How to win at golf

[glenster]

Golf

 

Have your protagonist get par or better for 100% completion.

 

Have your protagonist go to the door of the Los Santos Golf Club from 6:00 to
18:00 (preferably when not raining) to have him play golf for $100. Press E if
you want him to quit.

 

Get the ball from the tee to the hole with the fewest strokes. It's a nine
hole course with a 36 regular par and a total yardage of 3,464.

 

A "par" "is the pre-determined number of strokes that a scratch (or 0 handi-
cap) golfer should require to complete a hole" or "a round (the sum of the pars
of the played holes." (Tournaments aren't used.)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Par_%28score%29

 

A "bogey" is one to three strokes more than par--"triple bogey." For four
strokes over par it's called "four over par." A "birdie" is one stroke less
than par. An "eagle" is two strokes less than par.
http://www.scottishgolfhistory.org/origin-of-golf-terms/bogey/

 

If the player's golf ball lands on an "unplayable lie" the ball is relocated
to the nearest green area. If the player's golf ball lands "out of bounds" or
in a "water hazard" the player has to shoot again from spot they just tried
from. If the player's "stroke limit" is "exceeded"--their strokes number five
over par for the hole--they can't try again till the next hole.

 

I once got a hole in one. It was just a dumb glitch--I don't think the game
expected that--but it's like I was punished for it: for the next shot the reti-
cle was at the tee.

 

When playing an opponent your protagonist wins by playing the course with few-
er strokes.

 

You can have your protagonist walk, drive a Caddy, or skip/teleport (Caps
Lock) to where the ball landed. (Those using the Simple Trainer can use Super
Jump and Fast Run to speed the protagonist along.) You can see where your pro-
tagonist is, and the reticle indicating their aim, by looking at the radar.

 

Similar to golf in "IV" there's a vertical bar/gauge with a fixed yellow sec-
tion. Press the LMB to have your protagonist prepare for the swing--a horizon-
tal line moves down through the vertical bar. Press the LMB again to stop the
horizontal line--preferably when the moving horizontal line is as close as pos-
sible to or in the fixed yellow section--to hit the ball.

 

You can scroll through clubs. Generally a wood is for long distance shots, an
iron is for mid-distance shots, and a putter is for short shots. A menu in the
middle of the screen lets you match "Distance" and "To Pin" as you scroll. I
generally just use the club my protagonist is given.

 

More importantly you can move the mouse, so move the landing reticle and yel-
low area, while considering the speed (1 to 8 mph) and direction of the wind to
aim the shot. For example, if the wind is blowing left to right have the reti-
cle moved to the left of your preferred landing spot--the stronger the wind, the
greater the move to the left--assuming the wind will blow the ball to your pre-
ferred area.

 

Try to have the ball land on the light green areas--shorter grass--going to-
ward the hole. If the ball lands on darker green areas it lands on higher grass
and the game gives your protagonist a club that hits the ball higher and a
shorter distance (similar to when he lands on a sand trap).

 

To avoid trees look not only at the radar but at the rest of the screen to
avoid branches that hang over the shorter grass.

 

For very short shots the game has the golfer take over and tap the ball in the
hole. But for longer short shots you see a green with a grid imposed over it.
This helps you see if the ground is level or slanted so you can try to compen-
sate for the slant if any (similar to compensating for the wind). The R key is
for Reset--it puts the reticle at the hole. For a short level shot with a grid
I press R then have the horizontal bar stop just below the yellow area (to give
the ball a little extra ability to go to the hole).

 

Preview hole Spacebar
Preview shot L Shift
Scorecard Tab
Skip to shot Caps Lock
Swing/skip from the opponent's backswing to the landing of their ball LMB
Aim Mouse aim
Change view V
Quit E
Club choice Scroll wheel up and down
Reset R

 

You can add spin to the ball in flight by holding down W, S, A, or D then

holding down the LMB or pressing it repeatedly. It's indicated in the upper
right corner of the screen. (I generally don't bother with it and win anyway.)

 

At first you have Michael play alone. Have him achieve a par or better to un-
lock competitor Todd Rosenweig (easy to beat). Have Michael win against his
competitor to unlock up to three other competitors.

 

Todd Rosenweig (Easy)
Aaron Ingram (Normal)
Jeff Miller (Normal)
Glenn Mather (Hard)
Castro Lagano (Hard) The player must complete his random event before Castro
becomes available for golfing.

 

Another glitch I had happened several times: Glenn Mather had his golf ball

roll around half a foot away from the hole then roll back into it. I never saw
this happen otherwise. I guess it was the developers' awkward way of making him
harder to beat.

 

Golf can also be used as a Friend activity. Using the advice given above my

protagonist (it doesn't matter who you pick) never loses. The opponent uses
their turn to either do practically the same thing as my protagonist or screws
up (hits a tree, hits into the water, hits onto high grass, etc.). Glenn Mather
and Castro Lagano don't screw up as much--I'm more liable to see if spin can
help when my protagonist plays against them.

 

Your protagonist gets a Golf club as a weapon for completing a round.

 

The golf course is the most expensive and profitable business in the game.
http://gta.wikia.com/Golf

Edited January 29, 2017 by glenster