Nouvelles WGT Golf

Today's launch includes a new course and the back 9 holes of Kiawah Resort! Please let us know what you think in our forums, and check out the highlights from today's update:

Back 9 Holes of Kiawah Island Golf Resort
Stroke Play on 18 holes! WGT players now have full 18-hole access to The Ocean Course on Kiawah Island Golf Resort. Players have the option to play the front 9, the back 9 or the full 18. Look for some April tournaments to feature the full 18, so practice up!

Wolf Creek Resort Closest-to-the-Hole Challenge
Play a nine-hole challenge at Wolf Creek Resort, tucked into the northeast corner in Mesquite and carved beautifully out of the Nevada desert. Ranked as one of Golf Digest's toughest courses in America, Wolf Creek's challenging layout is matched only by its breathtaking scenery. Click the PLAY NOW button to experience it for yourself!

WGT Tour Starters Set
Hit the ball farther with the 2009 WGT Tour Starters Irons. These irons are tempo-matched to the more advanced drivers so the swing meter speed will be similar. Visit the Pro Shop and add them to your bag today.

Invite Your Friends
Now you can easily invite your friends to play WGT. Simply go to your Profile page and click on the "Invite Your Friends to Join WGT" banner. This feature helps you find people you know who are on WGT with an in-game friends invite, and also helps you send emails to friends who do not have a WGT account.

Green Speeds
We have changed up the green speeds on Kiawah to be faster and more true to the real-world course.

Bug Fixes and Replay Wipe
The following are bugs that have been fixed:

• You should be able to change and save your clubs with no problems now.
• The following awards have been fixed, and you should get them going forward. Birdies in a Game, Closest-to-the-Hole Accuracy, and Double Eagle.
• A few changes have been made to decrease swing meter "stuttering". We will continue to investigate these issues to make the game more responsive.
• You can now see the tournament you played in your score history, instead of just the course you played.
• Delete links should no longer disappear after a certain number of posts have been reached on your profile page.
• As a result of adding new courses, it was necessary to wipe the replays again. We apologize for any inconvenience.

Choosing the right swing is essential to taking your game to the next level. Here is a break-down of the different types of swings that are available to you, and when to use them:

Most shots from the fairway and rough call for full swings. A full swing delivers the most power, causing the ball to travel the farthest of all types of swings. Full swings are the most common types of swings on the golf course.

Punch shots are flatter, shorter swings that cause the ball to fly lower than a full swing. Punch shots are useful when there is high wind or an obstruction in front of you, like a tree, that you need the ball to fly under. 

Pitch and chip shots are compact, controlled swings that are useful around the greens. Pitch shots put more loft on the ball and travel further than chip shots. Chip shots are even more compact than pitch shots. Chip shots are most useful near or on the fringes of the green and give you the greatest amount of control.  

Flop shots are touch shots that cause the ball to fly very high and stop quickly. Flop shots are useful when there is an obstruction in front of you, like a sand trap, which you need the ball to fly over. They are also useful when you don’t have a lot of green to work with and need the ball to stop quickly by the flag. Flop shots can be hit only with your wedges.

It happens every month--someone enters a tournament and wins, but they never receive the prize because the email address provided to us at registration is incorrect. Don't let this happen to you! Check the email address you have on file with us at https://www.wgt.com/user/contactinfo.aspx and make sure it's correct. If you update it, be sure to click the "Update" button at the bottom of the page when you are done. Have fun!

We launched some new features today that we hope you will enjoy. Below are a few of the highlights, and the full list is posted in our forum. Remember that this month, most of the tournaments will start on March 10 in order to give everyone a chance to get a feel for the changes.

New WGT Starter Set Clubs
We have provided every player with a free WGT Starter set of clubs, which will replace your "Pre-Beta" set. Your player is automatically equipped with this improved set of clubs, so play now and let us know what you think. The WGT Starter set is meant for beginners and first-time players. We will release more clubs in the near future for advanced players.

Game Improvements
In our ongoing efforts to make WGT the most realistic online golf experience ever, we've made some major improvements to the way the golf ball interacts with ground surfaces and golf clubs in game play. Much like in real golf, you need to pay special attention to your lie. Knowing which type of ground surface (hard sand, mulch, second cut rough, etc) and how buried your ball is becomes critical to hitting an accurate shot. So be sure to check this graphic before every shot you take:

PLEASE NOTE: One side effect of these changes is that all of your saved replays will be wiped from the site. We are working on a solution in the future where we will no longer have to wipe the replays when we make these types of updates.

WGT Virtual Pro Shop - Sneak Peek
The beta version of the WGT Virtual Pro Shop is available for a sneak peek! The Pro Shop lets you upgrade the golf equipment your player uses in the game. Just like in real golf, the right equipment combined with the right amount of skill can give you longer, more accurate drives or better touch on and off the green. Visit the Pro Shop to compare and purchase new clubs, and use them in the game to maximize your potential. Available today are the Ping G10, TaylorMade Burner, WGT Tour Drivers. We are working on many more clubs and they will be added as soon as they are ready.

• Get credits now to purchase the new clubs, or learn how
• View a tutorial on how to purchase items in the Pro Shop
• Learn more about Pro Shop in our FAQs

My Clubs Section
To equip yourself with clubs you get in the Pro Shop, mouse over the My Settings tab in the game menu and choose My Clubs. Once you are in the My Clubs interface, click and drag the club you want to equip, from the Inventory section into the In My Bag section. Click Save to keep your selection. You can also access My Clubs prior to teeing off by clicking the View/Edit Clubs button.

• View a tutorial on how put clubs in your golf bag
• Learn more about equipping clubs in our FAQs

New countries eligible for tournaments - Norway, Australia, and Japan
Starting this month, players in Norway and Australia are eligible to play in some leaderboard (score-based) tournaments, and players in Japan are eligible for prizes in the sweepstakes tournaments. We are working on our next batch of countries, so stay tuned! Keep in mind that each month we will run an international tournament where players in every country can compete for bragging rights. This month's international tournament will commence on March 9.

Share Replays
You can now share replays with your friends more easily. After watching a replay, click on the Share button, enter your friend's email address and a personal message and click the Send button.

Thanks everyone for being patient and giving us a ton of very good feedback during this beta period. We have a release coming out next week that has taken longer than expected and has delayed our course releases, but addresses a few fundamental game dynamics the community has drawn to our attention.

We have made major changes to the way the ball interacts with ground surfaces and the clubs (make sure you read your lie before you hit). We have also created a new set of clubs called the WGT Starters that will replace your Pre-Beta set.

One side effect of these changes is that all of your saved replays will be wiped from the site. We are working on a solution in the future where we will no longer have to wipe the replays when we make these types of updates, and we will keep you updated as to our progress.

Also in this release is the framework for the WGT Pro Shop, where in the future you will be able to upgrade your equipment. There will be a limited number of items in the beginning, but we will add more as they become available from our partners.

Finally, we know that everyone wants to play new holes, and we can tell you that they are scheduled to come out in April.

Thanks for making WGT the best place online to play golf, and we look forward to your feedback next week after the release!

For this week's tip, we are featuring nivlac's forum post about putting spin on the ball. Many players have found this useful, and we hope you will too. Enjoy!

Happy Valentine's Day from WGT!

It's always more fun playing with others, especially on Valentine's Day. Finding a buddy to play with is easy on WGT. Just go to the WGT Players page and hit the Search button. You can leave the Search field blank, enter a partial string (i.e. "b" to find all player names starting with the letter b), or enter the entire username of the person you are looking for.

If you find someone interesting among the available players but there is a grey button next to their name, it means they are in the middle of a tournament or multiplayer game. Sign their wall and pick someone else in the meantime! If you like who you played with, be sure to "friend" them afterwards by clicking on "Add as Friend" on their profile page, and it will be easy to find them next time.

Cheers,
WGT

For a more accurate result when clicking on the swing meter, try using a corded mouse. Wireless mice inherently have a lag between your click and your computer’s reception of the click, so it is harder to time your click for the perfect swing. Hope this helps!

The World Series of Golf will be hosting "Get Acquainted" events at the Las Vegas Paiute Golf Resort on February 23, March 30, and April 20. This is your chance to explore the courses and hone your strategy in a real tournament atmosphere before the actual competition during the week of May 11, 2009. The buy-in is $10,000 with the winner receiving $300,000. Learn more here: http://www.worldseriesofgolf.com.

We've all been there—you're in the middle of your best game ever, and you need to take a call, or leave for an appointment, or your kid/wife/mother-in-law (you name it) is calling you from the other room. Worst, you hit Menu / End Round/Main Menu thinking you could resume later, only to discover that you've lost the game.

Remember that whether you're playing a tournament or ranked round, choose Save & Quit if you need to continue the game later. In a multiplayer round, if you need to drop off be sure to finish it later...you'll keep a lot more friends that way.

Cheers,
WGT