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DISTANCE BUG.

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Thu, Oct 29 2015 10:21 AM (69 replies)
  • Sarah91
    3,227 Posts
    Mon, Oct 26 2015 8:47 AM

    For a while now, the distances seem WAY OFF.

    Many members of my CC have noticed this.

    Example : You have a 195yd shot, 5mph wind behind, downhill 2ft.

    You hit around 190. IT GOES 180 ????? WTF

    Many many shots like this happen. whether its wind with or against, up or downhilll. there must be a problem in the programming somewhere or are WGT just determined to have as many players as possible leave through frustration?

    Our CC has already lost 3 members who are sick of these inaccuracies.

    It happens far to often, to too many people, to be 'player error'.

    Have any others had this ?

    Is WGT aware of this ?

    Do WGT Care ?

    who knows.

     

  • courteneyfish
    15,796 Posts
    Mon, Oct 26 2015 8:53 AM

    Every now and again my approach will come up one club length short. Damned annoying.

  • Sarah91
    3,227 Posts
    Mon, Oct 26 2015 8:57 AM

    Exactly Courtney.

    This ruins the game. Surely WGT must be aware ?

  • mkg335
    5,491 Posts
    Mon, Oct 26 2015 9:18 AM

    I've noticed that sometimes I'll hit the shot and it seems a longer or shorter club has been mysteriously substituted for the club I've chosen.  Had an easy PW to CCC #18 the other day and watched in amazement as the ball sailed into the lake.  Took a look and my club had magically changed to 9-iron.

    Funny how this usually happens around water and OB...

    ;-)

  • courteneyfish
    15,796 Posts
    Mon, Oct 26 2015 9:26 AM

    Just happened on Cabo. Reached the approach to the 9th green -8. Carefully calculates the distance and the ball lands at the front of the green. GRR!

  • PhiEaglesFan
    617 Posts
    Mon, Oct 26 2015 9:55 AM

    You left out some details, so I'm going to assume you hit this shot with full spin.  Even if you didn't my point still holds.

    195yd shot with full spin isn't going to go 195 yards, pretty much ever.  Club yardages are averages, but ball trajectory and spin rate will affect those averages quite a bit.   You hit 190, so you took a little off, meaning the trajectory is not quite as high as it would be, meaning the carry isn't quite what it would be.  Then you hit the ground at 180 into an uphill and voila, 180 yard 5-iron.

    With my setup, when I hit a full-spin 195yd 5-iron I'm expecting it to go 187-188 yards (in no wind), with the understanding that a poorly timed deviation could leave me at 183-184 or 191-192.  This is why you pay for precision and forgiveness; these attempt to minimize what a deviation can do to you.

    The problem with many players is they refuse to accept these parameters for what they are. They continually beat their head against the wall, expecting 195 to always go 195 regardless of course conditions.  Players blame the programmers because that's easier than accepting that they may not be taking everything under consideration.  Players should be making notes of these key differences and adjusting appropriately.  When you take this all into account, and play the game how it wants to be played, you find that it is actually quite consistent.  Then the only true variable is deviation.

    People don't think about the fact that a 5-mph tailwind still means you're hitting INTO the wind.  The ball travels faster than 5mph.  You're not going to get quite the same lift when you hit downwind, because the wind isn't pushing up on the ball up as much as it normally would.  Lower trajectory = less carry.  Then what if you mishit the ball?  That throws another variable into the calculations.  You generally lose yardage when you mishit (though not always).

    I would've hit your shot with full backspin 195, expecting 187 + 2 feet down.  Sounds about right, maybe a touch short.  Hard to say for sure without knowing the hole/pin at which you were shooting and topography around the pin.

    That's why you don't see the top players complaining about this.  They've learned to accept what the game is giving them (instead of complaining about what it is not) and do their best to work around it.   They accept the environmental constraints for what they are and they make the necessary adjustments. 

    If suddenly my 5-iron goes 250 yards (as an intended change), then I'm not going to complain about it.  I'm gonna go figure out what happens if I take off 5%, 10% ( I try never to do more than 10%).  What happens if I hit no spin, half spin, 3 clicks off full spin, half top spin?  Spin can be used to fine-tune club yardages.  Each click means something (click = the absolute minimum distance you can move the dot).

    Now how much do those all different shots and spin settings affect the ball's trajectory, carry distance and what does that do to the roll when it lands?  Where is the ball likely to land based on that?  How will the wind affect it? 250 yard 5-irons aren't the norm of course, but if that's the environment I'm given to play within then I will adjust.  I'm willing to accept that it is what it is.

    I remember many years ago (back when we only had 2 club sets and one course to play) when people would complain that the 7-iron was broken.  150yd full spin 7-iron goes 138-ish.  It was never broken. It was just trajectory and spin (and poor clubs).  It looks like nowadays the "broken" club in my set is the 6-iron, because it typically only goes 171-172 (rated at 180) with full spin.  It's not broken, that just happens to be the edge of where spin starts winning the battle against forward motion.  That's crude, but apt.

    You basically have two options here; complain or adjust.  Those willing to make the adjustments will ultimately find some degree of success here.

    Get out there in practice mode, chart your shots with different spins (BP #10, KIA #1 both very flat) or at least take notice of what happens when you don't hit a full shot, don't use spin, or some combination of adjustments therein.  I recommend never taking off more than 10% on "full" type shots (meaning not punch, pitch, chip etc).   The meter is not linear, so taking off more than 10% can start to make for a difficult shot as the margin for error increases.  If you find yourself taking off more than 10%, trying making minute spin adjustments or use a different club altogether.

    There's also the fact that some pins (not holes/greens) simply play short or long.  Another representation of real golf.  "Yeah it says 207 on the sign, but it plays 215 at least."  You hear this on the course all the time.  CCC #12 plays long to the right pin.  BP #16 plays long to the left pin, but spot on or maybe a tad short for the right pin.

    I promise you will hit better shots and get better results if you are willing to take everything into account.  Just keep in mind, sometimes you're going to do everything right and still get a random deviation.  Sometimes you do things wrong and the deviation somehow puts you back online. That happens to all of us.  As I said earlier, deviation is the only true variable and that's just the nature of this game.

    Good luck.

  • PistolPeete
    937 Posts
    Mon, Oct 26 2015 10:51 AM

    PhillyFan, ive done all the mapping. Kiawah #1, low wind, chart each shot and use the exact same ball.

    Each iron, full shot, full shot with full bs, 5 off, 5 off full bs. I have it all written down. So i know where each shot with each iron SHOULD go. And yes i understand the circle of precision as well. Just like in real golf, you hit what you think is a perfect shot, and you shake your head.

    Im in Sarah's CC and we have all talked about this before in our forum.

    Its not the occasional shot like it used to be, one or so every few rounds. Now it seems 2, 3 sometimes even 4 per round.  Shots i KNOW that should be going 185ish, going 160.  Full wedge should go 120ish, now somtimes flies 130. And its the same with every iron.

    Something has happened, WGT must be aware of it. But they know of lots of bugs and they dont get fixed either. Dont understand why, i dont play nearly as much now, so im not buying balls and its costing them profits. I just dont get it.

     

  • courteneyfish
    15,796 Posts
    Mon, Oct 26 2015 10:55 AM

    Sarah has played more rounds than the essay writer above. I think she knows how hard to hit a ball by now.

  • PhiEaglesFan
    617 Posts
    Mon, Oct 26 2015 11:05 AM

    courteneyfish:
    Sarah has played more rounds than the essay writer above. I think she knows how hard to hit a ball by now.

    That is laughably incorrect.  I've been playing off and on (mostly on) for 7 years.  At the bare minimum, I've recorded 2,778 stroke play rounds (plus countless multiplayer games).  But what are numbers, really?  Sheer number of rounds does not equate to game intelligence.  Case in point, is you courteney.  You have less rounds recorded and more birdies than Sarah does.

    Did it not occur to you that this isn't my first account?  That possibly I had an account shut down at my request many years ago, left the game for a little while and then decided not to resume the same account when I returned?  Would it surprise you to know that I even consulted WGT on the matter and fulfilled a promise not to compete until I reached my previous account's tier standing?  BTW that account, untouched for 5+ years now, is still, STILL on the career earnings list.  And that's back from a time when there were no ready go's, no brackets, no virtual tour, and just a handful of monthly events.  Nothing like today with the credits flying around left and right.  So, please, let's not imply that I don't know what I'm talking about or that I haven't been around the block a few times.  You're embarrassing yourself.

    It's amazing what's not always visible on the surface, isn't it?

    As far as the essay writing, well that's mighty clever.  I'd rather say a lot in a few posts than say nothing in 1,000.  Someone(s) will read my post, and it will make them play better. What have you contributed to help someone else today?

    Are we here to help or to tear down?  Personally, I prefer the former over the latter.

    Have a great day everyone, and I do mean that.

  • Stryder1261
    931 Posts
    Mon, Oct 26 2015 11:24 AM

    WGT has manipulated some shots and the distances, Take Congressional #4, Hitting to center of green the distance is fairly accurate, but go over the trap where the pin is usually located and you generally end up in the bunker or hit the invisible tree branch because you came up way short for some reason just like #4 at Bethpage, always short or if by chance you do hit the green, it kicks you off the back side of it. 

    Another thing, don't trust pin distances ! a good example is #10 on Merion ! distance giving and actual distance are different ! and on Kiawah #4 from the front tee's will give you a distance but if you zoom and move the aim arrow, will give you a totally different yardage !

    Yes WGT knows ! but WGT doesn't care to correct because the lame programmer's would take way, way too long and screw up way, way more than they fixed.

    Best advice, remember which holes are off, take notes of them and play accordingly !!

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