Course: Streamwood Hills

Location: Hypothetically near the junction of Vermont, New York,
          and Massachusetts

Designer: Kerry Mark Leibowitz

Acknowledgments: Thanks go to Scott Chesney, Lee Ritze, and Mark Willett,
                 as I borrowed objects from them. (I steal only the best.)
                 Scott's birch group, which I modified, was first seen (by me
                 at least) in his Sugarloaf course, one of my all-time
                 favorites. The two tree object and the colorful single tree
                 are Lee's, and I lifted them from Merion and Augusta
                 respectively. The rocks and bench/sign/ball washer object
                 were taken from Mark's Mulligan Point course, which will be
                 released very soon. Thanks also go to Ted Maiden, who altered
                 the .OMV file's hex codes to install my custom flag when my 
                 hex editor was on the fritz. The course's background is a
                 slightly modified version of the one used in AVENELTK, 
                 co-designed by Ted and Keith Holzapfel. I can, without
                 hesitation recommend all the courses mentioned above, as
                 well as many others released by all these fine designers.

Special thanks: To Mark Willett, who gave an early version of this course an
                extensive look and critique. I incorportated the majority
                of his suggestions into the final version, which you have.
                Thus, Mark deserves a large amount of credit for this course.
                He deserves none of the blame, however, since I made all the
                final decisions of design.  In addition to the suggestions
                specific to Streamwood Hills, Mark made numerous 
                recommendations of a general design nature, and gave me many
                esoteric pointers related to course design. I dare say I've
                improved significantly as a designer as a product of these
                suggestions and the time Mark took to bring his insights to
                me. For that I offer him my humble thanks.


The concept behind Streamwood Hills was to create a course that would provide
a strong challenge to the experienced JNUG player, without relying on high
winds, and/or dry conditions. (The wind tendency is set to "gentle.") The 
course is set deep in the woods, and an attempt has been made to capture the
feel of a golf course set in the middle of a deciduous forest. (It has been
pointed out to me that it is not possible to set a real course in a forest
without seriously disturbing its pristine nature.  This is true, of course.
That is the beauty of the design program.  Not one tree was felled, not one 
animal lost its home, not a single cubic inch of dirt was moved to create 
this course.)  Additionally, the course has a great deal of water, both for 
aesthetics purposes, and because I feel that water provides the most 
effective "hazard" for JNUG play. There is no shortage of sand on the course 
either; I feel that fairway bunkers are more punitive than greenside bunkers, 
but both types are in evidence.  Finally, the course has plenty of hills 
(hence the name).

Combine all of this with plenty of length (most of the holes are quite long)
and difficult (but not impossible) greens, and you have, hopefully, a stiff
golfing challenge. In any case, that has been my design goal. I'd like to
think that this has been captured within the context of a course that looks
good. If it doesn't it certainly isn't the fault of the borrowed objects. I
made significant modifications to two objects (the birch group and the brown-
trunked tree) and created the flag design. The rest is unaltered.

I wrestled with the idea of creating a course walk-thru, or caddy's guide,
but ultimately decided not to do so.  Mark has made me realize that one of
the strengths of design, and pleasures of playing, is for the player to
discover the shots himself. Thus, not only is there no walk-thru, but many
of the hole quotes have been left deliberately vague. I would simply suggest
taking your time with your shots. Study the overhead views. Where these don't
help, use the "V" command provided within the program, and view the holes
from different spots. Many of the holes provide multiple options for the
player to attack. Consider the alternatives, weigh the conditions, assess
your confidence as a player, and go to it. I hope you have fun.

This is my first, and possibly only, "fantasy" course for JNUG. I've
designed a version of Doral (available as DORALFIN.ZIP) as well.  I plan to
continue designing real courses, but may wait for the "Signature Edition" of
JNUG before trying another.  I would appreciate feedback, on either this
course, or Doral. I can be contacted on Prodigy (NPNW29A) or at home:

Kerry Mark Leibowitz
343 Maple Ave.
Glen Ellyn, IL  60137

I'd like, finally, to thank all of the people, designers and players, who 
have made the JNUG "community" what it is--an arena of fun, humor, and 
mutual respect.