                            
                           Prestwick  Golf  Club
                            Ayrshire, Scotland

     
                      JNSE Rendition by Brent Blackburn
                                August 1993



                       Card of the Championship Course 
    
                Out                                    In

        Hole           Yds  Par               Hole            Yds  Par

      1  Railway         346   4          10   Arran            454   4
      2  Tunnel          167   3          11   Carrick          195   3
      3  Cardinal        500   5          12   Wall             513   5
      4  Bridge          382   4          13   Sea Headrig      460   4
      5  Himalayas       206   3          14   Goosedubs        362   4
      6  Elysian Fields  400   4          15   Narrows          347   4
      7  Monkton Miln    430   4          16   Cardinal's Back  298   4
      8  End             431   4          17   Alps             391   4
      9  Eglinton        444   4          18   Clock            284   4

        Outward Nine    3306  35               Inward Nine     3304  36

                              Total   6610  71
                          



                                  Credits

                   John Kunyik - JNSEDT Palette Editor
                         
                                   and
            
            Mark Willett
            Bob Polin               for their magnificent objects,
            Jim Wildenhaus          helpful insights, and unwavering
            Jim Matthews            support, without which this course
            Lee Ritze               would not have been possible.
            Gene Rodriguez
            Scott Chesney
            Marty Gleason

                                  Sources

   The "Matthews Papers"          - an exerpt from a book bestowed upon
                                    Jim (aka Revery) by a gentleman who
                                    is an actual member of the Prestwick
                                    Golf Club.  This material was quite
                                    detailed, chock full of tremendous
                                    photos of all areas of the course, and
                                    without it, I would have been guessing
                                    as to many of the details of this classic
                                    course.  I am eternally grateful to both
                                    gentlemen.
  "The World Atlas of Golf"       - by Pat Ward-Thomas, Herbert Warren Wind,
                                    Charles Price, and Peter Thompson
  "The Random House International 
        Encyclopedia of Golf"     - Malcolm Campbell
  "Classic Golf Links of England,
    Scotland, Wales, and Ireland" - Donald Steel
  "The Complete Book of Golf"     - Nick Lumb, Michael Hobbes, and John Pinner
  "The World's Best Golf"         - William H. Davis
  "100 Greatest Golf Courses,
   (and then some)"               - William H. Davis, and the editors of
                                    Golf Digest


                                * * * * *

        Prestwick is the birthplace of championship golf.  The British Open
     was first staged on its beguiling links in 1860, just 9 years after 
     the course was opened, and here the Open remained for the next eleven
     times it was contested.  In all, twenty-four Opens were staged at 
     Prestwick, the last in 1925.  That the Open has not returned in the
     years since, is both a shame and a tragedy, and owes more to Prestwick's
     inability to handle large galleries than to its qualities, which are 
     many and varied.  There are those who contend that Prestwick is too
     short for major championship golf today, but doubtless they have not 
     played it in a howling wind, blowing in from the Firth of Clyde.  Another
     point of contention is the multitude of blind shots which Prestwick
     boasts, the two most famous being the tee shot at the par3 Himalayas
     and the second shot at the par 4 Alps.  Most modern pros have a great
     disdain for blind shots, particularly of the variety at Prestwick, but
     in the old days such shots were regarded as great tests of manhood. At
     their worst, they can shatter one's morale.  At their best, they will
     separate the great players from the good ones.
        The course, by Old Tom Morris, was originally a twelve hole design, 
     but in 1882 it was expanded to 18 holes.  In 1987, the course was 
     expanded to a par of 72, the 7th hole lengthened from a demanding
     par 4 to a relatively easy 5.  I have elected not to incorporate this
     change in my design, so one could call this rendition the "Pre-1987
     Prestwick".  It is particularly noteworthy that the course record,
     set on the new par 72 course, is 68.  For all of its shortness, it is
     not a course easily tamed, even in days when equipment has become
     sophisticated.
        I consider Prestwick to be the first in a triumvirate of the three
     greatest links courses in the world, the others being Ballybunion
     and Royal Dornoch.  That is no knock against St. Andrews, which is the 
     most FAMOUS links, but for combination of beauty, playability, and 
     atmosphere, Prestwick, Ballybunion, and Dornoch are hard to beat.
     So, as if you didn't know this was coming, I would like to announce
     that Ballybunion will be my next project, a joint venture with Jim
     Wildenhaus.  So much for advertisements.  Back to Prestwick.

     About the Design
     ----------------
        I decided that if I was going to undertake a project of this
     magnitude, it would not be taken lightly.  Therefore I have used every
     trick I could think of to make this an appealing, realistic, and
     authentic JNSE design.  At times, I pulled hair and teeth trying to
     replicate particular views.  I hope I have succeeded.  My greatest
     concern was not embarrassing the Prestwick Club with a poor design.  I
     think I have done quite well.

     Background
        This is a Blackburn original, though I must confess that the sky was
     inspired by Mark Willett's Victorian course.  The photographs from
     the material sent to me by James Matthews were highly detailed, and
     I reproduced them pixel by pixel, so I am confident that what you
     see in this background is what's there.  At this point I would like to
     thank Gene Rodriguez III for his help getting me started with PC 
     Paintbrush 5+, which I used in some areas of the background.
     
    Objects
       Most are originals, or are borrowed from my Nairn and version of Royal
     St. George's.  Undoubtedly, you will recognize objects from the
     brilliant works of Lee Ritze, Bob Polin, Gene Rodriguez III, Mark 
     Willett, Jim Wildenhaus, James Matthews, and Scott Chesney.  The
     clubhouse, church ruins, most grass objects, the sleepered bunkers,
     flag, bell from the SS Grama, are mine.  A big thanks goes out
     to Jim Matthews for his work on the sleepered bunker on Royal St.
     George's, for that convinced me that it was possible to do the same
     on Prestwick, where the sleepers are such a distinctive feature.  GRIII's
     fabulous birch from Burnt Mill was appropriated and modified somewhat,
     the town buildings are derived (remotely in some cases) from those
     created by Mark Willett and Lee Ritze.  There is a grass object or two
     from Bob Polin's Pebble Beach.  And I simply had to borrrow and modify 
     Scott Chesey's wonderful flagpole from Medinah. There are some fenceposts
     and sheds done by James Mattews, and two grass objects by Jim Wildenhaus,
     somewhat modified here. Last, but certainly not least, I have appropriated
     three objects from Marty Gleason's version of Prestwick: the circular
     white disk which marks the line from the tee at no. 5 (how many ways
     can you design a cirle?), a nice house which shows a good degree
     of perspective, and the funny-looking building which is next to
     the Prestwick airport.  That, I believe, leaves the bulk of the fifty 
     objects as originals.
        
     The Color Palette
        I know that there are many JNSE-ers out there who are satisfied
     with the standard green color palette that comes with the game.  I am
     not one of them (you).  If you have seen my Nairn and Royal St. George's
     courses, you know that I like to modify the palettes substantially to
     create browner, dryer links-type course terrain.  Prestwick also has a
     modified palette, though this palette is somewhat different from Nairn 
     and Royal St. George's (I like to keep them a wee bit different, 
     something to distinguish them), and has received high marks from 
     playtesters and observers.  If it is not to your tastes, please feel
     free to change it.  In addition, please feel free to modify the course
     to your liking and distribute to any local JNSE bulletin boards, though
     I do ask that should you upload the course anywhere, please do not upload
     a modified version.  I put an extraordinary amount of hard work into
     this project and would appreciate it if those who download the course
     could actually see my vision of the course before they modify it.  

     The Holes  
        I shall not provide a hole by hole narrative, for discovering the 
     eccentricities of a course is half the fun of playing.  But I feel
     compelled to provide a warning (defense?) about a few holes in 
     particular:

       Hole 1  The drive is meant to be tight here.  It is a diabolical
         opening and makes a legendary 19th.
       Hole 3  Be careful which flag you aim for on this famous par 5.  Most
         players will go for the green in two, but I have routed it as a
         three shot hole, and as a consequence, you won't be lined up on the
         flag for your second unless you simply drive it as far as the Cardinal
         bunker.
       Hole 5  I don't care.  This is the most famous blind shot in all of
         golf, and it was going to be done accurately or not at all.  A
         perfect tee shot will find the green.  Anything less, and you may
         want to drive the club through my heart.  It is a tough hole.  Live
         with it.
       Hole 7  The centerline leads over the left-hand rough here, so aim 
         right or readjust the centerline.  With practice, you'll find a
         suitable target to aim for.  But if you must readjust, back up the
         hole, delete it from the hole routing screen, re-route it with a
         dogleg, and then copy the hole back to your golf directory.  Move
         the tees and the pins, then move them back to their locations, and
         the centerline will re-align itself onto the championship tee and 
         first pin.
       Hole 11  A wicked slope, I know, but the ball should not drain off of
         the green.  I played the right-front pin position more than 100
         times, and while it is POSSIBLE to get the ball close, any shot 
         to the left 2/3 of the green will filter to the left-hand side, 
         leaving a long uphill putt for birdie.
       Hole 17  (The Alps)  see Hole 5, supra.

     Land Plot
       Thanks to Jim Wildenhaus for inspiring the "title screen" logo, which,
       in the event that you find my artwork unintelligible, is a map of
       Scotland.  The quilted patchwork of fields was my idea, and in the
       design module, at least, I think it adds some flavor to the land plot.

     Lastly, I would like to thank Jim Wildenhaus for all of his support,
     prodding me onward toward finishing this course (when I needed to be 
     pushed after the Bar Exam), playtesting, and friendship.

     I hope that my design efforts were not in vain.  I hope you will cherish
     this old gem as much as I do.  I wish you success on your round.

     Comments, critiques, and criticisms are welcomed and may be directed to
     Brent Blackburn
     (user ID DJDG83A on Prodigy, E-mail address BBLACKBUR1 on NVN)
     5304 Morgan Place Court
     Atlanta, Georgia 30324


     August 13, 1993
