Tiger Woods PGA Tour 06 Central Park Course Q&A
Tiger hits the Big Apple with the Central Park fantasy course. We talk course design with the game's associate producer.
Fantasy courses are nothing new for golf games. After all, as great as world-class courses such as Pebble Beach and Harbor Town are, there are times when you want to experience something a bit different--to go off the beaten path, so to speak, and take your golf game to a place that only exists in the minds of its creators. Often, these fictional courses are full of outlandish geography, near-impossible obstacles, and fantastical settings. And, while there may be nothing wrong with that style, there's something to be said for taking fictional course design and placing it in a setting we all recognize.
That's just what the EA Canada team has done with its Central Park fantasy course in Tiger Woods PGA Tour 06. We recently sat down with Tiger 06 associate producer DJ Powers, who designed the Central Park course from the ground up, to get his thoughts on course design and what makes one of the world's most famous public attractions such prime links real estate.
GameSpot: How does the Central Park course differ from fantasy courses found in previous Tiger Woods games?
DJ Powers: There are two major differences between Central Park and fantasy courses we have done in the past. The first being the location we've selected. In the past we have selected an area or a country and incorporated all of the unique things that area had to offer. The landscape of the golf course was completely left to our imagination, however. With Central Park, we used the real park setting. Every body of water is placed exactly where it belongs and the terrain is very close to real life. The other difference is in course design. I set out to design a course with real-world characteristics. The course is not tricked up, it's just challenging. Players will have to hit good shots on every hole or they'll find themselves in trouble right away. The greens are treacherous, which means it's important for the player to always be on the correct side of the hole, or big numbers await.
GS: What is it about the Central Park setting that attracted you?
DP: Central Park is an idea that had been passed around on the team for a couple of years. When I was given the opportunity to design a course, I chose Central Park because it was an exciting and challenging idea. Central Park is so well known and beloved by not just the population of New York, but also by the millions of visitors as well. I knew it would be fun to design a course that so many people could identify with.
GS: For those who aren't familiar with the park's geography, can you give us an idea of the size of real estate we're talking about? Does it feature the kind of undulations and differing surface types that make traditional courses so challenging?
DP: I spent two full days covering the park, and that is nowhere near enough time to see everything. The park is big enough to hold two or three real golf courses. If you just walked the perimeter of the park it would seem relatively flat, but like many great courses, it is the subtle undulation that is the most effective. Once inside the park you begin to notice that the terrain rolls up and down throughout the park, just like a golf course. The bodies of water also make it a perfect site--there are six or seven lakes that the course winds its way through.
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