Right off the bat (or should I say tee box?) I’m going to let you know I’m not a great player here. That’s precisely why I think I can help other newbies . The lessons I’ve learned are all fresh in my mind and simple. I can’t help you break 60 because I haven’t done it myself, but if you’re a newbie I think I can give you a few pointers that should be of some assistance to you. While I have seen similar suggestions scattered about the forums, I don’t think I’ve seen any accumulated in one beginner’s guide. The only one I haven’t seen anywhere is number six, which isn’t to say it isn’t out there somewhere. Here we go...
1. Play conservatively. We all want to fire at the pin on every hole. Don’t do it. If it’s a tight pin placement, forget about it and aim for a safe landing. Your first step to improving is reducing bogeys, not increasing birdies. You’ll do that by hitting more greens when the shot is a tough one.
2. Take your time and don't update your clubs too early. Play for a while, improve your game, and once you start to become somewhat proficient, then look to get better equipment. When you are ready to update your clubs, do some research and don’t waste your time and credits by getting small upgrades (the exception will appear to be the wedges; even the 200 credit ones are significantly better than the basic ones--thanks again to borntobesting for my set of beauties). I’m also going to suggest going against the grain/green—start with irons and a driver before the putter. I waited and saved up for the R11 irons (level 32), which I think are great. And then I waited and waited and waited and for the Taylor Made R1 driver (level 48), which is beyond fantastic; I know that shortening holes by 50 yards with that baby improved my game more than any putter ever could.
3. Here’s one more non-game play tip—to move up much faster in levels, make sure to play every day. You earn tons of experience points for playing consecutive days once you get up to five in a row. Keep it going after that, even if you just play a quick closest to the hole game, to rack up the XP quickly. You can look at this post of mine if you want to see an illustration of this. http://www.wgt.com/forums/t/223706.aspx
4. When trying to figure out the line of the putt, err on the high side of the hole. For whatever reason, most of us don’t allow for enough break. If you’re unsure, go ahead and move it a little further outside the hole. Beyond the above reason, there’s also the fact that if you miss the putt and go long (which you are you doing, right?), you will end up closer to the hole than if you miss on the low side of hole.
5. For full approach shots, add a yard to the distance for every 3 feet up you have to go. Reduce the distance by a yard for every 5 feet down. I know these numbers aren’t exactly right, and it all depends on the conditions and specific shot, but it’s the base formula I’m using at the moment. If I’m way off in this, I hope others will point out their starting point. Hopefully this is close enough for newbies.
6. Relax. When you’re ready for your shot, try to relax as much as possible. You want to make the physical act of pushing the mouse button as easy as you can. Literally. When I miss the ding badly, I normally stab at the shot with a violent jerk push instead of the light simple click it should be. Making your shot should be very much like firing a weapon—you want to have a light grip and barely squeeze the trigger. The least amount of pressure you apply, the more likely you are to have a quality shot. As a tangent, you seriously should look at your mouse and make sure it’s a sufficient weapon. Some require a lighter touch than others; these are exactly the ones you want.
7. After you have updated all your clubs and are at Tour Pro status or further, look to improve your balls. I just did this recently with fairly cheap balls, the WGT GI3-S at 99 credits for 3. I chose them because they’re cheap, have good durability, and slow down the meter nicely. I also wanted these because it only adds a little spin to the ball, so the distance isn’t affected much; I’m somewhat comfortable with how far my shots travel and didn’t want to lose that. I was shocked how much this ball improved my game. I’m confident I’m at least two strokes better a round with this ball over the standard one due to it slowing the meter down so much. Find a ball that suits you, but I strongly suggest one with a nice meter slowdown.
8. Last one here, but it’s a biggie—if you don’t want to spend credits on the Putter Pal or Shot Pal, make yourself a manual one. I can’t tell you how much this impacted my game. Actually, yes I can—it made a ginormous difference! The one I made has lines for every 10%. My putting improved instantly after implementing this little cheat. Part of it is probably similar to real golf (sorry if I offend anyone by saying this isn’t real) by simply being a confidence booster, but part of it is I now give it the proper speed 97% of the time. That makes my misses more manageable and also puts it at the hole with a better speed to fall instead of lip out. It helped my other shots, too, but not nearly as much as putting. At any rate, give it a try and see what it does for you.
Good luck!