The game of golf gives you the unique ability to pit yourself against your mind and emotional regulation. You must strategize for every bend and account for every slope you may find on a course. Each shot is a test of your discipline, focus and patience, and the courses you play on are designed to break you down. But it is up to you to peak under the most intense pressure and unlock your Trophies and Achievements.
In this quick strategy guide, I will walk you through the fundamentals of your golf swing setup, coach you through your golfer’s progression, and teach you to focus on the greens.
The Setup
In Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 on Xbox 360/PS3, your golfer’s swing has a few setups that are not in the training portion of the game.
The first is ball positioning. It is crucial to analyze your ball positioning when on a slope. If you are on a hill, and the ball is positioned above your feet (e.g., if your feet are on the bottom of a slope and the ball is on the top of the slope), the ball will come out to the left of your aiming circle and travel from right to left.
If the ball is positioned below your feet (e.g., if your feet are on the top of a slope and the ball is on the bottom of the slope), the ball will come out to the right of your aiming circle and travel from left to right. Adjust your shots accordingly and factor in the wind as another variable that will change your ball’s flight.
Improving Performance: Attributes
Every shot matters.
When attempting to improve your golfer’s skills, each shot will count -- from every fairway to every green, it will all be calculated into your skill level. It is important to understand how each shot is measured as a success or failure. I will discuss power first.
The power attribute determines how far you drive the ball off the tees. The key component to improving your power is hitting as many fairways as possible. The fairways in regulation percentage (FIR%) is measured in increments of 10 percent points. You will need to increase your current FIR% by 10 percentage points to reach the next level of power.
Accuracy is a bit more complex because it adds two elements to the formula. The higher your accuracy attributes, the easier it will be for you to hit the ball flush and straight.
As you play through the courses, it is vital to attack as many greens as possible. The more greens in regulation (GIR) you hit, the higher your accuracy attributes will be. GIR are measured differently for par-3 holes, par-4 holes and par-5 holes. You must hit a green on your first shot on par-3 holes, second shot on par-4 holes, and on your third shot on par-5 holes to qualify your shot as a GIR hit.
The other element in this formula is your closing percentage. This is calculated every time you attack the pin from 100 yards out or longer. The closer you are on these approach shots, the higher your accuracy rating will be.
When you’re attacking those greens, remember to calculate and account for pin locations, as well as green speed and fairway speeds. If the pin location is below the level of your ball, the ball will have a strong tendency to stick to the greens more -- especially when you are using clubs with more loft. When you are looking down at the pin, I have found that using a club somewhere in the 6-iron to 9-iron range will help you stick a shot, all while not having to worry about the ball moving after it’s on the green.
Also, use the Loft Stick for higher arc; you will stick your shots and add natural backspin. Make sure you aim long with any type of wedge when you take a full swing. The natural spin will bring the ball back once it lands, and it can spin quite a long ways on fast or sloped greens.
When the pin location is level or above your ball position, take an extra club or two -- depending on the weather. Sometimes the ball will have the tendency to come out flat, even when you strike it clean.
Moving along, we head to the fringes and first-cut roughs. The short game is simple: It improves as your average distance to the pin from shots within 100 yards increases.
When you are rocking the short game, utilize your club face. Open up the club face with the stick opposite your swing stick, and you can make the ball jump higher and sit better. If you want to run it at the pin, close that wedge up.
Keep those bunker shots and chips running at the pin, this in turn will leave you with shorter putts. When pitching the ball, I recommend aggressively aiming at the pin, even if there is a strong wind. Aim short of the pin location if you close the club face, and aim slightly long if you open it.
If your approach shots get close to the pin, your putting attribute will increase because you will be leaving yourself with “gimmie” putts.
Adherence to the Greens
When you are putting, exaggerate your putt distances. The stronger you stroke a putt, the less the ball will break and adhere to the slopes present on the green’s surface. I also think it is wise to place the ball marker well short of the hole when setting up for a downhill putt. The ball can travel well past the hole -- even if it has a good pace -- on a down slope.
Play through some of the courses and use the putt previews to better understand the influence the slopes on the greens can have. Once you find a good feel for your putter and the greens, turn off the putt preview and meters and sink some birdies. It’s an awesome feeling when you drain one from long range and Van Pelt iterates his patented “buckets” phrase from Sportscenter. Have fun and good luck.
