One of the best features in PGA Tour 2K21 is the course designer, and it is one of the main reasons for the game's popularity. Players are able to start from scratch and build their own course from the ground up. Thankfully, there are plenty of templates and shortcuts for players to take advantage of.
In the beginning, the creator can be intimidating to pick up as a new player. However, with a few simple tips, anyone can master course creation in PGA 2K. This guide will help beginners through the initial steps of creating a course. It will also point out a few tips that will help gamers as they progress to more complex, challenging builds.
First Steps
Players can find the designer tab located on the far right side on the menu. Creators will want to click on new course to start with a blank slate. Because of the way the designer is set up, it will auto generate a course as soon as players reach the creator menu. Unfortunately, these auto-created courses are generally really badly designed.
Theme
There are a total of eleven themes to choose from in the designer, and each presents unique features for creators to use. Unlike TGC 19, people can use any feature from any theme in their design. Being able to mix all of these features provides a lot more room for creativity than in TGC.
Terrain Sliders
Water level is not very important, so players can choose to make it high or low. Even with a low water level, players can still add water features in the designer. Meanwhile, the hills slider will change the topography. The higher players put this setting, the more hills will appear at first.
Depending on the desired design, adding more trees can save time in the end. Similarly, gamers can set plants, grass, and rocks higher if they do not want to add all the features themselves. Still, it does help to have less clutter when designing.
Layout
Setting the right layout is probably the most important thing when preparing to create a course. Creators should set everything in this menu to zero. When creating a course, people will want to have free reign to put all of the important features of a hole where they want. After these are all changed, press continue to load in the generated plot.
Final Setting Changes
There are a couple more settings that players will want to change before they get started. When creating fairways and greens, the game will automatically include rough too. To eliminate this, players can change the rough by going to settings, finding the rough settings, and moving the rough width slider to zero. Save, and the design process can truly begin.
General Design Tips
After generating the the random plot, designers can get started on their own personal course. Those that do not like the terrain can auto-generate the course once more. Likewise, all of the initial sliders can be changed under the terrain tab in the creator.
Spot Where To Build Hole 1
The first step in course design is finding the right location to begin building out the course. Using the camera and panning out can help when looking for the perfect place to start. This is one of the best aspects of design, and it allows gamers to be creative and visualize what the final product will look like.
Create The First Hole
Once they've scouted the location, designers will want to create their first hole using the instructions below:
- Go to Edit --> Create Hole
- Select where the tee box will go
- Select the tee off landing zone
- Select the Green Location
The landing zone should be somewhere between 250-300 yards for a par 4 or 5. Par 3's will only need one waypoint marked for the green. At this point, all there will be on the course is a tee box and bare pin.
Creating A Green
In order to lay down a fresh green, gamers will need to go back to the edit menu, choose create/add, and then create surfaces. There, a green can be selected. Brushing is the easiest way to create a green. It allows creators to select pre-made shapes and drop them onto the course. Splining allows people to draw their own completely custom shape for the green. Once the green is on the course, players can flatten or raise it in the sculpting menu.
Creating A Fairway
Just like with the green, designers can either Brush or Spline the fairway onto the course. Depending on the settings, the fairway may be quite bumpy. To smooth it out, players will want to sculpt the land to make it level. Sloping fairways are also a common choice, as they provide even more of a challenge for golfers.
Once the fairway is in place, all of the other small details of the course can be addressed. Bunkers and water hazards can be added to make the hole more difficult. Trees, bushes, and shrubs can be included to change the aesthetic. Everything else is up to the creator, as the potential for a new course is boundless.