Phoenix Country Club of Miyazaki Japan Links LS Add-On Course Review
Posted by admin on Monday May 4, 2009 Under Sports
Golf is a world sport, with avid fans and top quality professional players from the United States, Europe, Australia and Japan competing year round for a lot of money. Those of us in the United States think of courses like Pebble Beach when we think of top courses, but other countries have their elite courses as well. For the first time owners of the leading PC Golf simulation, Links LS, can try out one of the top courses in Japan in the Phoenix Country Club of Miyazaki Japan Links LS Add-on Course. Domo Arigoto Access!
The Course
For those unfamiliar with the Phoenix Country Club, it isn’t in Arizona. Well, there may well be one there too, but the subject of this expansion is located in Miyazaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. The country club is part of the Seagaia resort which includes a 45 story hotel, major international convention center, and the OceanDome (the world’s largest indoor beach!) as well as the course itself.
Phoenix Country Club has three separate nine hole golf courses, two of which are simulated in the Phoenix Country Club of Miyazaki Japan Links LS Add-on Course. In fact, the same two that are used each year in the Dunlop Phoenix Tournament, part of the International Golf Tour. The courses are surrounded by ancient black pine forest, planted more than two hundred years earlier, and every attempt was made during construction to blend the course into the forest itself.
What that means is that you won’t see much in the way of buildings on the course. Even the nearby beach is not to be seen, although the call of seabirds is in evidence from time to time. No, this course is integrated into the forest itself. Each hole is lined by hundreds of black pine trees, and sometimes they even encroach onto the fairway itself, serving as distance markers on a few holes (just don’t get stuck behind one!) That makes the scenery a bit bland on first impression, but then not every course can afford spectacular vistas from every tee.
The realism of the translation to the computer seems excellent. The trees look accurate, the flowers, bushes, plantings and lakes are all where they should be and look the way you’d expect. This is the hallmark of the Links LS series, as close to real life as is possible and this add-on does not disappoint.
From a difficulty perspective, the course at first seems pretty on the easy side. Most holes are relatively straight, with only a few dog legs and not all that much water. But initial impressions can be deceiving. The course will severely punish the player that cannot drive straight and for distance. Any errant tee shot that finds the trees is bound to cost a few strokes, there are rarely clear avenues to advance the ball from the forest. And too, the rough is minimal, land out of the narrow fairways and you may well be in serious trouble.
The course is fairly flat, without the dramatic elevation rise and fall that characterize some American courses. That would seem to make things easier as well, but again, this can be deceiving. While the course is flat, many greens are elevated and have narrow approaches guarded by hazards. The greens are typically far from flat themselves. It is not uncommon to have what seem like huge holes to putt through or around. Pin placement is often tricky, with pins cut very near the fringe resulting in hard to hit shots as you try to land on the green.
While there are no true signature holes on the course, the par 3’s stand out. They are not only among the most beautiful holes, but are often tricky, with awkward approaches and tiny greens. Speaking of which, many holes have two greens. One used for competition play, the other for regular play. This can be a bit odd at first, you wonder what the two are doing together. So too the hole markers. You will play hole 1-9 and then see hole 1-9 again, since the 18 holes are really two distinct nine hole courses played together.
Which brings me to my only major criticism of the add-on. It seems a bit minimal for the money. I would have liked to have seen all 27 holes, even if only 18 are used in the Dunlop Phoenix Tournament. It was nice to have the multimedia information on the course, resort and area, but it seemed more like a brief tourist film than a really good overview of the area and course. And although the add-on will work on any Links LS version, the multimedia is only available on Windows machines.
The Verdict
If you’ve always wanted to try golf Japanese style but couldn’t afford the transpacific plane fare or $200 a night hotel bills, the $30 price tag on Phoenix Country Club of Miyazaki might just be the bargain you were looking for. With the trademark realism that Access Software puts into every course you’ll find the Phoenix Country Club of Miyazaki a tricky opponent that greatly rewards the consistent player.
Game Rating
( 80 out of 100 maximum )
Pros
- Links trademark realism
- A tricky course on the International golf circuit
- Works with any Links LS version
Cons
- Scenery is not as spectacular as in some courses
- A bit pricey, but you may be able to find it for less than the MSRP
 The picturesque course looks great, with Links hallmark near photo realistic graphics. |
 This deceptively simple looking par three is about to result in a triple bogey six for me as I hit the water on my errant first shot. |
 While the fairways may mostly be straight and level, greens are another matter. Pin placement is often tricky and the greens uneven. |
 The package includes an array of multimedia information on the Seagaia resort area. |
If you're using the above images on your website, please link back: Thank you!
