togemag:do you have one for real life golf?
Yes I do ... I wear a GPS watch in most events and play practice rounds on courses where I will play a future tourney. If the tourney does not explicitly state "No GPS Systems ... No Range Finders", I will use mine.
I want every advantage I can get when playing a real-life tourney. (God knows I give up enough strokes to high handicap players)
I also play practice rounds and map courses. I keep copious notes for every course I've played. I will map the contours of the green as I read greens and will pick out noticeable landmarks and record distances to the green before hand ... so I know on tourney day just how the course plays.
I probably know the real game of golf better than you ... my GHIN says I'm a pretty good golfer in real life ... so do those that play me in real life.
But, I'm guessing, unlike you, I choose to help those learning the game ... both in real life and here. I help the HS students with their game as much as I can. I teach them how to swing a club for a cut, a draw and a fade shot. I teach them how to get out of bunkers, how to chip and how to pitch.I teach them what to do when you're hitting from the back of your stance for that low shot and what to do when you play the ball forward in your stance and when to use it.
I try to do the same for golfers here too. But this isn't real golf ... it's a computer game and golf simulator played with a mouse button. But, in a way, it does play a bit like real golf. You need to know how to determine what to do with cross winds, head winds and tail winds. You also need to know how to determine power for putts.
Now whether you take the "Fools Progress" by saying ... I'll put the meter here and see what happens ... or use a calculator to determine how to hit an approach or a putt is totally up to the individual.
Here, I'd rather use a calculator to determine where I should aim and how much power I need to apply to each shot. It isn't wrong and it isn't cheating. Just because you took the "feel" approach to this computer game is your thing (even though I truly believe everyone does some form of mental calculation ... even if it's just memory recall).
I like to help and wrote my calculators to do that. Just because you don't use them doesn't make those that do cheaters ... they are merely using a tool that was designed for this game.
So that's my point ... let's agree to disagree here. To those that want to have a copy of my calculator, just send me a PM and I'll reply with the link.
Yes, it is a game ... not as complex as real golf, but a game just the same.