Sorry for the late response ....
First off, thanks to everyone who posted responses. I appreciate it. Even if I don't quote what you wrote, I acknowledge your response .. even you Mesmorizer .. lol :)
Ok, so where to begin?
gr8flbob: How I deal with 'VEM':
1. accept that it exists - it's a software way to duplicate the variability in the real game.
2. for any given shot (ignoring wind, elevation, landing area terrain, etc.) if you hit it 10 or 20 times, you will get a 'shot pattern' of results, in an oval shape ... shorter or longer than expected and deviating left or right from your aim point.
3. when setting up for your shot, set the range and aim such that a result ANYWHERE in that 'VEM oval' will leave you in the fairway (for drives and layups) or, for approaches, on a preferred area of the green relative to the pin.
What is a 'preferred area of the green'? To me it's reasonably close to the pin, with the least possible amount of break, and a level or uphill putt.
If you keep the ball in the short grass on the way to the green, the VEM is minimized and your clubs' rated distances and impact of spin become more predictable.
Sounds like it would take time to figure out that oval, but taking into account Quijotazo's suggestion about taking notes, I guess one would eventually figure that out. As for accepting that it exists .. :) .. I have indeed.
jeffdos924: VEM and "the Beast" are 2 different animals.
VEM is more of a tightening of game paramaters based on your skill. Basically, the better you are playing, the better you HAVE to play.
The Beast is just a random deviation that NEEDED to be built into the game. We already have too few variables to deal with for any particular shot. That occasional WTF shot keeps this from being just a numbers game..and actually a little more realistic. All of us that play for real have hit those shots that we KNOW we nutted, but the result is totally different than we think it should have been.
I didn't know this. I did many searches and thought that they were one and the same, considering that others, if I'm not mistaken, combined the two. My mistake, though, and thanks for the clarity.
YankeeJim: I think you might be laboring under a misconception here. VEM doesn't pick parts of courses and make them more difficult or deceptive. It doesn't control your meter (although some think it does) and it doesn't monkey with your clubs. It changes the level of difficulty for you as you improve.
Bunkers are a course's defense. Notice where they usually are-in the vicinity of landing areas off the tee and around the greens. They're put in places where you have to take them into consideration when planning your shot.
A greenside bunker might be placed where it takes the run up shot away and forces you to either go over it or play around it. Going over it requires some finesse and some good equipment as well as experience in knowing what you can and can't get away with.
If you're playing the same way every time to deal with a bunker, and this sounds like what you might be doing, change something. Club up and choke or switch to a different shot type, stuff like that. There's usually an answer but you're only going to find it by trying what you know and then trying what you don't know. :-)
In regards to your first paragraph, are you saying that as we go up in tiers, those things I'm encountering with the bunkers will get worse (or stronger)?
As for taking the bunkers into consideration when planning my shot, that's exactly the goal of this thread for me, trying to get a handle on how others work it, knowing that those bunkers change distance (and other effects), whereas without them, it is a fairly straight up calculation. Perhaps I was hoping maybe for something where people would share something like "Over those bunkers, I always add 1 club distance", etc., but taking into account everything in this thread, I'm thinking now that it might not be that cut and dry. And what you said later about "Going over it requires some finesse and some good equipment as well as experience in knowing what you can and can't get away with" tells me I need to be patient and keep practicing. (It did, didn't it? hehehe)
In regards to playing the same way, it may be what I'm doing, true, but I guess it's because I'm "testing" to find out what works and what doesn't, although at this point, I'm finding out more about "what doesn't" ;) hence my reaching out for help.
Alright .. who's next?
Woodoworkery:
I personally think there is no way of predicting when it is going to happen,it is like a slot machine it just happens, so you get your WTF out and move on.
I have had a shot many many times where I moved the marker to the edge of the fringe with the flag being ( i guess 8-10 yds away ) and the wind blowing 8-10 mph at about 10:00 missed the ding by the width of the line (late) and the ball went 8-10 yards on the opposite side of the flag.Is that VEM, or did the wind lie
Go figure
I feel that way too. Trying the same thing a few times comes up with different results, but then again, if the result were the same all the time, I'd probably get bored. And yes, I've seen that wind thing happen more often than I can say.
Next! Ahh, Mr. Quijotazo. Please, come in. :)
Quijotazo:
... My point : The comprehension and acquisition of "certain control" over VEM takes YEARS of practice ... thank God our brains work magically and one start's making little breakthroughs in the path of achieving a better game every day.
Botton line : Take notes, as the pros do in the tours, get as acquainted as you can with greens, bunkers, roughs, water hazards, winds, etc, etc, etc ... and let it come you ... I can feel it coming to me an inch closer every day I practice ;)
Cheers fellas !
Sounds like wisdom has been imparted, and it's time for me to make my descent off the mountain. :)
So, in the end, I'm going to have to take my time, be patient, keep practicing and trying to figure out how much club to use (or not use) to get over those bunkers, and I have to learn to take more notes.
Thanks to everyone for taking the time to help. Again, much appreciated!
If anyone wants to add anything after the fact, feel free.
Cheers!