Forums

What a great feeling to achieve under par on this game

• TonyTurbo78 340 Posts

  Mon, Jun 20 2011 7:18 AM

  Gotta admit guys, was really struggling with this game a few days ago, and that was kinda hard for me to take being a huge video golfer of both PC and consoles.  I just couldnt figure out setting up shots (messing around with lofts) winds and more importantly putting.  I took  the plunge and played a hack tournament the other day in which I finished around 20th I think...(oddly I thought the top 70 placed in a tourny would receive credits but nothing for me) and today managed a -3 thru 9 holes at Oakmont which is currently #1 but extremely early doors and a ton of golf to be had.  I'm under no illusions that score will be beaten, probably by a long way, but it still feels good to put in a clean round, 3 birdies and lead the tourny.  More importantly though I'm beginning to get close to the line, maybe not right on perfect all the time but only fractions out.  I guess you just get used to the timing.  

   

  Kinda feel excited about improving.  Just had to share lol

• tiffer67 1,764 Posts

  Mon, Jun 20 2011 12:09 PM

  Good score, well done. Not the easiest of courses to put in a decent score, particularly if putting comes difficult to you. Just wait til you shoot your first sub 60 ;^)

• Xanthorpe 262 Posts

  Mon, Jun 20 2011 12:43 PM

  Well done on the score...

  Sub 60? I have to tell you the transition from Tour Pro to Master has been brutal. My scores have skyrocketed and not just because I have to play from the golds.

  Take today for instance, played round 1 of the free weekly multiround tourney on the front 9 at St. Andrews. I have played a ton of golf here since joining WGT and I've always kind of pooh-pooh'd the nay-sayers who go on about the game being inconsistent.

  Up until now I've been able to blame only myself for poor shot making but I literally lost three birdies today through totally inexplicable ball behavior when I know that I hit the putts exactly where I needed to hit them, based on previous experience.

  I'm not a whiner or a quitter so I'll just take my lumps and move on but sheesh - when you're out there trying your best and hitting the shots and they head off in a totally weird direction it certainly makes you wonder...

  Cheers and best of luck to all.

  X

• TonyTurbo78 340 Posts

  Mon, Jun 20 2011 1:33 PM

  it's just rewarding actually working for a few shots under par instead of hitting -20 rounds on Tiger Woods on the 360 at the hardest level without even trying yawn yawn.  

  I have to admit, my reflexes are half decent, well on the slow meter beginner clubs anyway lol but my putting is woeful.  I think I hit around 70% GIR but can't buy a putt to save my life lol.  Enjoying the experience so far, love the course management and reduced distances of these beginner clubs.  It's painful hitting a 3 wood only 210 yards to a par 4 green knowing your basically working for par.  Can't wait to get some credits to but some better equipment.  

• Xanthorpe 262 Posts

  Mon, Jun 20 2011 1:48 PM

  I know what you mean Tony; I had the same experience. I bucked up and got some credits and have some very nice Ping K15 clubs (woods and irons) now. But since moving to Master level, even they are leaving me short on some par 4s - so even when you get new clubs and move up, there are still times when you have to pitch/putt for par after hitting two brilliant shots.

  Our compadres tell me that I will have to eat crow and move to longer clubs with faster swing speeds and I probably will but it's so hard to hit those with a laptop mouse (non-external).

  Best of luck as you progress and feel free to send me a friend request.

  X

• TonyTurbo78 340 Posts

  Mon, Jun 20 2011 2:34 PM

  thank you for the polite and friendly well wishes, friend request on it's way. 

   

  Talking of which, I've read that having a large friend list might have a negative effect on your swing meter/accuracy....is this true?

• DAZZA501 5,972 Posts

  Mon, Jun 20 2011 4:23 PM

  TonyTurbo78:

   I took  the plunge and played a hack tournament the other day in which I finished around 20th I think...(oddly I thought the top 70 placed in a tourny would receive credits but nothing for me)

  Hi Tony

  It does take a while for credit winnings to be added to your account. Most of the time you should get them on a monday but it's been known to take up to a month sometimes longer.

  Keep hitting em straight and that 1st tournie win will come soon enough. Best of luck.

  Dazza

• TonyTurbo78 340 Posts

  Tue, Jun 21 2011 1:05 AM

  thanks Dazza.

• TonyTurbo78 340 Posts

  Tue, Jun 21 2011 4:26 AM

  Well I'm working my way up :) haha.  

   

  Moved on to Amateur this morning and getting good at accuracy with the beginner clubs.  Hitting maybe 75% FIR/GIR now but boy oh boy putting is kicking my royal behind.  Playwe the Amateur weekly Tournament just a few minutes ago, managed a 68 but lipped out no fewer than 6 putts...man what a round it could have been.  I like to be pretty aggressive with my putting, but on this game they have the hole physics spot on.  I hate getting lip outs, but at the same time, I love it.  A cracking challenge.  I've got 50 credits to spend lol wondering what the hell to do with them.  

   

  Another thing I just can't figure out regarding club distance.  Say my 9 iron says 110yards and I have 108 to the pin, I put maybe 3/4 ball backspin but it still lands past the pin and rolls forward...then the next time I'll do the same and it finishes 5 yards short.  Is it just these beginner clubs that are inconsistent?  

• Xanthorpe 262 Posts

  Tue, Jun 21 2011 7:35 AM

  Tony,

  Sounds like you're moving forward - good tee-to-green stats it sounds like. putting is always a challenge. I find that when I'm playing multiple rounds in a day and I'm bouncing between slow, fast, very fast and tournament greens, it's even harder! I've found that somewhere around 'fast' the distance tiers are right about on. If you go slow, 25' is actually not quite 25 feet; if you go very fast, 25' is more than 25' and so on. Of course slope (up/down and left/right) will affect that, as well as your ball and putter type. The more precision and forgiveness on your clubs/ball, the better off you'll be.

  50 credits? Eh, you'll need a few more to do anything worthwhile. new balls would be my recommendation.

  Re club distance, it's kind of the same deal as putting only with the wind, where the ball lands in the fairway (hopefully), how much spin you can put on the ball, green speed if you're on approach, etc. I learned the other day that even with good clubs and  Callaway balls it's nigh on impossible to stop a mid-long iron tight on the green with the wind behind me.

  All that said, I've noticed A LOT more weirdness since I made Master. At Tour Pro I was getting dialed in, shooting mid 60's fairly regularly, and generally being able to predict pretty well where my shots would go. At Master, it's like I'm learning the game all over again - my average skyrocketed up over 71 again and I am just not hitting the ball consistently. Some of that is me but even when I hit it flush, sometimes the ball inexplicably goes way off in another direction. That's particularly annoying on approach shots.

  All I can say is hang in there. There are some neat ways to get large credit amounts - I've ordered flowers for my wife (a win-win if there ever was one), signed up for Netflix (30 day trial) and Real Radio (14 day trial). those will get you a few thousand credits with which you can get you some nice clubs/balls. But I would wait until you level up to where you can get some Ping K15s at least. Get you a Spyder putter ASAP and the best balls you can - Callaway is my recommendation.

  Enjoy!