Okay, so I stumbled upon this “Postage Stamp” thing in Troon, and I was like, “What the heck is that?” Turns out, it’s a super famous – and super tiny – green at Royal Troon Golf Club, a hole that’s legendary in the golfing world. I’m not a huge golfer, more of a “hit it and hope” kinda guy, but I do appreciate a good challenge, and this looked like a fun one to try and recreate digitally.
Digging into the Details
First, I needed to get a feel for the actual hole. I scoured the web for pictures, videos, anything I could find. It’s the 8th hole at Royal Troon, a par 3, and it’s called “Postage Stamp” because the green is ridiculously small.
I watched a bunch of videos of pros playing it – sometimes landing it beautifully, sometimes ending up in one of those nasty bunkers surrounding the green. The bunkers, by the way, are a big part of what makes this hole so tough. They’re deep, steep, and just waiting to swallow your ball.
Building My Version
So, I decided to make my own version. I booted up an old game, and got to work. I needed to get the scale right, so I did some rough calculations based on the yardage and the images I’d found.
Next up were the bunkers. Man, those were a pain! I spent ages shaping them, trying to get that steep, menacing look. I really wanted to capture that feeling of dread you get when you see your ball heading towards one.
- Laid out the basic shape of the course.
- Modeled the green – small and tricky.
- Sculpted those terrifying bunkers.
- Adjusted the terrain to match the real-world contours.
The Final Touches
After all that, I added some final touches. I tweaked some coloring, trying to make the green look as realistic as possible.
Finally after a few hours of messing around, I was ready to put it away, I had finally finished building it. It might not be a perfect replica, but I think I captured the essence of the “Postage Stamp”. It’s small, it’s tough, and it’s definitely a challenge!
