CrunchyFrog said:
Strangely addictive game. Oddly enough I got back to playing it just about a week ago. My only complaint was that you had no way to dictate what was the "correct" route to take on a hole (damn golfers swinging for the freaking treeline when the tee is in the other direction)
You have to build your course out to ensure there's absolutely no chance the golfers may try to take a weird detour. If you hit the slash key (I think that's the right key at least) you'll bring up the shot analyzer and see a bunch of lines show up from where your mouse cursor is to see what kinds of shots various golfers would attempt from that spot. Push the / key a couple times to make sure there's no odd shot path attempts. If you do see weird shot paths, build a tree line in the right spot to block those stray shots off.
You can use the shot analyzer tool this way to make better rated holes that force challenging shots for any type of golfer and setup good risk/reward opportunities.
Other good in-depth tips can be found here:
http://jztemple.tripod.com/backswing/sgid.htm
Some screenshots from one of my games in progress. And no, I never play in sandbox mode, I'm no pansy.
Course report screen below. I'm fighting playing time issues on 2, 4, 5, and 6. Other than that though, I'm in pretty good shape. Holes 4 and 18 are the best on the course in terms of overall rating. Getting as many holes rated as Classic (one that challenges all three skills of length, accuracy, and imagination) will go a long way in earning you money and fun factor. Holes 15 and 16 were closed and reopened for some quick layout tweaks, which resets their stats and ratings and Hole 1 was also reopened a little while before that for a massive upgrade (some landmarks and a bunch of scenic tree lines), hence why it hasn't been re-labeled as a scenic hole yet and why it's massively in the red.
The routing map for my course, which has changed quite a bit as it grew from a small 3 hole course at the very beginning. As you expand and get more land for more holes, don't be afraid to completely re-route your course in terms of hole numbers for more efficient play time for the golfers. 13, 8, 11, and 12 were my original 1, 2, 3, and 4. Also note that a lot of the water/rivers you see I ended up putting in, there were only a few natural rivers that had come with the land.
What you see below is the 4th hole (par 4), one of the two best rated holes on the course. Tee is on the left edge and may be hard to see, it's directly under the green of another hole. The hole's on the right side, across the lake. From the tee golfers see a skinny fairway, trees to the left, rocks to the right, and a big pine right in the middle which all make this a challenging tee shot for all golfer types.
The spot below (or the tiles right next to it or below it) is where you want to be for a chance at birdie this hole. You need to hit a long and accurate draw so that it lands on the crest of the hill, and then let it roll down the fairway to this spot for any chance of hitting the green in two. The second shot still isn't easy - small green, water in front and to the left, bunker in the back, trees to the right. Looking at the shot analyzer, only golfers with all 3 skills or with length and imagination will attempt to hit the green, with those lacking accuracy likely hitting the drink. Most everyone else is laying up. So the better a golfer can get that ball to roll down the slope, the easier that approach shot will be. But if you get the draw angle wrong you may roll into the rough, the trees, the sand, or maybe even the water!
If you don't hit your tee shot just right, you end up at the top of the hill shown below with no real chance at getting on the green. Players with the length skill can make that distance, but there's too much danger so noone even bothers to think to attempt it so it's no surprise that the shot analyzer has everyone laying up - and it's not an easy layup either with all the hazards around. When building the hazards around the green, this particular spot on the fairway is what I used to make sure it would be nearly impossible to make a second shot to the green - I wanted to force the golfers to make the long draw tee shot and reward them appropriately.
Here's the scenic 18th hole, a short par 3 to a tiny island green in front of a waterfall. The tee is elevated above the hole somewhat to make ball spin more of a factor. Small patch of fairway short of the water for the golfers without the length to go for the green. Sand and cart path to the right, water to the other three sides.
