Links Encyclopedia

Topics A through E

Acronyms
Below is a list of the most commonly used acronyms in the Links Community

APCD: Arnold Palmer Course Designer - the course designer bundled with Links 2001
FFA: Free For All Tournament - a team tournament for Links 2001
ICQ: An instant messenger program preferred by Linksters
IHT: In House Tour - a tournament run for a team by the team
LCC: Links Country Club
MOP: Mode of Play - the type of game you play in Links 2001 (i.e., Stroke, Skins, or Match Play)
OGT: Online Golf Tournament  - a team tournament for Links 2001
POP: Pro of Pros Tour - a team tournament for Links 2001

APCD
APCD stands for the Arnold Palmer Course Designer. This is the tool the Microsoft Course Team uses to create the courses you see in Links 2001. It's also bundled with Links 2001 so you can create your own courses!

There are a number of tutorials available for the budding course designer. Check out the APCD section of the Country Club for tutorial web sites and other resources.

The latest version of the APCD is v1.1.

APCD Course
An APCD course is a player-designed course created with the Arnold Palmer Course Designer (APCD).

Charts
Putting, playing in the wind, or playing on specific green conditions can be difficult. Some players have mastered these situations and have created charts to help other Linksters improve their game. Check out the playing tip sections of these external sites for charts and more.

Community
See Links Community.

Course Converter
Note: The courses you are currently using with Links 2001 will work with Links 2003. You have two options:

1. Simply copy the course files from your Links 2001\Courses folder into your Links 2003\Courses folder.
2. Use the Course Manager from within Links 2003 to install the courses from your Links 2001 folder.

If you own previous versions of Links, say Links LS 1998 or Links LS 2000, the courses that were bundled with those games can still be used with Links 2001 and Links 2003. The Course Converter takes Links LS courses and converts them for use with Links 2001 and Links 2003.

How To Use It

There are three ways to obtain the Course Converter:

From Links Championship Edition or Links 2003
The Course Converter is located on CD #1 of Links Championship Edition (Links CE) or Links 2003.

1. Make a folder on your hard drive called CRX (i.e. C:\CRX).
2. From Links CE CD #1, [You will need to load CD#1 into your computer's CD player, open My Computer, right click the CD drive and choose Explore, then in the CONVERT folder, copy CRX2CRZ.EXE and EBUEULA.DLL to the C:\CRX folder.
3. From Links CE CD #1, in the CONVERT\CVTS\ folder, copy the .cvt files for the courses you want to convert into the C:\CRX folder.
4. Remove Links CE CD #1 and insert your course CD (i.e. Links Course 10 Pack, or Links LS Classic).
5. Click on Start, Run, then browse to the C:\CRX folder and run CRX2CRZ.EXE.
6. When it comes up, click on the From button and browse to your course CD. Then choose a course to convert.
7. Click on Convert.

Download Full Install
Download the full install Course Converter from the Converter section of the Country Club.

1. Make a folder on your hard drive called CRX (i.e. C:\CRX).
2. Download ALLCOURSE.EXE from the Converter section of the Country Club and save it in the C:\CRX folder.
3. Click on Start, Run, then browse to the C:\CRX folder and run ALLCOURSE.EXE - it will begin to decompress the course CVT files.
4. Insert your course CD (i.e. Links Course 10 Pack, or Links LS Classic).
5. When the Course Converter comes up, click on the From button and browse to your course CD. Then choose a course to convert.
6. Click on Convert.

Download Individual Course Files
Download individual Course Converter files for a particular course from the Converter section of the Country Club.

1. Make a folder on your hard drive called CRX (i.e. C:\CRX).
2. Download the converter file for the course you want to convert from the Converter section of the Country Club and save it in the C:\CRX folder.
3. Click on Start, Run, then browse to the C:\CRX folder and run converter file you just downloaded - it will begin to decompress the course CVT files.
4. Insert your course CD (i.e. Links Course 10 Pack, or Links LS Classic).
5. When the Course Converter comes up, click on the From button and browse to your course CD. Then choose the course to convert.
6. Click on Convert.

Courses
Microsoft has released a number of courses for Links 2001 in Links Expansion Packs. If you would like to see all of the courses available, please see the Master Course List.

You can purchase courses for Links 2001 and Links 2003 from your local retailer or online at http://shop.microsoft.com/.

New!
You can now purchase and download courses from the new Links 2003 Pro Shop!

Player-created APCD courses can be downloaded via the Internet at various web sites for free! Check out the Downloads section of the Country Club to find download sites.

Peruse the course review sites for information on courses you might want to download. Check a few sites to get different perspectives on a particular course. You can also get another opinion by taking note of which courses are being used for play in online tournaments.

Designer of the Month
Each month, the Links Country Club spotlights designers who have created courses that are both critical and public successes. Designers are chosen by the ratings the courses receive from a number of review sites, including the Links Corner and Golf Course Profiles.

Discussion Boards
Discussion Boards are a great way to keep up on community events or stay in touch with Linksters on the other side of the globe. Go through the different forums from the Communicate section of the Country Club and decide which one suits you best, then just jump in and participate in the discussions or start your own. Some forums are dedicated to a specific tour or other web site but generally accept posts from anyone in the community.