Links 2004 -- Ocean Mill Directors´ Cut course is HARD

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Sun Mar 07, 2004 1:01 am

Boys:
 
 For those of you Links 2004 players who need a challenge, download the free Ocean Mill Directors´ Cut course now through XBL.
 
 It´s the Ocean Mill course with tall, unforgiving rough, undulating greens and fairways and an insane number of traps placed in some sadistic spots.
 
 Really, really, really, really tough. But damn good fun.
 
 Links 2004 remains the one XSN game that keeps giving to me. Love it.
 
 Take care,
 PK

J_Cauthen · Post by **J_Cauthen** » Sun Mar 07, 2004 1:50 am

It is a very difficult course PK... what an unexpected treat though. I downloaded it thinking it was going to be some second-rate course that didn´t pass muster for inclusion with the game release - I was wrong!
 
 I was playing the game of my Links 2004 life last night online. One under par through 5 holes on this course and the guy I was playing with was doing horribly. He blew his stack and said he couldn´t take it anymore and bailed on me <IMG SRC="images/forum/icons/icon_frown.gif"> This course will definitely identify the cheesers out there... but this cheeser was an advanced 54 skill point player!?
 
 What´s nice about it is that Ocean Mill doesn´t seem to be that tricked up... even though I think you´d hear lots of belly-aching if the pros had to play a course like it in real life! <IMG SRC="images/forum/icons/icon_smile.gif"> [ This message was edited by: J_Cauthen on 06-03-2004 21:51 ]

Badgun · Post by **Badgun** » Sun Mar 07, 2004 3:15 am

well personally, I think the greens are way too hard to putt on. Not a flat place on most of them. There are a few holes where you really need to think your strategy before teeing off.
 
 All in all, a pleasant treat and a freebie at that, but the greens are just ridiculous to putt on. I hate it when course designers try and artificially inflate the difficulty of the course by making the greens next to impossible.
 
 If this was a real course, they wouldn´t have any members because they would all drop out and join the course with some realistic greens. The USGA nor the PGA would allow a tournament to be held here because of the greens alone.
 
 The first time I played it I shot +10. The next time, I shot +3. Golf needs to be fun and it´s just not fun when every putt you have breaks 90 degrees one way or the other. I like all the changes they made to the course itself, but I wish they would have just left the greens alone.

J_Cauthen · Post by **J_Cauthen** » Sun Mar 07, 2004 4:56 am

You have a point Badgun... I´ve only played it with (cough) easy pin settings thus far and I had to make a lot of harrowing putts. I try to leave myself 5 and 6 footers in this game; I have a better chance of making them than the 2 to 3 foot variety the way the analog thumbstick is calibrated!
 
 [ This message was edited by: J_Cauthen on 07-03-2004 00:57 ]

Badgun · Post by **Badgun** » Sun Mar 07, 2004 12:07 pm

Hehe, John...just for shits and giggles try it with difficult pins and windy condtions.
 
 The developers started a tournament and they stated that anyone who shot par or better would win a game of their choice. Well, needless to say, they won´t be giving away any games. I think the lowest score for 4 rounds was something like +16 and about half of them quit because they thought it was so hard that it wasn´t fun.

J_Cauthen · Post by **J_Cauthen** » Sun Mar 07, 2004 5:01 pm

<TABLE BORDER=0 ALIGN=CENTER WIDTH=85%><TR><TD>Quote:<HR></TD></TR><TR><TD><BLOCKQUOTE>
 On 2004-03-07 08:07, Badgun wrote:
 Hehe, John...just for shits and giggles try it with difficult pins and windy condtions.
 
 The developers started a tournament and they stated that anyone who shot par or better would win a game of their choice. Well, needless to say, they won´t be giving away any games. I think the lowest score for 4 rounds was something like +16 and about half of them quit because they thought it was so hard that it wasn´t fun.
 </BLOCKQUOTE></TD></TR><TR><TD><HR></TD></TR></TABLE>
 
 I´m feeling a bit sadomasochistic today, so I´ll give it a whirl... I´ll probably cheese on my own challenge! <IMG SRC="images/forum/icons/icon_biggrin.gif"> Have you tried playing anyone in Xbox Live at this course? I´m finding that as time goes on, more and more gamers tend to bail out on Links 2004 games when things start going against them.

Badgun · Post by **Badgun** » Sun Mar 07, 2004 5:10 pm

Yeah, it´s pretty much like every other sports game. People get behind, they quit. It must be that inherrent desire to win.
 
 Though I though golf would draw a little more of a sophisticated and older crowd than your more traditional sports games.
 
 The thing that bothers me about Live is people never talk. I´ll tell a guy, "Nice shot, man" and they never reply. No thank yous or go to hell or nothing...just silence. More and more Live is becoming unfriendly to pick up games of anything. You almost have to know who you´re playing with to get a good experience.
 
 But anytime you´d like to play, let me know. Gamertag is Badgun.

J_Cauthen · Post by **J_Cauthen** » Sun Mar 07, 2004 9:47 pm

<TABLE BORDER=0 ALIGN=CENTER WIDTH=85%><TR><TD>Quote:<HR></TD></TR><TR><TD><BLOCKQUOTE>
 On 2004-03-07 13:10, Badgun wrote:
 Yeah, it´s pretty much like every other sports game. People get behind, they quit. It must be that inherrent desire to win.
 
 Though I though golf would draw a little more of a sophisticated and older crowd than your more traditional sports games.
 
 The thing that bothers me about Live is people never talk. I´ll tell a guy, "Nice shot, man" and they never reply. No thank yous or go to hell or nothing...just silence. More and more Live is becoming unfriendly to pick up games of anything. You almost have to know who you´re playing with to get a good experience.
 
 But anytime you´d like to play, let me know. Gamertag is Badgun.
 </BLOCKQUOTE></TD></TR><TR><TD><HR></TD></TR></TABLE>
 
 Links 2004 does draw a more sophisticated crowd overall. The guys that hang in there are the ones that talk, or at least acknowledge comments. I´m just a bit surprised to see that the frequency of quitting seems to be going up as this game ages. I thought the cheesers would have pretty much been thinned from the ranks by now.
 
 I don´t think I have your tag in my list. I check and send you a request. I need to get better at using the tools that Xbox Live gives me to check out who´s online... I´m grossly negligent at that.