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Clik here to hear the .vav sound of laughing kookaburra
Black tees: 7218
Blue tees: 6988
White tees: 6349
Red tees: 6068
Custom Art:
Overheads: By the Designer
Course map: By the Designer
Splash screens: By the Designer
Textures: 12, all original, by the Designer
Objects: 25, all original, by the Designer
Background: vk_au11.pcx=Australian horizon, original by the
Designer
Sounds: 6 in all. Waves and Shore.wav comes from Saxe
Gotha by Jim Dickson (I believe it originally came
from Brian Silvernail), the rest were picked up from
several Australian sites, pointed out to me by Mike
New (thanks Mike, Jim, Brian).
Playtesters: Rick McGowan, Mike New, Michael "Babybull"
Conner, Bud Elsea, the computer players and myself.
I would particularly like to express my thanks to Rick
McGowan, who has helped me with my previous
courses and whose input was again significant, and to
Mike New, who also took a lot of interest in this
course.
Designer’s Notes
My biggest problem in designing an Australian course was always going
to be the limited number of 25 objects I could use. With the exception
of
the clubhouse, I had used them all on trees and plants. But, believe
me, if
the JN5 designer allowed me more objects, I would have brought in still
more trees and plants, rather than kangaroos or koala bears. I don’t
think
that the static figures of animals look all that good in JN5 designs.
Another problem I’ve encountered were some JN5 reflections.
Occasionally, particularly when using the tower view, you might see
a
strip of green rough or sand in water. I’ve tried my best to eradicate
them
all, but some proved stubborn and could not be completely removed.
As it is, with the limited resources, I believe that I have succeeded
in
creating a course that looks different to most other JN5 courses. It
had to
look different, because the continent of Australia is so different
to all
other continents, its early separation from the rest of them made its
flora
and fauna evolve in a unique way.
I chose the links type of a course, because the object limitations should
not be so obvious with more open spaces. If the next version of the
game
proves to be more generous in the custom art area, I might try to design
an inland course with the true Australian bush.
The limit on number of sounds was similarly restricting, but I had
managed to put in some sounds that are peculiar to golfing experience
in
the Aussieland. If you find the sound of laughing kookaburras on the
first tee (and elsewhere) somewhat overwhelming, then believe me that
we have to put up with such a racket nearly every day, and not only
on
the golf courses, kookaburras have woken me up many times in some
ungodly early morning hours. The Australian Aboriginals believe that
kookaburras laugh in the morning to wake up the sun. I think
that they
laugh at the whole world, and sometimes over our tee shots!
One curiosity. While playtesting the course, I have extensively used
that
wonder-woman Barbara Nicklaus. For those who don’t perhaps know
her - you get her by renaming one of the computer golfers Barbara
Nicklaus, make her a woman, pro, off black tees. She will proceed to
beat
the hell out of anyone, usually scoring 15 - 18 under par. This uncanny
ability of hers irritated me, so I’ve made a version of this course
that is as
close to being Barbara-proof as possible. She might still shoot well
under
par, but is no longer invincible, sometimes her score might even blow
into the 80’s. If there is a sufficient interest, I would consider
releasing
this version in the future. Please, e-mail me if you think that I should
do
it.
Voyen Koreis, Brisbane, October 1998
A Short Course Guide
(only for those who read such things - I usually don’t)
1st Hole: You can drive this green, if you want to take the risk. A
birdie hole in any case.
2nd Hole: Aiming for the middle of green might be a good policy,
unless you are pretty sure of yourself.
3rd Hole: You can take the safer route to the right, if you’re scared
of
hitting over water.
4th Hole: If you manage to land your drive on the right side of the
fairway, you might be able to put your second shot onto the green.
5th Hole: Try to stay right of the trees that eat into the fairway on
the
left.
6th Hole: You might have to aim left and fade the ball to the right,
particularly on a windy day.
7th Hole: If you power drive here, you’ll probably run out of the
fairway. A powerful three wood on your second shot, however, could
see
you putting for an eagle.
8th Hole: This green is fairly large, a decent tee shot should stay
on. If
you miss by some margin, you are in a wild country.
9th Hole: Aim for right centre of the fairway. Too far left and you
might have your second shot blocked by the trees.
10th Hole: If you can power drive over the bunker on the left, your
second shot will be relatively easy. Or you can ain your drive to the
right
part of the fairway. A tough hole in any conditions.
11th Hole: If the pin is on the higher tear, you don’t want to be on
the
lower part of the green. Par is a good score here.
12th Hole: Aiming for the 10th fairway on your right might shorten the
hole, but you will probably have a blind shot to the green from there.
The
green could be reached in two even if you take the conventional route,
but only by two near perfect shots.
13th Hole: Left-centre of the fairway is the place to aim for. Your
second shot is the critical one, with water on the right and rocks
on the
left. No place for any heroics here.
14th Hole: There is one spot on the fairway, slightly left of centre,
from
where your fairway wood could be aimed to the gap between the trees
on
your left and faded to reach the green. But it is better to play it
safe.
15th Hole: This long par three usually plays into the wind, which makes
it quite tough.
16th: A great chance to improve your score here! A straight power drive
will probably roll onto the green, even if you play conservatively
you
might only have a short pitch for your second shot. You don’t want
to
stray to the right.
17th Hole: You have to avoid hitting your drive left at all costs here,
or
your second shot will be blocked by the trees.
18th Hole: If you hit your drive long and straight, the green can be
reached with a 4 or 5 iron through the gap between the trees on the
rocky
mount. Or you might be able to fade your 2 or 3 iron around them. However,
if the ball gets caught by a branch and drops straight down, this might
easily
cost you extra half a dozen strokes, so think twice if it’s worth going
for
it.
See you in the clubhouse!