Three down, two to go. And these final two courses happen to be my early personal favorites in 2010.

While Golden Tee 2010 is set to ship on September 29^th (whoop, whoop!), we thought we’d tide everyone over with a quick peak at all five of the new courses. And what better source to chat with about GT 2010’s five new gems than the actual source himself.

Course designer Jim Zielinski is here to discuss some of the intriguing factors you can expect to see when playing the update in a matter of days – oh how sweet does that sound! Next up, Monument Valley!

AK: Jim, thanks once again for helping us out at the GTB. We’re in the final stretch and up next down the line is Monument Valley. Give us some background of the design of the course, and what separates it from other GT courses?

JZ: Glad to be here, Adam. Monument Valley is set in northeastern Arizona, and unlike the common perception this isn’t actually a canyon course. Monument Valley isn’t tucked in between canyons the entire course, as both Kings Canyon and Rattlesnake Ridge were. In fact, there’s really only one position where you’ll have to hit an accurate shot between two canyon-like walls. With that being said, there’s plenty of large rocks that come into play and lots of sand and dusty dirt because it is located in the desert.

AK: How would you rate Monument Valley in terms of difficulty?

JZ: In general, I would say the course will play fairly average in terms of difficulty – IF you decide to play it safe. Hole seventeen can be extremely challenging with certain looks, but other than that you should be able to play for birdie and end up just fine on most of the holes.

AK: Okay, but what about those of us who are feeling lucky on a particular shot or would really love that eagle versus settling for a birdie?

JZ: That’s where things get a lot more interesting. Besides the rocks and other items in play, Monument Valley has the most elevation of any course in 2010. Not as much as Black Hills in ’09 but there still is a noticeable amount. And then there’s the risk vs. reward, which can be extremely rewarding but also very punishing if you’re off your mark. The giant rocks create some very fascinating, drivable par-4′s that can be wonderful for your scorecard if you hit the right shot. End up astray, behind a large rock, and it could be a potential blow up.

AK: Which hole on Monument Valley would you say is your personal favorite?

JZ: Actually, I think I like the finishing hole the best – the 18th. Normally I like to design a drivable par-4 to finish the round. The double eagle potential gives players a glimmer of hope even if they are down by a few strokes. On hole 18 of Monument Valley, the double eagle is still available, but this time the round finishes with a really long par-5.

The hole has two levels, and the tee and first fairway are really elevated. The second fairway along with the green sit 200 feet lower. The green is tucked into a nook in the cliff that is protected on 3 sides by walls, and in the front by water, which the green slopes hard towards. This makes the second shot one a real fun one.

If you choose to go for the green, you’d better know how to compensate for wind. Because of the huge drop, the approach shot will stay in the air much longer than a normal shot. Usually the winds on the 18th are pretty severe so it’s not going to be easy. You don’t want to be long on this shot, because the back cliff will ricochet the ball right into the water. The cliff walls around the green can also help a shot. Because it’s semi-enclosed, bad shots can rattle around the cliff walls and some actually go in. I think this will end up being a great YouTube hole!

AK: Thanks again, Jim! Can’t wait for 2010!

Posted in Golden Tee 2010, Posts by Adam Kramer | No Comments »

Welcome back GT bloggers, it’s time to sort through the next course in the 2010 lineup. And what better source to chat with about GT 2010’s five new gems than the actual source himself. In a five-part series (aka five new courses), I sat down with course designer Jim Zielinski to discuss some of the intriguing factors you can expect to see when playing the update in a matter of weeks.

Next up, the tropical beauty, Tahiti Cove.

AK: Thanks for joining us once again, Jim. We’re more than halfway done with our course feature and the Golden Tee 2010 release date is approaching fast. Next up, Tahiti Cove. Give us a rundown of the course, and some of the things players should know before they play it.

JZ: Tahiti Cove is the first tropical-ocean course we’ve done since Coral Vista in the original Golden Tee LIVE. The major difference between the two is that Coral Vista had more of a Florida-resort feel while Tahiti Cove is positioned more in the wild and has much more of a jungle-esque feel. There are a lot of tropical trees, the ocean comes into play, and revamped lava returns to Golden Tee with sound effects and all.

AK: We’ve heard your thoughts on the difficulty of two our courses thus far. How would you rate Tahiti Cove compared to the previous two and the other courses in GT 2010?

JZ: As is the case with many of the courses, a player’s success of Tahiti Cove will depend in large part on the setup and conditions for that round. As a whole, however, I would say that Tahiti would be slightly more difficult than average. The lava comes into play on a lot of shots that can kill a scorecard, and there’s also a good amount of water. Both 17 and 18 can also be challenging, and will be very good finishing holes for players looking to go for it all.

AK: There’s been a lot of news on our Design-a-Hole winner Jim Little of late and his hole Tropical Torment. Since Tropical Torment is hole 7 on Tahiti Cove, how did this impact your design process of the course?

JZ: Once we had heard that Jim had been voted the winner, we needed to assign him to one of the five courses. Since his design was tropical, we felt that Tahiti Cove was a perfect fit. The only item we really had to add to ensure Jim’s design was exactly the way he wanted, was building the yucca plants he had specified in his description. His hole is the only hole in Golden Tee where these plants can be found.

AK: Out of all the holes YOU designed for this course, which would you say is your personal favorite?

JZ: I think Hole 5 is a fun par-4 that provides unique options and challenges every time through.  It’s a longer par-4 and there are three different ways to attack the hole off the tee.  Where you choose to shoot may change depending on the tee box, the wind, or simply on personal preference. This hole plays similar in strategy to hole 11 on Rustic Bridge. There are trees close on the right, and a hazard that penalizes deep fade shots that don’t curve enough. On this hole it’s not about how far you can hit your drive, it’s about putting yourself in great position to create the easiest shot into the green.

AK: Thanks again for the course info, Jim. Can’t wait to play it!

Posted in Golden Tee 2010, Posts by Adam Kramer | No Comments »

Il vero Italian si trova nella bocca della Tuscana – The true Italian can be found in the mouth of the Tuscan.

Okay, so maybe this saying is a tad on the deep side, but come on! We’re in Tuscany now! That’s right, Golden Tee will be teeing off in Italy this year, and our Tuscan course Bella Toscana is next up on the GTB.

What better source to chat with about GT 2010’s five new gems than the actual source himself. In a five part series (aka five new courses), I sat down with course designer Jim Zielinski to discuss some of the intriguing factors you can expect to see when playing the update in a matter of weeks.

Here it is, Behind the Designs of Bella Toscana.

AK: Howdy Jim, thanks for joining us once again. Let’s start with not necessarily the course design, but how Bella looks and feels. What did you do to try and capture the Tuscany landscape in Bella Toscana?

JZ: Glad to do it, Adam. We have wanted to design an Italy course for quite a while, even though we designed a vineyard-centric course years back in Whispering Valley. Bella Toscana has a very unique feel to it, and landscape really mirrors what it would be like to play in Tuscany. In terms of the landscape, our artists did an amazing job in capturing the environment and making the course look as beautiful as it does.

AK: In terms of the golf course, what elements did you need to add or alter to go along with the Italian theme? What sort of odds and ends will players notice that separate it in terms of playability from the other four?

JZ: The course itself is fairly open and there aren’t a ton of trees. Some of the shrubbery, however, will be placed in a spot where it can definitely alter how you chose to approach a hole. There are more sand traps and more mud on Bella than any other course in 2010, so that would be something to be aware of especially your first few times through. Other than that, there are also some building structures that can definitely come into play.

AK: Last week you told us that the Great Wall was built for a beginning golfer. How would you rate the difficulty on Bella Toscana?

JZ: The difficulty on Bella will definitely vary depending on the wind and tee boxes for a given round. The par-5s can be tough to eagle, let along reach if given a tough look, and a few of the drivable par-4s will require outstanding shots in certain situations. Holes sixteen through eighteen are certainly no cakewalk either, and they will provide nice challenges even when they have a favorable setup. The true difficulty of the course will vary every single round, and I believe it sets up as a fair challenge for players of all skill levels.

AK: Alright Jim, what hole is your personal favorite and why?

JZ: While I believe holes sixteen through eighteen will lead to some nice finishing fireworks, I would have to chose hole eleven as my personal favorite. It’s not necessarily the flashiest hole in the game, but it does require the player to hit two good shots to set up a birdie. It’s a long par-4 that has both water and mud, and depending on the wind, they can both come into play. For some setups you’ll be able to go over the mud, some you’ll have to lay back to the right, and some you may even chose to go for the narrow landing area. The green is completely surrounded by bunkers, and it requires a long approach shot to the green to get it close.

AK: Thanks a lot, Jim! Can’t wait to play it!

Posted in Golden Tee 2010, Posts by Adam Kramer | No Comments »

It’s all about the courses…

What better source to chat with about GT 2010′s five new gems than the actual source himself. In a five part series (aka five new courses), I sat down with course designer Jim Zielinski to discuss some of the intriguing factors you can expect to see when playing the update in a matter of weeks.

So let’s go down the line, starting with our first course on the left, The Great Wall.

AK: Thanks for joining us, Jim. What are some of the finer aspects when creating a GT course, and how did this process come into play when creating the Great Wall?

JZ: The first thing we do when creating a course is we research the environment pretty extensively. The architecture, the tress, the plants, the surrounding backgrounds – everything is brought over into the game as if it were real life. For China this was even more important, and since it was our first Chinese course, a lot of things needed to be captured so we matched the environment appropriately.

AK: What distinguishes the Great Wall from any other course in Golden Tee? Let me guess, perhaps it’s the fact that you’re playing near the Great Wall?

JZ: Obviously having such a well-known structure in the game really separates it from anything we’ve done before, but it’s more than that. You can see the wall on almost every hole and as you play through your round you get closer and closer till it actually comes into play. The greens also take into account the culture, and some of them are really going to impress and test player’s skills in terms of the unbelievable shapes and cutouts.  On the fun side, we created actual Mandarin Chinese symbols as sand traps throughout the course. I won’t say what they mean, but players can figure it out for themselves. Nothing dirty, I promise.

AK: In terms of difficulty, how would you rate The Great Wall versus the rest of the 2010 courses?

JZ: The Great Wall is a course that has been built for your beginner and average golfers, plain and simple. Some of our better players will also enjoy the possibility of putting up a huge round because it’s definitely there. With all that being said, I don’t feel that the course will play easy, but there will be more opportunities to make eagles than any other spot in 2010. There will still be very important and challenging holes, particularly down the stretch that will be very deciding moments in the game, but as a whole this will be a great course to go at for someone looking to shoot a score.

AK: Out of these critical holes you were referring to, which would you pinpoint as your personal favorite?

JZ: While both 17 and 18 will provide outstanding finishing challenges, Hole 15 to me is really my personal favorite. It’s a par-5, and you are forced to actually hit on top of the Great Wall if you want to have a shot at reaching the green in two. Missing left or right when shooting for the landing area can be really punishing, and the tee shot provides an outstanding amount of risk versus reward. The wall curves a bit also, so playing the hole perfectly won’t be an easy task, especially with a tough wind. There will be lots of looks here, and I think players of all skill levels will really enjoy it.

AK: Thanks a lot, Jim! Can’t wait to play them!

Posted in Golden Tee 2010, Posts by Adam Kramer | 120 Comments »