.

cheers

vk

Hi Vinnie,

1. Pick your top 5 and send it to me through email or PM.

2. Unfortunately the deadline has passed on the 300 words. There was an update in post #93 as indicated in the title for some time, but a deadline was set for this past Sunday and it has passed. 


Voting is set to close Sunday night, so if you can't get to the feedback, please do make sure you vote. If participants wish, they can start a thread and gather as much feedback as they desire about their own course in due time.

[Alex Miller]

Still waiting on votes from the following contestants:

Matt Essig
Don Mahaffey
Gary Kurth
Connor Dougherty
Daryn Soldan
Andy Gray
Brian Ross
Matthew Rose

We've had a good number of non-participant voters so far, but I really do value each contestant's vote as no one else is more familiar with the site.

[Steve Lang]

   I suspect the Discussion Group at large is waiting for the finalists to be chosen, but it would be nice for folks to look over the entries and vote early for the first cut.

[Brian Finn]

I submitted votes for top 5 earlier today, and wanted to commend all of the participants for creative and well thought out submissions.  Like so many on this site, I have sketched countless golf holes over the years, and I considered attempting a design of my own.  I was impressed by all of the great ideas I saw and repeatedly found myself wanting to play these courses.  The flyovers were a really cool way to get a feel for the terrain, hazards, obstacles, etc. Well done.

[Alex Miller]

Polls are closed...

How fortunate that I did not have to tally thousands of ballots, in fact the number was a much more manageable 34  .

That's still 170 votes cast, and more than enough IMO to determine a suitable group of finalists.

Your final 8 by course #:

4
7
13
16
17
19
21
22

And the names of your final 8 (not corresponding to the courses above, we will keep it a mystery for now):

Bill Brightly
Jim Colton
Dieter Jones
Alex Miller
Brett Morissy
Brian Ross
Daryn Soldan
Mike Viscusi


You can see the individual votes in the spreadsheet below, and you may notice that a very honorable mention should be given to entries 23 and 25 who were both just on the outside looking in.
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B9BREdjWNvx-Vzlvcjk4SlVjcmc/edit?usp=sharing


Also worthy of mention, the non-contestants who took the time to vote. A huge thanks to them for helping us attempt to realize the public voting round:

Paul Gray
Mac Plumart
Wyatt Halliday
Michael Dugger
Colin MacQueen
Paul Grant
Christian Willaert
Tom Dunne
Eric Smith
Jeff Tang
Cliff Walston
Garland Bayley
Michael Essig
Brian Finn
Matthew Sander!

[Alex Miller]

Contestants,

If you did not make the finals and would like to discuss your course, I'd imagine starting a new thread would be the best way to go about doing so. Title the thread "Armchair Architect Course ##" so it is easier to find for the readers. If you can, try to notice how discussions are progressing and stagger the start of new threads. We will have a few weeks until the final results are in, so you have plenty of time.

Thanks to all the hard work you put in, and thank you for the wonderful entries. While not everyone could make it to the finals, I feel confident in saying that this contest was still a heck of a lot of fun and will always be a great learning experience for those involved.

[Joe_Tucholski]

Wait...the guy who tallied the votes is a finalist?  I like how that works out.

Kidding aside interesting to note only 3 voters had all 5 of their votes in the finals.

[Jim Colton]

Here is a good way to see the finalists side-by-side: http://golfaac.blogspot.com/search/label/Finalist

[Garland Bayley]

Here is a good way to see the finalists side-by-side: http://golfaac.blogspot.com/search/label/Finalist

It looks suspiciously like you balloteers like well done computer graphics.
Some of those computer graphics completely obscured the underlying topography shown on the map. How hard did you work to try and figure out exactly where things were located in the topography? Or, did you just have a big advantage over me, by having worked over much of the map in doing you own designs?

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