Links 386 Pro Tips 
By Ken Huizenga
Version 1.0


PREFACE
I have spent many hours improving my technique and am happy to
share these tips with you.  Way TOO many hours, if you ask my
wife.  I've also included a few of my best rounds from the  Links
courses so you can see the tips in action.  I play to a 6 handicap in
real golf and have tried to apply my knowledge about strategy in
developing my Links386 playing style and these tips.  There are tips
for players of all skill levels, although I don't cover the basics which
are already covered in the Links manual.  

Some of the tips for shooting low rounds are quite time consuming
to implement.  You may not want to go to this much trouble.  The
tips are provided for those who do.  Let me acknowledge right up
front: I am not the best Links 386 player.  To the best of my
knowledge, that distinction belongs to Frank Kuhlman, AKA "Fast
Eddy" who shot an incredible 39 from the black tees at Troon and
has broken 50 on all the Links courses from the back tees.  (Which
I've only done on Bay Hill, Troon, Banff, Barton Creek, Dorado
Beach, Harbour Town,  Pinehurst, and Mauna Kea) However, I think
the biggest difference between my game and Fast Eddy's is one of
execution rather than knowledge.  (He is incredibly good at hitting
the top and bottom marks on the swing gauge)  Hopefully,
therefore, some of these tips will help you.  If Fast Eddy or some of
the other "pros" ever write down their tips I hope to get a copy very
quickly--I'm sure there is still a lot for me to learn.

Most of the terminology should be self-explanatory.  However, I
would like to explain a few basic terms.  Mark refers to the dots
which are on the outer perimeter of the Links 386 Pro swing gauge.  
Mini-mark refers to the small lines which are made in the swing
gauge at the top of the swing when the mouse button is released
and at the bottom when the mouse button is pressed again.  One
mini-mark represents the smallest variation which the program
indicate on the swing gauge after the shot is completed.   A 12/6
shot is one which hits the top vertical mark and bottom vertical mark
exactly.  A max/6 shot is one where you go all the way to the end
of the swing gauge and then hit the bottom mark.  

GENERAL TIPS FOR SHOT CONSISTENCY
1.  Begin the shot by focusing on the point you want to hit on the     
    top
2.  After releasing the mouse button at the top, immediately shift      
    your focus to the bottom mark (do not follow the swing indicator   
    with your eyes, it is better to pick this up with peripheral vision.) 
3.  Press the mouse button on the bottom with a quick burst from     
    your finger.  Don't try to be gentle.
4.  As in real golf, avoid looking up to follow the ball too quickly on   
    the screen.  Continue to focus on the bottom mark for a moment  
    after completing your shot. 
5.  Play with a consistent posture and hand position.  Choose a       
    position which is comfortable to you but minimizes any unwanted 
    body or head movement.  Once you find a comfortable, stable     
    position, try to duplicate it on every shot.  Take a break during     
    the round if you get tired of sitting in the same position.
6.  Develop and follow a consistent pre-shot routine.  As in real golf, 
    a pre-shot routine will improve your shot-making consistency. 

Here's the pre-shot routine I follow on every shot.

A.  Note the distance to the hole.
B.  Consult my play book to review previous shots from this position 
    and determine the proper aim.
C.  Determine the club and top mark I want to hit.
D.  Rotate the view if necessary.
E.  Aim the shot precisely.  (First using the pin locator if the pin is    
    not visible)
F.  Press the mouse button in the main screen to verify where the    
    aiming tool is located.
G.  Choose the club. 
H.  Choose fade, draw, user 1 or user 2 if necessary.
I.  Adjust the loft and/or fade/draw if necessary.
J.  Look at the top mark I want to hit.
K.  Look at the bottom mark
L.  Look at the top mark I want to hit again. 
M.  Press the mouse button to begin the swing while looking at the  
    top mark I want to hit.

You don't need to adopt exactly this routine, but once you develop a
pre-shot routine which is effective for you, try to duplicate it exactly
on every shot.  This will improve your confidence and consistency--it
will help you to get into a "zone" where nearly every approach shot
you hit is close to the pin. By following the above method you
should be able to minimize your misses, particularly on the
all-important bottom mark.  

Some aspects of the preshot routine are essential to complete in
the order specified.  In particular, if you choose a club different from
the caddy's recommendation and aim your shot where you want to
hit and then rotate the view, your club selection will revert to the
caddy's recommendation and your aim will be the default aim, which
in many cases is not where you want to hit the ball.  Be particularly
careful if playing with multiple players.  If you set everything up and
then skip to another player the aim and club will be back in default
mode.  If you've rotated the view and aimed the shot and then
skipped to another player you could be in for a big surprise.  The
view will remain rotated but your aim will be the default aim.  Even
if you reposition the aiming tool after skipping to another player, you
will not be aiming where you want since the view is not really
rotated, it just looks like it is.  

DRIVING
Adjust your driver and 3 wood to hit as high as possible and save
this as your default setup for these clubs.  This maximizes distance
on long clubs. Go slightly past the top mark on most drives unless
there is danger from water or out-of-bounds if you go too far.   
Unless you miss very badly on the bottom, going slightly past the
top mark will not usually result in a wild shot, and it will add 10-20
yards to your average driving distance.  Also, with a high setup on
the driver, your misses will be slightly straighter than they would be
with a normal setup.  When you become good at hitting the bottom
mark,  go even further past the top mark if there is an opportunity to
reach a par 4 in one shot or a par 5 in two shots with added
distance.

D1 OR D2?  WHICH DRIVER SHOULD YOU USE?
I don't think it makes much difference whether you use the D1
driver or the D2 driver.  D1 goes slightly further and lower than D2.  
The biggest difference between these two clubs to me is the ability
to score a hole in one on a par 4.  Sometimes you can figure out
the proper loft and top mark to hit with either the D1 or D2 to get
the ball rolling slowly enough so that if the shot is aimed correctly
the ball will go in the hole, but if you try it with the other club you
come up just short  with one loft but hit the ball a little too hard with
one additional loft mark so that the shot might hit the pin but does
not go in.  For example, on Dorado Beach, I was able to figure out
a hole in one shot on the par four 1st hole with a D2 and a hole in
one shot on the 4th hole with a D1, but could not find a shot that
would work with the other club on these holes.  Therefore, when
trying for a personal best round on this course in recorded mode I
put both clubs in my bag.  I discuss in more detail later how to find
a hole in one shot for many holes of 385 yards or less. 

HOW IMPORTANT IS DISTANCE?
Added distance is good, particularly if you can find a way to get it
without a sacrifice in accuracy.  That is why I recommend setting up
your driver and three wood for maximum loft. On the other hand,
you're better off with a shot from the fairway which is 20-30 yards
longer than a shot from the rough or sand.  In comparing shots from
the fairway, it doesn't make any difference what the yardage is or
the club you're using if you execute both shots perfectly.  The big
difference comes when you miss the shot on the bottom.  The
shorter the club, the less is the impact in yardage from hitting one 
mini-mark before or after your desired top mark and/or the bottom
mark.  So that's one payoff from hitting longer drives.  

The biggest payoff from long drives comes on holes where you can
get to the green in one less shot by hitting a long drive.  In this
situation you can easily save an entire shot with the added
distance.  And even if you don't hit the green, the odds of getting up
and down in two shots (or one) from chipping distance is much
better than it is for a full shot from the fairway once you've honed
your chipping skills.  

Therefore, you should be aggressive and go for the green on most
par fours of 300-350 yards unless there is a good chance of going
in the water or out-of-bounds if you miss the bottom mark.  On the
other hand, if a par four is 400 yards long or longer, don't try to get
as close to the green as possible by going way past the top mark. 
(Unless you can get close enough to the green to design an
"automatic chip" which is described later) You're better off to settle
for a high percentage of fairways hit in this situation.  It doesn't
make that much enough difference to have a 70 yard shot versus a
150 yard shot if you're risking the potential to end up in the rough,
sand or trees by going for the extra distance.  

Par fours of 350-400 are potentially reachable, but unless downhill,
they require going nearly or all the way to the end of the swing
gauge.  If you'll really good at hitting the bottom mark with the driver
you should go for many of these greens on your drive also.  But if
you miss the shot on the bottom you could end up 50 or more yards
off line. Whether or not this is acceptable to you depends on how
badly you need to make an eagle and the degree of hazards (O.B.,
trees, etc.) which could penalize you.  Unless you're very good at
hitting the bottom mark when you go nearly all the way to the end
of the swing gauge, the best strategy on many par fours of 350-375
yards is to go about half way past the top to hit a 320-330 yard
drive and leave yourself with an easy chip. If you get VERY good at
hitting 12/6 shots (exactly) then another strategy may be even
better. This is described later in "Programming 2's on long par 4's
and  Par 5's."

Likewise, for a par 5 of 550 yards or less, you shouldn't  place
much premium on distance.  If you hit a decent drive of 270-280
yards you will have an easy shot to the green from the fairway. 
You won't be in the trees, sand or rough if you hit just barely past
the top mark even if you miss the bottom mark by one or two
mini-marks.  If, however, you're playing a par 5 of 550 yards or
more you should go for some extra distance on your tee shot in
order to get a chance to go for the green in two shots without
having to go very much past the top mark on your second shot.  If
you mess up and hit it in the trees or sand in most cases you'll still
be able to get within short iron distance for your third shot and
make a birdie with a good approach shot.  The key when making a
gamble is determining whether there is a full shot reward if the
gamble succeeds--if there isn't you're usually better off playing the
more conservative shot.  

AIMING DRIVES
Particularly when playing a course for the first few times it is helpful
to utilize the top view when aiming drives.   By using the top view
you can usually determine a landmark to aim at in order to hit the
fairway on dogleg holes.   Another useful feature of the top view is
the ability to determine the distance from the tee of various spots in
the driving area.  Do this by placing the mouse arrow in the top
view and pressing the right mouse button.  This is particularly useful
when a water hazard crosses the fairway--you can determine the
maximum distance to hit and still avoid the hazard.  It is also useful
on dogleg holes where you need to determine how far you can drive
the ball without going through the fairway into the rough on the
other side.  You can also determine whether or not you should try to
carry sand traps in the corner of a dogleg.  

Don't always aim for the middle of the fairway.  If there are trees,
out of bounds, water hazards or sand traps which are more
dangerous on the left side of the hole aim for the right third of the
fairway--giving yourself a little margin for error.  You should also
note situations where you want to favor the left or right side of the
fairway because of your approach shot.   Sometimes you can avoid
going directly over a water hazard or sand trap on your approach
shot if you attack the green from the left or right side of the fairway. 
In other cases it may be best to play your approach shot from one
side of the fairway to avoid having to curve the ball around trees on
your approach shot.

When attempting to hit over trees, use the "flag finder" to determine
exactly where to aim.  Then place the aiming tool at the point in the
trees where the flagstick disappears.  Sometimes when aiming at
trees the aiming tool does not appear.  Don't be concerned about
this, it will still be there, but it is invisible since it is now behind the
trees.  This results in a slightly more accurate aim than placing the
aiming tool in the foreground where it may be visible, but most likely
is slightly off the true line.

When going over a water hazard, probe (with the aiming tool) the
distance required to carry the water directly on your desired line and
20-30 yards left and right of this line.  Unless there is a high reward
for "biting off" a lot of the water hazard and getting closer to the
green, you should allow for the possibility of missing your shot by
two mini-marks on the bottom.  This will result in hitting the shot off
direction and shorter than you wanted.  For example, on par 5 Bay
Hill 6, it is tempting to try to aim far left and try to get close to or on
the green with your drive.  However, if you hit a little early on the
bottom, you will probably get wet.  Because this lake plays as a
regular, and not a lateral water hazard, you will essentially lose two
shots if you go in the water.  Unless you're very good at hitting the
bottom mark, you should avoid this temptation--don't aim so far
left--if you happen to hit one mini-mark early on the bottom the
chances are you'll still carry the hazard and have an opportunity to
go for the green in two.  Also, try to err on the side of hitting the
shot slightly late.  Try to hit the shot one mini-mark late--chances
are you still may hit it exactly on the bottom or one mini-mark early,
but you will significantly reduce your chance of hitting two or more
mini-marks early and hitting into the water.

When aiming your drives on reachable par fours always aim in
EXACTLY the same position. (Identify a single pixel) This way if you
hit a good shot it will always end up in exactly the same place.  You
will then know exactly what shot is required to make your eagle putt
or chip.  For example, on Firestone #1 from the white tees I know
that a perfect shot which goes all the way to the max on the top
and hits exactly on the bottom will result in a 42 foot putt--and I
know exactly where to aim the putt and which top mark to hit in
order to make it.  Better yet, if I hit the max top mark and miss by
one mini-mark late on the bottom, I will end up in the right trap 29
yards away 50% of the time.  From this position a perfect 8 iron
chip, aimed directly at the hole, goes in every time. 

Another technique which relates to hitting par fours on your drive
and making the eagle putt relates to placement of the aiming tool
when attempting the putt.  Experiment by using mulligans to
determine the optimum aiming position.  In some cases there is
only one way to make the putt--you have to hit exactly the right top
mark and the bottom mark.  In other cases by slightly adjusting the
aim of your putt you can expand your possibilities to two or three
combinations which will go in the hole.  For example, on Barton
Creek #1 from the white tees, a perfect max/6 D2 drive ends up 26
feet from the hole.  If you place the marker on the left lip there is
only one way to make the putt.  However, if you place the marker
mid-way between the left lip and the center of the cup there are
three ways to make it.  The original putt still goes in on the right
side of the hole.  The same top mark hit one mini-mark early on the
bottom goes in the left side of the hole.  And going one mark past
the original top mark and hit exactly on the bottom goes in the
center of the hole.  Therefore, by precisely aiming your tee shot you
get in the same place every time, and by fine tuning the aim of your
putt you've significantly increased the probability of making it.

GAUGING DISTANCE ON APPROACH SHOTS
Unless there is severe danger if a shot is hit too long (e.g. a water
hazard), or you are very good at hitting the bottom mark, always go
one mini-mark past where you would theoretically calculate the top
mark should be with a perfect hit on the bottom, unless you can hit
the bottom mark at least 50% of the time. If you miss the bottom
the majority of the time this strategy will enable you to hit closer to
the pin on average.  If you do happen to hit the bottom mark, at
worst you will be about 25 feet past the pin--still a fairly makable
distance.  If you miss the bottom by one mini-mark you will be very
close to the hole, assuming you hit the correct amount on the top. 
If you miss by two mini-marks on the bottom you may still get on
the front of the green.  

For a level shot from the fairway you should generally try to hit one
mini-mark past the top if you are in the middle of a club's range.  At
the beginning of the range try to hit the top mark exactly.  At the
end of the range try to hit two mini-marks past the top.   By "range" 
I mean the distance which the caddy recommends for a club.  For
example, the range of a 9 iron is 120-134 yards from the fairway. 
The caddy recommends a 9 iron for this shot regardless of whether
the pin is substantially above or below the ball.  You should also
determine the exact range of your clubs from rough, heavy rough
and sand.  (As far as I can tell, concrete, asphalt and dirt play the
same as fairway)  This way you can apply the same analysis to all
of your shots and slightly adjust your desired top mark depending
on whether you are at the beginning, middle, or end of a club's
range.

You should adjust this strategy slightly depending on the relative
desirability of being short vs. past the pin.  For example, if there is a
lot of danger (e.g. a water hazard) in front of a green you may want
to choose a top mark which gets you over the water even if you
miss on the bottom by two mini-marks.  If there is no trouble in front
of the green, but putts from past the pin are very difficult, you may
want to choose a top mark so that even if you hit the shot exactly
on the bottom you will not go more than a few feet past the hole.  If
you make these types of adjustments in your desired top mark you
will be sacrificing average distance from the hole, but the impact on
your scores should be more than offset by reducing penalty strokes
and three putts.

To get the lowest average distance from the hole you need to miss
long about as often as you miss short.   Keep a record for a while
of how often you finish short vs. long.  Adjust the degree you go
past the top and/or your club selection until you are equally likely to
be long vs. short.  As your skill at hitting the bottom mark improves
you will need to adjust this strategy accordingly.

ALTERNATE TECHNIQUE FOR APPROACH SHOTS 
Instead of varying the top mark to try to hit on an approach shot,
depending on whether you are at the beginning, middle or end of a
clubs range you may want to use an alternate technique.  This
involves making an adjustment to the loft of the club (which varies
the distance of the club) so that you can always aim for top mark.  
In order to develop the data for this technique, you should get onto
a long, flat fairway in practice mode with mulligans.  With each club,
determine the distance that each shot will go when hitting your
desired top mark with varying lofts.  I recommend that you at least
record shots hit with the maximum loft, the loft in the middle and
half way in between.  

If you are very good at hitting your desired top mark and the bottom
mark exactly, you may only want to record these shots.  By using
the data from these three lofts you will break down the 12-15 yard
distance difference between clubs to only 3-5 yards and when
playing a round can chose the proper loft for the distance required. 
To be even more precise, you can extrapolate the results of the
three lofts and set a loft somewhere in between your three points
for added distance control.  If you hit the shot you want you should
be within a few feet of the hole and also significantly increase the
probability that the shot will go in. If you are not so good at hitting
your desired top and bottom marks you may want to hit 10-20 shots
with each club at each of the three lofts and determine the average
distance for each shot.  Then, when playing, you will know the best
shot to attempt in order to AVERAGE the correct distance.  Just
remember, that as you improve at hitting the bottom mark over time 
you should redo your charts at your new skill level.  The advantage
to this technique vs. using different top marks is that your
shotmaking may be more consistent if you nearly always try to hit
the same top mark on your approach shots.  

ADVANCED TECHNIQUE
If you go further past the point you desired on the top, you can
adjust by intentionally missing the bottom mark.  This will result in a
shot which is pulled left if you hit before the bottom mark or pushed
right if you hit after the bottom mark.  Nevertheless, you will
probably end up closer to the hole than if you hit the bottom mark
exactly and go 40 or more feet past the pin.  When using this
technique you should choose between hitting early or late and stick
with that approach unless there is water or out of bounds on the
side you favor.  

AIMING APPROACH SHOTS
For many approach shots you should put the aiming tool directly on
the pin. However, in certain situations you should intentionally try to
hit the ball left or right of the pin.  In particular, you should do this to
avoid severe downhill putts which are sometimes impossible to
leave close to the hole--you either make the putt or you're left with a
15-20 second putt uphill.  

On many holes even if you want to shoot directly at the pin and are
not overly concerned with getting on the "wrong side" of the pin it is
best to aim slightly right or left of the pin. Sometimes this is due to
the slope of the green--the shot flies directly toward the aiming tool,
but once it hits the green it rolls left or right.  In other cases, the
shot actually tends to drift 5-15 feet left or right of the aiming tool
with a perfect bottom hit.  Make a note of such situations.  If you
adjust for this by aiming left of right of  hole on your approach you
will get closer to the pin on average and make more birdies. This
effect can vary, depending on your position on the fairway.  In some
cases, from the left of the fairway a perfect bottom shot will end up
left of the hole, while from the right side of the fairway the shot will
end up right of the hole, or vice-versa.  I think this has to do with
the slope of the fairway--in real golf, if the ball is below your feet,
the shot will tend to fade, while if the ball is above your feet, the ball
will tend to draw.  

As with hitting long and short, you should adjust your aim
depending on your tendency to hit left or right of the pin.  If, when
you miss the bottom mark you tend to hit early on the bottom, you
should aim a little right to compensate for this tendency, and a little
left if you tend to miss "late".  Long term, you will probably want to
"fix your swing" so that you as equally likely to miss early as late--
giving you the best chance at hitting the bottom exactly, and
minimizing your chance of missing the bottom by two or more mini-
marks.  However, when playing a round, as in real golf, you should
forget about technique improvement and make adjustments to your
aim to "play the game you brought to the course".  

UPHILL AND DOWNHILL SHOTS
Use the profile screen to determine how much above or below the
pin is from the ball on hilly courses.   When hitting a shot where the
pin is above the ball, you should add about one club for every 30
feet in elevation.   Adjust less or more if the shot is less or more
than a multiple of 30 feet in elevation.   A good rule of thumb is to
add about one yard for every three feet in elevation if you are trying
to select not only the club, but also the loft for a specific distance. 
For downhill shots, the effect is less.  The effect on downhill shots
is almost negligible with lofted clubs--but more noticeable with long
irons and woods.   Although these general guidelines will help you
better compensate for the impact of an uphill vs. downhill lie,
developing a "Play Book" will dramatically improve your accuracy for
hitting shots to uphill or downhill pins.

HITTING PAR 4'S IN ONE SHOT
There are several "reachable" par 4's which seem to be impossible
to hit with your drive because of trees which are in the way near the
tee.  In many cases by experimenting with rotating the view,
designing a custom setup (especially more or less draw or fade
than standard) and proper aim you can get over or the trees.   First
try to find a combination of rotation, club setup and aim which will
allow you to hit the green.  In some cases this may mean choosing
a different club than you would normally use for the required
distance in order to hit the ball higher. Once you've found a shot
which gets you on the green then make small adjustments in your
aim and/or club setup so that you can get within easy eagle range
or even have the possibility of scoring a hole-in-one.   

A good example of a par four, which although not very long, seems
at first to be impossible to hit off the tee is Mauna Kea #1.
However, it can be done from any set of tees with the proper
rotation, setup and aim.  I will also describe later, how to hit
"through the trees" on this hole and others like it by placing the
aiming tool on the far right of the screen.

Sometimes you should aim your shot slightly away from the position
you would choose if your objective were to get as close to the hole
as possible with the ideal shot.  An example of such a situation
would be where there is a cart path near the green and you
determine that a shot which is missed by one mini-mark on the
bottom can hit the cart path and end up close enough to the hole
for an easy chip if you aim slightly left or right of your "ideal" line.
Another example would be where there is out-of-bounds, or a water
hazard on one side of the hole.  In this case, you may want to aim
your shot far enough away from the trouble so that if you miss the
shot by one mini-mark on the bottom you will still be safe.

IDENTIFYING THE REQUIRED TOP MARK
When you find a shot on a long par 4 which gets close to the hole
(or goes in) you need to be able to precisely record the top mark
you want to hit to repeat the shot.  You need to have a name for
each mini-mark past the top mark.  Although the little lines on the
swing gauge are very small it is possible to distinguish between
them with a bit a practice.  There are 11 mini-marks past the top
mark.  I call these +1, +2, +3, +4, mid-1, mid, mid+1, max-3, max-2,
max-1 and max.  
  
HITTING "THROUGH" TREES ON DOGLEG HOLES
As an alternative to hitting a fade or draw around trees on your tee
shot on dogleg holes it is usually possible to hit "through" them.  I
first noticed this phenomena when viewing a recorded round by
"Westy" on the first hole of Mauna Kea.  Rather than rotating the
view towards the hole and then hitting a fade or draw around the
trees near the hole he simply put the aiming tool on the far right of
the screen about 25 ft. away and hit a straight shot.  When aimed in
this position, it is impossible to hit the trees in spite of the fact that if
you would rotate and then aim in the same direction towards the pin
you would almost always hit the trees.  In general, if you hit a shot
which goes off the side of the screen, before it hits any trees it will
not hit the trees even though the trees are directly in line with the
hole.  This same thing is  true when attempting to hit over trees--if
your shot goes off the top of the screen before hitting trees, it will
not hit them, even though the trees may actually be too tall to carry,
if for example, you were to try to hit over them with the "small" view
of the hole. 

On a severe dogleg hole it is often sufficient to aim on the far right
or left of the screen without any rotation of the view.  On a more
gentle dogleg with trees on the inside of the dogleg, you should first
rotate away from the dogleg (until the trees disappear) and then
experiment with different side-of-screen aiming placements.  For
example, on a gentle dogleg right with trees blocking a direct
approach, I aim 15-20 degrees left and then determine the proper
aiming position on the right edge of the screen.

"PROGRAMMING" HOLES IN ONE
Want to give yourself the maximum chance to make a hole in one
(or several) during a recorded round?  You can generally determine
in advance the exact shot which is required to make a hole in one,
as long as you are playing without wind.  This can be done not only
on par 3's, but also reachable par 4's and par 5's (e.g # 6 at Bay
Hill if you go over the water)  

Here's how to do it. Select the club which you would normally use
for this distance. Take several tee shots until you find the proper top
mini-mark to hit which gets you very close to the hole when you hit
the bottom mark exactly.  Once you've found this mark, adjust the
loft of the club slightly so that your shot rolls only 1-3 feet past the
hole.  At this speed, if you are aimed at the right spot the shot
should go in the hole.   If you are unable to find a shot which rolls
slowly past the hole with your initial top mark, you can try hitting
one more or less mini-marks on top and then changing the loft until
you find the right shot.  You may even have to select a different
club than you originally thought would do the job.

On long par 4's you may not be able to find the ideal set-up with a
straight drive.  All of the possible top mark / loft combinations may
be either too hard or too soft to go in the hole.  In these situations,
you may be able to find a shot  by drawing or fading the shot, which
reduces the distance for any given top-mark versus a straight shot. 
Once you've found the ideal distance to hit the shot, make slight
adjustments to your aim until you get closer and closer to going in
the hole when you hit your desired top/bottom shot.   Eventually,
with a bit of luck, you'll get the hole in one.

To find a hole in one position you will often have to take many
shots with very minor adjustments to your aim--moving the aiming
tool slightly left or right as well as nearer or further from the ball. 
Ideally you should try to find a spot near an identifiable object such
as a tree in the distance, the edge of a trap, a tee marker or within
a few pixels left or right of the pin.  This will help you to relocate the
exact aiming tool position later on when you are playing a recorded
round.  

To find a hole in one shot may take dozens, if not hundreds of
shots, depending of course on how frequently you can hit your
desired shot on the top and bottom and the difficulty of the pin
position.  You may even find that you will need to "go back to the
drawing board" in terms of your top mark, loft or fade/draw if you
can't find a shot that will go in after many attempts.  This, however
is unusual.  It usually just takes perseverance to find an aiming spot
which will work.

When you are unable to find hole in one aiming position which is
near an identifiable object you should try aiming positions in the
middle of the fairway, rough or sand.  You should be able to
relocate this position, but with a little more difficultly, by noting the
distance and height from the ball, and if there are multiple pixels
with the same distance/height reading, then determining the
proximity of this pixel to other pixels with slightly different readings. 
For example, you may determine that there are three pixels with a
137Y/14 inch reading and the one which you want is just to the right
of a pixel with a 137Y/15 inch reading.  The "look" of the aiming tool
is another thing to note.  For example, you may note that the aiming
tool has a red bottom segment for the hole in one shot, while a
slight movement of the mouse does not change the position of the
aiming tool, but changes the bottom to white.

In a few cases, you may find it very difficult to find a straight hole in
one shot due to the slope of the green in front of the pin.  Examples
of this are #17 at Pinehurst and #17 at Bay Hill.  I gave up trying to
find a straight hole in one on these holes after several hundred
attempts because with even the slightest aim adjustment I was
unable to find a shot which would go in the hole.  I finally found
hole in one shots on these holes with a severe draw at  Pinehurst
and a severe fade at Bay Hill. 

Sometimes I use the technique mentioned previously of rotating
either away from or toward the dogleg of a reachable par 4 in order
to systematically search for a hole in one shot.  First, as explained
above, I determine a club, loft, and top mark which get the ball
rolling slowly past the hole.  Then I experiment with different
rotations, one degree at a time, and side screen aiming positions to
find a hole in one shot. 

For example, on Mauna Kea #1 from the black tees, I determined
that a 4 wood set up 2 loft marks above middle and hit max/6 rolled
slowly past the hole when hit in the correct direction.  (Early in the
round I prefer to find a max/6 shot with a more lofted club than a
partial shot with a lower lofted club because I can hit the max/6 shot
a higher percentage of the time.  Later in the round, I prefer a
partial full shot with the less lofted club because a slight miss on the
top and/or bottom will often result in a makable putt or chip, while a
slight miss on a max/6 shot will often end up in trouble.) First I tried
to find a right-side-of-screen aiming point without any rotation which
would go in the hole.  With zero rotation, however, one pixel
resulted in a shot which was just right of the pin and the next pixel
up resulted in a shot just left of the pin.  I tried the same technique
with 1,2,3 and 4 degrees of rotation with the same result.  (Each
time, finding the pixels which were just left and right of the hole) 
Finally, with 5 degrees of rotation I found a pixel where the shot
went in the hole. 

This technique is much simpler and more systematic than trying find
the right pixel by hunting around at widely differing distances from
the hole.  I am considering using this technique to find hole in one
shots on all holes, even when they do not require hitting through
trees, although at least for par 3's I will probably continue to find
them with zero rotation because it would look very peculiar during
replay to not be viewing the green when hitting the tee shot.

PROGRAMMING 2's ON LONG PAR 4'S and  PAR 5'S.
If you can hit your desired top and bottom marks a high percentage
of the time, you may want to carry the logic described in
determining hole in one shots to the next level, and determine
exactly what TWO shots are required on long par fours and par
fives to make a two with a long shot from the fairway.  Fast Eddy
uses this technique which helped him to shoot his incredible 39
from the black tees on Troon.  In this case, aim your drive in exactly
the same position every time and try to hit a specific top/bottom
shot from the tee.  In most cases a perfect "12/6" shot will suffice. 
For some very long par 5's you may want to hit your tee shot
slightly past the top mark so that you can get close enough to the
green so that you don't have to hit your driver past the top mark on
your second shot.  Then hit second shots from the location of your
drive, using mulligans, and follow the same technique as described
for finding a hole in one shot.  Once you find a shot which will go in
the hole, record the required setup, aiming point, etc. as you would
for a hole in one shot. (Make sure you also make a record of the
tee shot which got you into this position.)

Now, when playing a recorded round, if you hit your desired drive,
you have a reasonably good chance to make an eagle on a par 4 or
a double eagle on a par 5 with a long shot from the fairway.  This is
the probably the only technique which significantly increases your
odds of making a two on a hole of 450 yards or more.  (On most
holes of 450 or less, a max/6 tee shot and max/6 chip shot will also
get you an eagle)  Even on holes of 350 - 450 yards, this is a viable
alternative to trying to hit a long drive of 350-400 yards and getting
within chipping distance.  The advantage of this technique is that it
does not run as big of a risk of a wild shot, which could easily go
out of bounds, in the water or behind a tree.  If you miss your exact
marks on the drive with this technique, you should still be in good
position in the fairway to make a good shot to the green and get a
birdie.  

The disadvantage of this technique is the fact that it requires not
one, but two perfect shots in a row.  The probability of executing
two perfect shots in a row can be very small as the following
analysis suggests. Let's say that you have a 50% chance of hitting
your desired top mark and a 50% chance of hitting the bottom mark. 
Then you have only a 25% chance of hitting your desired top and
bottom marks on the same shot.  Then, the probability of hitting two
perfect shots in a row is only 6.25% - that's still not bad, and it
would imply that you should make, on average, about one long shot
on a par four or par five per round. Now, if your chance of hitting
your desired mark is only 30%, instead of 50%, the probability of
hitting two perfect shots in a row falls to only 0.8% (30% to the 4th
power) - which may hardly be worth the effort to figure out the
required shots. 

CHIPPING
Chipping is a much more reliable way to get close to the hole from
within 50 yards than trying to hit a partial "straight" shot with a
wedge.  When chipping, it is also much better to change chipping
clubs to match the distance required rather than trying to hit all
chips with the same club and varying how hard you hit the chip. 
Chipping from sand traps is also more reliable than trying to hit a
partial L wedge or sand wedge, but the effective distance for
chipping from the sand is only about 40 yards, and even less if the
pin is much above the ball.  The only time you will want to avoid
chipping is when you need to get the ball up quickly to carry a high
lip on a trap or a SEVERE upslope in front of the ball from the
rough or fairway.  In these situations a high L wedge regular shot is
called for.  In particular, if you have just barely cleared a water
hazard in front of a green, and there is a high bank to carry, you
should avoid hitting a chip shot.  If the chipping club does not have
enough loft to carry the bank you could end up rolling back into the
hazard.  To maximize your chipping effectiveness follow these tips:

Practice chipping with each club from fairway, rough, heavy rough
and sand in practice mode with mulligans. Make a table of the
distance achieved with a maximum hit (all the way to the top and hit
exactly on the bottom) for each club from each type of lie. (fairway,
rough, heavy rough and sand).  Also note the distance with each
club from a chip shot which hits the top mark but is stopped as
soon as possible on the bottom.   This type of shot tends to be
easier to repeat than trying to hit a chip shot part way up to the top
and stopping exactly on the bottom.  This shot will be pulled to the
left--so aim a few feet right of the hole to compensate. 

In actual play I use several different types of chip shots depending
on my distance from the hole and strategy for the chip.  By strategy,
I mean that there is sometimes a trade-off between the different
types of chip shots which I use.  Some are more likely to end up
within 5-6 feet a very high percentage of the time but have a
smaller probability of going in the hole.  Other types of chip shots
are more likely to go in the hole, but have a lower probability of
finishing within 5-6 feet.  This may sound contradictory but after you
read about the different chips shots I use and practice them yourself 
you will understand why this is the case.
 
First, let me describe the three basic types of chip shots I use.  (For
varying distances just use different clubs and lofts)

1.  Hit the top mark exactly and the bottom mark exactly.  
Point the aiming tool directly at the pin unless there is a severe
break. Adjust the loft of the club to match the distance requirement
for the chip.  This type of a chip has a good chance of going in the
hole (10%?), but if missed on the bottom by more than one
mini-mark can result in being short by 10 or more feet.  I also use
this type of chip when I need maximum chipping distance: more
than 47 yards from the fairway and more than 37 yards from the
rough.  I call this a max/6 chip or M/6 for short.

2.  Hit the top mark exactly and hit as early as possible on the
bottom.  This type of chip is very easy to repeat since the top mark
on a chip is easy to hit and by pressing the mouse button
immediately after releasing it at the top the bottom mark will always
be early--and in exactly the same place.  Therefore, the distance
achieved from this type of chip is very dependable.  This type of
shot is pulled to the left because the bottom mark is so early--so
you need to aim a few feet to the right of the hole. I discovered in
practice mode that it is easy to get this type of shot within 5 feet--I
once hit about 30 in a row within 4 feet using this type of shot in
practice mode.  This shot is much more repeatable than trying to hit
slightly short of the top and exactly on the bottom.  However,
because you are not aiming directly at the hole, the chance of the
chip going in is a little less--you're more likely to be a few inches off
line. (Unless of course, you've determined exactly where to aim the
chip from previous experimentation from exactly the same position) 
The maximum distance achievable for this type is about 47 yards
from the fairway and 37 yards from the fairway with a 4 iron with
maximum loft.  (I call this type of chip shot max/early, or M/E for
short)

3.  Hit a little short of the top mark and hit the bottom mark exactly
while aiming directly at the hole (or slightly left or right due to the
slope of the green).  I use this shot only when I want a better
chance of making a short chip but am not too concerned about
having a 10+ foot putt if I miss the mark I wanted to hit on the top
and/or the bottom mark. This is the least consistent type of chip,
distance wise, since there is a significant probability of missing your
desired top AND bottom marks which compounds the potential for
error.

Practice each of these types of chips from a wide range of
distances (20 ft - 60 yards) and lies (fairway, rough, heavy rough
and sand) until you have determined which type of chip to try under
which circumstances.  Try the different types of shots 10 or more
times from the same distance (using mulligans) and jot down your
distance from the hole for each shot.  For the longer chips (50 yards
or more from the fairway, 40 yards or more from the rough)
compare your chipping accuracy versus your accuracy in hitting
partial regular shots with the L wedge.  In actual play use the
technique which you find to be more dependable, in terms of
average distance from the hole.  At less than this distance, I believe
the max/early chip is much more dependable than a partial full shot
and once you practice the technique you will almost always want to
opt for this technique from within 50 yards (FW) or 40 yards (rough).

There are a couple of variations to the technique of hitting the chip
to the maximum on the top and hitting it as early as possible on the
bottom.  The first variation is to hit the top mark, but not press the
mouse button at all on the bottom.  I call this a max/late chip, or
M/L for short.  This shot results in a very late hit, but the result is
still a good shot which is pushed slightly off target.  This shot goes
slightly less far for lofted clubs than the max/early chip and slightly
further for lower-lofted clubs.  Another variation which can be
applied to all types of chips is to change the loft on the chipping
club to maximum loft and minimum loft, or for fine tuning
somewhere in between.  The effect of adding loft reduces the
chipping distance of lofted clubs but increases the distance of the
less lofted clubs.  

By using all of the different combinations of hitting as early as
possible, as late as possible and changing the loft of the club you
can generally choose one of these types of shots to get very close
to the hole with a high degree of reliability.  In actual play you need
to adjust your club and loft slightly if the pin is above or below the
ball or the slope of the green would cause the ball to roll more or
less than the standard distance.

You will notice, as you develop your chipping charts, that as you go
to lower and lower clubs you will reach a point where your distance
starts to decline. The high 4 iron generates the most distance. 
Continue to make the chart, however, all the way down to driver in
order to know the distances which these clubs will chip in case you
get close to a green but need to go underneath a tree. 

These chipping techniques are particularly beneficial when you are
going for par 4's on your drive.  If you go for a par four of 350 yards
or more on your drive missing by only one mini-mark on the bottom
will often result in missing the green but leave you with a chip of
only 15-60 yards in many cases.  If you can make these nearly
automatic up and downs you should be able to at least birdie the
vast majority of reachable par 4 and most par 5's.

There is even a way to almost guarantee making a chip for birdie
(par 3), eagle (reachable par 4) or double eagle (short par 5's).  As
discussed earlier, this first of all requires precisely aiming your drive
in exactly the same position. If you come within 50 yards (rough) or
60 yards (fairway) from the pin you can often determine during
practice exactly what club, aim and type of chip shot will go in the
hole.  The ideal is to find a shot which can be made with either a
max/early or max/ late type of chip, since these are very easy to
repeat.  The effective range for an max/early chip is about 47 yards
from the fairway, 37 yards from the rough and even less from the
deep rough or sand.

An example should make this clear.  Say for example, you try to
drive a 385 yard hole, making sure that you have aimed in a precise
position. (One specific pixel) You hit max on the top but miss the
bottom by one mini-mark.  You end up with a chip from 35 yards in
the rough.  You determine a club which will get you close to the
hole with a max/early chip--in this case a 5 iron will get you fairly
close.  You start out by aiming a couple of feet right of the hole. 
You notice that the shot does not go quite far enough and is slightly
to the right.  So you slightly increase the loft on the 5 iron and you
adjust the aim slightly.  You continue taking mulligans until you are
able to make the chip once.  Then you try to find an aiming position
which you are able to repeat exactly.  Generally you can place the
aiming tool on a grid line at a specific distance from the ball or
when using a max/early chip you can cover the pin with the aiming
tool, but locate it about 1/3 of the distance to the hole.  You need to
experiment with the aim until you can reliably place the aiming tool
in the position which will result in making the chip.  

Make a note of which club to use, what loft to set and how to aim.
When identifying the proper aim note the distance from the pin and
the height above or below the ball. In some cases, multiple pixels
will have the same distance and height from the ball.  In these
cases, you need to find a way to identify the "right" pixel by, for
example, moving the aiming tool slightly to determine whether it is
the first, second or third pixel in a row with the same reading which
is the right one.  A word of caution here:  sometimes the aiming tool
will not move on the screen, but the readout of distance from the
hole and height from the ball which shows up in the bottom right of
the screen will "flash" when you move the mouse very slightly.  If
this occurs, you have slightly adjusted your aim and this may be
enough to alter whether the chip shot goes in or not.  Therefore,
you need to make a note of EXACTLY what aim you want.  

Here's an example of how I record a chip shot: 
30YR (max/+1) 8 M/E,+3 bot, 21/3, last one.  This tells me the
distance and lie (30 yards, rough), the shot which got me in this
position (max/+1),  the club to use (8 iron), what type of chip to hit
(max/early), the loft (3 above the bottom) and precisely where to
aim (on the last pixel with a reading of 23 feet away and 3 inches
above the ball and in line with the pin.  I always line up with the pin
on a max/early chip shot, so I don't have to note this.)  I can make
this chip about 99% of the time.  The 1% of the time I miss the chip
I fail to hit the top mark on the chip by one mini-mark and end up a
few feet short of the hole.

Now, with information like this recorded, the next time you're
playing, and this shot occurs you will know exactly what to do to
make the chip.  If you are able to determine a chip which works
which is either max top/early or max top/late you should be able to
make the chip a very high percentage of the time.  In some cases,
however, you will need to hit a max/6 chip in order to get the
needed distance.

This technique can be used on virtually every par 3 and reachable
par 4--if you determine all the most likely ways you might slightly
miss the shot, but still end up in chipping range.  For shots which
land in the rough, be sure to also record what shot is needed for
heavy rough.  The technique can even be used when you're on the
green, since there is nothing illegal about chipping instead of putting
on the green.  Let's say, for example, that with a given aim, a
perfect max/6 shot on a 400 yard par four ends up 35 feet from the
hole.  You could make the putt, but only if you hit exactly the
required top and bottom marks which is not always that easy to do.
Alternatively, you may be able to determine an L Wedge max
top/late or early bottom chip which will also go in the hole.  Since
this type of shot is very easy to repeat, you could almost guarantee
getting your eagle. 

If you are not extremely good at hitting your desired top and bottom
marks a high percentage of the time, but can hit within one mini-
mark on drives where you go well past the top mark, this technique
will be better for you in trying to shoot low scores than attempting to
hit two consecutive perfect shots as described earlier under
"Programming 2's on long par 4's and par 5's".  On many holes, a
significant percentage of your shots will end up within automatic
chipping range--so you don't even have to hit one perfect shot, let
alone two in a row to get your eagle.

One further note on "automatic" chips.  As with all other shots which
miss the bottom mark, there are two possible results for any
max/early or max/late chip.  With chips, the difference is usually
only a matter of a few inches or less.  However, this is often enough
difference to miss the shot.  Sometimes you can find a pixel to aim
at and a club loft where both results go in the hole.   For example,
one result may roll in the left side of the hole, while the other goes
in the right side.  If you are within range for an automatic chip you
will almost always be able to find a chip shot where both results go
in.  The only times I have been unable to determine a shot when
both results go in is when I am at the extreme end of the automatic
chipping range   When you are unable to develop an automatic chip
which goes in on both results you may want to settle for the 50%
chance of making the chip and having a "gimee" if you don't. 
Alternatively, you may want to find a max/6 chip shot.  Since a
max/6 shot has only one result you can put the ability to make the
chip back into your control.  If you hit the shot you want and aim it
correctly it will go in every time.  If you are better than 50% at
hitting max/6 chip shots you should choose this option. 

When determining if you have a club/loft and aiming combination
which will work for both shots you can usually detect a slight
difference in the two shots when they go in the hole.  For example,
one shot may go in the middle of the hole, while the other goes in
the left edge.  In another case, one shot may go in hard, and hit the
pin while the other just barely falls over the front lip.  In some
cases, you may not be able to detect a difference in the two shots
from appearance alone.  In this case, if you make the shot 7 times
in a row, you can be nearly certain that you have a shot that will
always work. (At the 99% confidence level)

Next to putting, improvements in your chipping accuracy will yield
the quickest and biggest improvement to your average score. 
Replay some of my personal best rounds and note how often I am
able to make chip shots or at least get up and down in two shots
from within 50 yards.  Note the clubs which I use and the type of
chips I choose to hit  under different circumstances.

ESCAPING FROM DEEP TRAPS OR SEVERE UPSLOPES 
There are a few places where it seems almost impossible to get
over a lip from a trap.  The are positions in the trap in front of
Firestone #17 green where this is the case.  No chipping club is
able to carry the lip and neither is a high L Wedge.  In order to get
out of this trap and reasonably close to the hole I've found that a full
driver (not a chip), set up as low as possible and hit about three
marks does the trick.  If you get in an impossible lie situation you
should take mulligans and practice the shot with different club and
different setups until you find a shot that works.  Then if you get in
that situation in the future you'll know what to do.  It can be really
frustrating to have a great round ruined in such situations if you
don't know how to escape.

PUTTING
The best road to lower scores is making more putts.  With practice
and good technique you should be able to make a very high
percentage of your putts in Links386 Pro.  I have had many rounds
with a total of only 21-24 putts.  I even had one round with only 14
putts and shot a 46 (26 under) from the back tees on Troon.  The
most important factors in good putting are:
1. Determining the proper break.
2. Determining the optimum distance to hit the putt.  This generally
means hitting the putt so that it would end up 2-3 feet past the hole
if it didn't go in.  This has two merits: (1) short putts never go in and 
(2) firm putts break less and don't go off line in the last couple feet.
3. Hitting the bottom mark exactly a high percentage of the time. 
This is much easier on putts than it is on full shots because the
swing gauge moves much slower.  As with full shots,  focusing your
eyes immediately on the bottom mark after pressing the mouse
button on the top, rather than following the swing gauge with your
eyes is the key to hitting the bottom mark exactly a high percentage
of the time.  Also, wait a fraction of a second after hitting the bottom
mark before looking up to see whether you're going to make the
putt.  This practice, which is called "keeping your head down" in real
golf, is essential to insuring that you do not move your eyes slightly
before pressing the mouse button on the bottom.

Follow these general guidelines for putting:
When putting on flat terrain each mark represents 10 feet. For flat
putts add 3-4 feet to make sure you get to the hole. On uphill putts,
add 3-8 feet, depending on the severity of the uphill slope. On
downhill putts add 1-2 feet to the theoretical amount for putts of
5-15 feet unless severely downhill. You don't really have to add
anything on downhill putts, they will get to the hole if you just go the 
theoretical amount.  By adding just a bit, however, you minimize the
break on the putt without running the risk of hitting it too hard to go
in the hole. You also reduce the probability that you hit too short of
your desired mark and leave the putt short.  If you do miss the putt,
you should be able to make nearly 100% of your 3-4 foot second
putts.  On longer downhill putts, don't add anything--you run too
large a risk of going way past the hole.  With severe downhill slopes
on long putts subtract up to one mark.  

On hilly greens you should use the profile to determine whether you
are going over the crest of a hill or going through a valley before the
putt goes up a hill on the other side.  This is important to note
because the slope of the last several yards of the putt have a
greater effect on how hard you should try to hit the putt than the
slope at the beginning of the putt.  For example, even though the
aiming tool may show that the pin is above the ball, if you first have
to cross a higher crest and then the ball goes downhill, you need to
treat the putt as flat or downhill since the putt will pick up speed
after crossing the crest of the hill.  Conversely, if the putt goes
through a valley and then goes uphill you should treat the putt as
uphill even though the hole may be slightly below the ball in total.

Use the aiming tool to probe the slope of the putt.  This is much
more accurate than trying to rely on visually determining the break. 
Do this by concentrating primarily on the last few feet of the
putt--that is where most of the break will occur because the ball is
travelling more slowly.  Only if there is a severe break at the
beginning of the putt will it have much effect.  For example, with a
15 foot putt, determine the height of the green above or below the
ball a few inches to the left of the line, on the line and a few inches
to the right of the line at 12-15 feet.  With practice, you will be able
to determine how much break to allow for under different readings. 
Be sure to use the distance from the ball as well as the height
above or below the ball to get exact readings.  Also, downhill putts
break the most and uphill putts break the least.  I also often rotate
the view a few degrees when the golfer does not appear to be lined
up very well for the putt and when the golfer's head or body are
obstructing where I want to aim the putt.  

Although good shotmaking and strategy should help you to avoid
severe downhill putts most of the time, on occasion you will still end
up with one.  When you do, it is essential to determine whether or
not the putt can be left close to the hole by hitting the putt very
softly.  If it can and your primary objective is to two putt, you should
choose this course of action and hit the ball very softly so it trickles
close to the hole.  There are situations, however, when no matter
how softly you hit the putt it will go 15-20 past the hole if you miss
it.  In these situations, particularly if there is a significant left or right
break you are better off to hit the putt somewhat firmly than to try to
make the putt with a soft touch.  This is because a slow downhill
putt will break much more and be more difficult to make than a
more aggressive attempt.  Don't hit the putt so hard that if it does
hit the hole it doesn't go in,but try to find the fastest speed and
smallest break that will go in.  This will give you the best chance of
making the putt.  If you miss it, in most cases it won't make that
much difference in terms of the length of your second putt versus
trying to hit it softly--you're going to end up 15-20 from the hole in
either case.  

As with full shots, there is an advanced technique for putting when
you miss the top mark you wanted to hit for the distance you
calculated.  It is, however, a bit more complicated. On a left-to-right
breaking putt, if you hit a little short of your desired top mark, try to
hit just short of the bottom mark.  This will pull the ball slightly which
is the desired effect because the putt will break more to the right.
On a right-to-left breaking putt, if you hit a little short of the desired
top mark hit slightly past the bottom mark.  This will push the putt
slightly, once again the desired effect because the putt will break
more to the left.  If you go past the desired mark on the top the
corrections to make are just the opposite since the putt will break
less than you previously determined.  Try this technique in practice
mode with mulligans to determine how much to hit early or late. 
Generally, I try to hit only one or two mini-marks from the bottom
and this is enough to make a difference.  It will probably take you
some time before you are proficient with this technique--it requires
quick thinking and "feel" to be effective.

It is often better to putt from off the green than to chip unless you
are in a position where you have an automatic chip designed.  I
generally putt if I am on the fairway and no more than 30 feet from
the green.  Just add about one mark for every 10 feet of fairway
and you'll be nearly as accurate as if you were putting on the green. 
I think you'll find yourself making a lot more of these shots using the
putter than chipping.  It is even possible and advisable to putt from
the rough (even heavy rough) if you've got only a few inches of
rough to go through.


Sometimes you should not try to make your first putt, but try for a
two putt. This situation arises when the hole is near a severe slope
to the left or right of the hole and missing the putt near the hole
results in a 15-30 foot second putt.  In this case aim 3-4 feet to the
safe side of the pin, leaving yourself with an easy second putt. This
also applies to severe downhill putts.  By intentionally leaving the
putt short you can avoid a long comebacker.  You should temper
this strategy with your need to make a one putt. If you think you
need to make the putt to have a chance for a personal best round.
This technique is also useful for chipping.  If the pin is near a
severe slope, intentionally hit your chip 5-6 feet to the safe side. 
This is a little more than the amount for putting because chipping
tends to be a little less consistent than putting.  Also, make sure
you do not negate the effect of your aim while either putting or
chipping by missing the shot on the bottom on the wrong side.  For
example, if you're aiming to the right of the hole for safety, err on
the side of hitting a little bit late on the bottom.  This will insure that
you don't pull your shot to the left and end up with the long putt you
were trying to avoid.

TAKE SOME PRACTICE SWINGS
Before taking a shot, particularly where there is a very high reward
for hitting it precisely correct or a large penalty for missing it badly,
you may want to take a few practice swings (using the "address"
button) to rehearse the exact timing of your swing.  This is
particularly beneficial on shots where you need to go well past the
top mark in order to hit a par four of 320 yards or more or on a
similar second shot on a long par five.  Since you may not take this
shot as often as trying to go just to the top or a bit over it is more
difficult to hit the bottom mark because the timing is different (the
further you go past the top mark, the faster the downswing occurs). 
And, the penalty for missing on the bottom is more severe. 

When your personal best rounds start to get really difficult to beat,
you may want to take a few practice swings before hitting every
shot.  This will improve your chances of hitting exactly the shot
required.  Although a good pre-shot routine and two point focus for
the eyes will help you to hit better shots, taking a few practice
swings will help to improve your muscle memory and eye-hand
coordination.  It isn't necessary to take a lot of practice swings to
shoot low rounds, but it may become more important the lower you
want to go.  Do not get carried away, however, with practice swings. 
Don't insist on hitting your marks exactly 2-3 times in a row before
hitting the ball.  You need to find the right balance between
increasing muscle memory and avoiding fatigue.

MAKE A PLAY BOOK 
Success at real golf requires two primary skills: accurate execution
and precise knowledge of the course.  Every pro golfer carries a
yardage book with detailed notes for each hole.  Yardages from
various landmarks and information regarding the green are the most
typical notations made. They know precisely where the pin is
positioned relative to the front, back and sides of the green.  They
note the slope of the green to determine where to aim their
approach and where it is best to leave their putts, generally
preferring straight uphill putts.  

Since Links386 provides you with  yardage to the hole, it is not
necessary for you to note yardages from landmarks.  It is, however,
beneficial to know exactly what shot will go the required distance. 
On a flat course with fairly level greens (e.g. Harbour Town) this
information is not that necessary-- you can use the rules of thumb
described earlier to determine how hard to hit each club for each
possible distance from each type of lie.  However, on hilly courses
with severely sloping greens (e.g. Mauna Kea) it is best to make a
record of approach shots to guide your play.  It is also less
important to develop a play book if you only have one or two
courses.  You may be able to remember the precise shot needed in
each situation in this case.  However, if you have all twelve courses
it becomes very difficult to remember the nuances of each hole on
every course from each set of tees. 

Record data on what clubs and which marks you hit on good shots
from various distances.  Also, and probably the most important,
record the amount of break and how hard to hit putts from different
distances and directions from the hole.  When doing this, I have a
separate section on the page for eight different directions: past,
short, left, right, past left, past right, short left and short right.  You
don't need to record every putt you take:  usually three or four from
each direction from different distances is sufficient.  If you know a
30 footer from a given direction breaks two cups and a 20 footer
breaks one cup, then if you get a 25 footer it is reasonably safe to
assume that it will break about 1 1/2 cups.  Having this data is not a 
substitute for reading putts.  Sometimes there is a subtle variation in
the break when you are slightly off the line of the putt which you
recorded.  So, continue to read the putts, but use your recorded
information as additional input.  I make special notes on putts which
seem to break differently than the putts would seem to read.  For
example, I might note:  "putt is straight, which appears to be left lip" 
If I get into a similar position on the same green I take this into
account and typically "hedge my bet" by aiming inside the left lip.

When recording putting data, if all you want to do is to score well in
recorded mode, one page of information on each hole is probably
sufficient.  If on the other hand, if you want to score well during
non-recorded rounds you will need 6 pages for each hole (one for
each pin position) and 18 for each hole if you play fast, slow and
normal greens.  If you have all twelve courses this would amount to
an incredible 3,888 (12 x 18 x 6 x 3) pages of putting information.  I
haven't done this (yet) because I've been focusing primarily on
shooting low recorded rounds, so I only have one page for each
hole.  If you decide to do it, the best way to organize your collection
might  be to have 36 notebooks (12 courses X 3 green speeds). 
Each notebook would have 108 pages (or 54 if you go double
sided) with the exact yardage of the hole or other identifying
information at the top of each page so you know which pin position
you are playing. 

If you develop hole in one shots and automatic chips, record these
also.  You should also record where to aim your drive and
"automatic" chip shots on reachable par 4's.  Record out of bounds
and water hazards to avoid.  Also make notes of positions on the
greens you want to avoid.  The exact format is not that
important--but having this data available to you when you play
should enable you to significantly reduce your scores.

ESCAPE SHOTS
With sufficient accuracy on the bottom you should be able to avoid
trouble most of the time.  However, if you gamble by trying to reach
300-375 yard par fours in one shot, you will probably miss a few
more fairways and get behind some trees. When a tree is in the
way, it is often helpful to use a driver or a 2 iron to go underneath
the tree.  Set the club up with a fairly low trajectory, but unless a
very low shot is needed, don't set the shot as low as it can go: it is
difficult to get the needed distance then.  If you are near the green
and there are overhanging branches use a two iron or driver chip
shot to go underneath the branches. In situations where it is
impossible to go under or over the tree, and depending on your
score, you may want to take a risk and hit through the tree,
particularly if it is bushy rather than solid. I have occasionally had
good success by using a driver and hitting 50% or more than would
normally be required.   

AVOIDING OBSTACLES
Occasionally, when directly behind a tree or other obstacle,
particularly near the green, it is possible to avoid the obstacle by
rotating the view.  In some cases, the obstacle will actually
disappear from view!   When it does, it is safe to aim at the hole:
the obstacle is no longer in play!  In such a situation start by
rotating 30-40 degrees.  If the obstacle disappears with this large
amount of rotation, but the pin is no longer visible or accessible by
the aiming tool try rotating by smaller amounts until you find the
least amount of rotation that will still make the obstacle disappear.
When you can't avoid the obstacle entirely by rotating the view, then
try to invent a shot to go over, under or around the obstacle, often
by using a special set-up.  Remember however, to determine the
risk/reward for doing this.  If the green is within reach it makes
much more sense to try for a great escape shot than it would if your
choice is between a safe shot which leaves you 150 yards from the
pin vs. a risky escape shot that leaves you with 100 yards if
executed perfectly but if missed could result in 300 yards in the
rough or a ball in the water or out-of-bounds.

Another technique for avoiding obstacles is an extension of the
technique discussed earlier for hitting "through" trees on dogleg par
4 tee shots.  If your drive goes behind trees, you can often find a
rotation and a side-of-screen aiming position which will enable you
to shoot directly at the green.  This technique works best when you
are hitting max drives on long par fours and, during practice in
preparation for your attack, you find that by missing by one on the
bottom you end up behind  trees.  When this occurs, try rotating an
extreme amount, say 40-50 degrees, and then placing the aiming
tool very close to the ball, but on the far edge of the screen.  You
may also need to use a low shot, say with a driver or two iron in
order to escape the trouble.  While practicing for a personal best
round, I try different rotations, aiming positions, clubs, lofts,
fade/draw, etc. until I find I shot that works reasonably well for every
shot where I miss my desired top and/or bottom mark by one mini-
mark.

Another technique I use with these types of shots sometimes is not
pressing the mouse button on the bottom.  When aiming at the far
side of the screen with a low driver or two iron this type of shot
often works quite well and can be more consistent that trying to hit
the bottom exactly.  When preparing for a personal best round, I try
to develop an escape shot for any shot which ends up in trouble
when I miss my desired top and/or bottom marks by one mini-mark. 


DROPPING OUT OF HAZARDS
If you hit into a hazard you can back up 50 feet and often get a
better lie.  You can then move forward as long as you don't get
closer to the hole than your original drop position. (You can even
move significantly left or right, for example to get onto the fairway or
into a position where trees do not block your approach to the green. 
As long as you don't move closer to the hole Links386 will let you
drop anywhere, as far as I can tell, perhaps even on the other side
of the green, but I haven't tested this yet.  You need to decide for
yourself whether dropping significantly off of the original line is
cheating.  It certainly would be in real golf.)  Anyway, if you hit into
a hazard near a green, after backing up by 50 feet move forward to
a point where you have the exact distance for one of your Max/Min
chipping shots.  You'll be nearly guaranteed of getting within a few
feet of the hole on your next shot and dramatically increase your
chance of making the chip.

STRATEGY
Start aggressively during the round.  Unless you're playing under
tournament conditions, If you mess up, you can always start over. If
you're having a personal-best round, you can become a little more
cautious on the last few holes.  When trying for personal-best
rounds I often start over early in the round.  For example, on
Bountiful, from any set of tees, I start over unless I make an eagle
on the first hole.  This may sound difficult, but the more you play a
hole, and record your shots, the more you learn about the exact
distance requirement , the exact break of putts, etc. -- making it
easier to make birdie or eagle (on a par 5 or short par 4)  a high
percentage of the time. Towards the end of the round, if you have a
personal best score "in the bank" or nearly so, avoid water hazards
and out-of-bounds a little more than you usually would.  

For example, on number 18 at Harbour Town, avoid going too much
past the top mark on your drive -- if you hit early on the bottom with
a long drive you could end up in the hazard and mess up a good
round with a double bogey.  Save your most aggressive shots for
situations where there is a real reward for pulling off a great shot.
To me, this means par 4's of 330-400 yards and par 5's of more
than 550 yards.  By taking a chance on these holes you can save
an entire shot with a good long drive.  If, late in the round, you are
not quite on track for a personal best round, but with some
aggressive play could get there, then this is the time to really go for
it.  

For example, once I was playing Torrey Pines, where I had a
personal best of 59, 13 under par.  After 12 holes I was only 6
under par.  I knew I had to make something happen fast, or start
over.  I eagled the 13th, a long par 5, then eagled the next two
holes, both par 4's of more than 350 yards by going for the green
on my drive.  I eagled the par 5 18th by hitting my second shot just
over the pond in front of the green.  As a result, I was able to play
the last 6 holes in 8 under par and shoot a new personal best of 58. 
(Since reduced to 54) The moral of the story is, if you're going for a
personal best round, rather than a low average score for a given
number of rounds, taking some chances late in the round rather
than giving up can really pay off.  

STRATEGY FOR HITTING MAX/6 TEE SHOTS TO LONG PAR 4'S
On most par 4's of 400+ yards, a max/6 tee shot will not enable you
to get to the green, but may enable you to get close enough to hit a
chip, and in some cases an "automatic" chip for an easy eagle if
you hit a perfect max/6 drive.  There are also many par fours where
you can get to the green, but not be able to figure out a hole in one
shot because either the hole is slightly too long or you can't find a
loft for the driver and a top/bottom mark combination which gets the
ball rolling slowly enough to go in.  (Although you may be able to
figure one out by also adjusting fade or draw slightly)  In both of
these situations, you may be better off to aim somewhat off of the
line which would get you the best result if you hit a perfect max/6
shot in order to improve the position of your shots when you miss
the bottom mark slightly.

An example should make this clear.  On Barton Creek #11, a max/6
tee shot, aimed directly at the hole results in a 20 foot putt.  This is
an impressive shot, since the hole measures about 420 yards.  The
downside of attempting this shot, however, is that if you hit max on
top, but miss the bottom early by one mini-mark the results is
terrible.  The shot which is pulled only a few degrees left goes into
the creek on the left side of the hole.  The wildly pulled shot ends
up directly behind some trees, and you are forced to chip out onto
the fairway.   To avoid this, I aim significantly right of the hole. 
Now, the max/6 shot ends up in the right rough 29 yards away--an
easy "automatic" chip.  In fact, this shot can be made more reliably
than the 20 foot putt. Better yet, the shot which misses by one early
on the bottom ends up in much better positions.  The slightly pulled
shot ends up 34 yards away in the fairway, another easy automatic
chip.  The wildly pulled shot hits the trees bordering the creek and
bounces back onto the fairway, leaving a 112 yard wedge.  The
shots which are missed one mini-mark late on the bottom end up
well off line in the right rough, but with fairly easy shots over the
trees to the green.  

Therefore, the "percentages" are dramatically improved by
significantly adjusting the aim of the tee shot. If you want, you could
extend this technique to shots which are missed by more than one
mark on the bottom, but if you can't fairly reliably hit max/6 attempts
within one mini-mark on the bottom, you're probably better off not
playing this type of shot until you can except at the very beginning
of a round or if you need to make something happen fast later in
the round in order to have a chance at a personal best round.

Another strategy to use on long par 4's is to try to hit a shot which
will go past the green (but still end up in automatic chipping range)
rather than try for the shot which gets you closest to the hole.  The
advantage of this technique, is that you will get within automatic
chipping distance more often.  If you try for the "ideal" shot, and
miss by one mini-mark early and by one mini-mark on the bottom,
the shot will often be so short that you are outside of chipping
range.  On medium/short par 4's 320-360 where I am unable to find
a hole in one shot I often choose a driver loft which will end up
about 35 yards past the pin in the rough if I hit the shot max/6. 
This usually gives me 4-6 top/bottom mark combinations which end
up within automatic chipping range or putts for eagle.

OTHER PLAYING TIPS
Try playing each course from the different tees.  This enhances
your skills, particularly at hitting greens with drivers and 3 woods
since many par 4's are reachable from the red tees. With practice at
hitting greens from the red tees, you will gain confidence and
experience and start to go for par fours of 300-375 yards from the
black or blue tees--a few of eagles on par fours can do wonders for
your scores!  

Another technique for shooting low scores is to start playing the
round with eight golfers at the same time. These can all be the
same player, just click on your player's name eight times during the
"Start a New Game" setup.  This is particularly useful when you
want to start the round by going for the green on a par four. You
have eight chances to go well past the top mark or even "to the
max" and hitting the shot perfect on the bottom.  It takes a lot less
time to hit eights shots in one setup than it would to start a new
game eight times.

After playing the first hole, delete any golfer who does not start out
with a birdie or better (or whatever criteria you decide on.  On
Mauna Kea, since I have a double-eagle hole in one shot I usually
delete any golfer who does not make at least an eagle).  If you use
the same player eight times you can determine which ones to delete
by viewing the score card--they're listed in the same order on the
score card as on the player list when you go to the "add/remove
players in current game" screen.  

Be careful when deleting players.  Keep in mind, for example, that if
you want to delete players 2 and 5, that if you delete player 2 first,
then player 5 will become player 4.  Therefore, to minimize the
chance of getting confused you should delete golfers from the
bottom of the list first.  Also, if you're deleting a player in the middle
of the list, make sure that you press the mouse button very
quickly--if you don't you'll inadvertently delete some subsequent
players also.  Continue playing with the remaining golfers and
continue to remove players after each hole who fall 2-3 strokes
behind the leader.  If a golfer is a couple of strokes behind, you
should consider taking maximum gambles with this golfer to give
him the potential to get back into the game.  If he loses the gamble,
just delete him before playing the next hole.  

DEALING WITH THE COMFORT ZONE
As in real golf, if you're having a great round, you may get outside
of your "comfort zone."  When this occurs, you may get a little
nervous, hit some poor shots and begin to make hasty decisions. 
To overcome these negative effects, take a deep breath,
intentionally take a little more time planning your shots, take more
practice swings or take a break.  Think positive thoughts, stay
aggressive and continue to focus on the basic playing techniques
explained above.  Try to ignore the fact that you're having a great
round.  If you're going for a max/6 tee shot try to relax and think
about the shot as if it the first shot of the round.   Put any negative
thoughts about past holes, or what might happen if you miss this
shot out of your mind.  If you concentrate only on hitting the perfect
shot it will happen more often.  This is the same technique of
"visualization" that top touring pros use.

I also find that, in general, I am better off playing alone and trying to
minimize distractions when trying to set a personal record.  If
someone comes into the room or is making sudden noises
elsewhere in the house, take a break until the disruption is over.    I
also prefer not playing against recorded players after I have played
a course a few times when I'm trying to shoot a personal best
round.  The added pressure from trying to beat the recorded player
tends to make me play less than my best game.  Perhaps you're
different, and play better under "pressure".  If so, then you may
always want to play against a sub-50 opponent. 

LET ME HEAR FROM YOU!
I would be happy to hear from you regarding these playing tips.  If
you have some other tips, please send them to me.  I will
incorporate them into the next version of these tips and give you
credit for the idea.  Also, if  you are able to break 50 from the back
tees due to utilization of these tips (and your incredible skill) please
send me a copy of your recorded round on either a 3 1/2 or 5 1/4
inch diskette or via E-Mail on the Delphi system.  My username is
KEN_HUIZENGA (note the underline character).


My mailing address is:
Ken Huizenga
3535 Bob-O-Link Lane
Appleton, WI 54915




Now for some of my favorite golf jokes:

I met a guy playing golf one time who told me about an incredible
thing that happened to him a few years ago. He was playing golf
with his wife at his home course in New Jersey.  On this one par
four he hit his shot into the woods left of the fairway, but still
inbounds.  Directly in line between him and his ball was a small
storage shed, so he decided to just chip out into the fairway.  His
wife said "wait a second.  I've been in this spot before, and if you
open the door to the shed on this side, and the door on the other
side you can run the ball up on the green if you hit it hard and low." 
The guy said, "no, I think I'll just take my chances with chipping out
to the fairway and trying to get it close on the next shot so I can
save my par."  His wife however, persisted that he try the shot so
he did.  He hit it almost perfect, but just an inch too high.  The ball
caromed off the steel door frame, ricocheted back and hit his wife in
the temple, killing her on the spot.  Can you believe that?  (Now
pause and wait for a reply. Then tell "the rest of the story")  A few
years later, this same guy was playing the same course and got into
the same spot.  He was all set to chip out into the fairway when his
playing partner suggested the same shot his wife has suggested a
few years back.  The guy said "no way, the last time I tried that shot
I took a double bogey!"


(This joke works best when you're playing in the rain or other
inclement weather): I knew four guys in my old neighborhood who
used to play EVERY Saturday no matter what.  The course they
played stayed open all year round even when there was snow on
the ground. I asked him whether he used an orange ball when he
played in the snow, and he told me that when the snow was deep
enough, it didn't matter.  He said an orange ball doesn't help much
which it goes 6 inches deep into the snow.  They would just look for
the little hole where the ball went in and then dig around until they
found it.  Since not many other people were crazy enough to play
under these conditions there weren't too many footprints in the
snow, so they almost always found their balls.  Anyway, these guys
went out one Saturday in the rain and were playing their normal
round with some pretty heavy wagering, I might add.  But on the
third tee, the wet driver slipped in my friend Harry's hand and he hit
a shot off the toe of the driver and it hit my other neighbor George
in the head, killing him on the spot.  I was over at Harry's house
borrowing a post-hole digger from his wife when he came home.  I
can still here him tell about what happened as if it were yesterday. 
His wife asked him how the day  went and he said:  " It was terrible,
all day long it was, hit the ball, drag George, hit the ball, drag
George."

This joke works best when you're playing a hole with a road that
parallels the hole:  I was playing this hole one time with a senior
citizen and just as he was about ready to hit his tee shot he noticed
a funeral procession approaching.  He took off his hat, put it over
his heart, and stood silently and watched the procession go by until
it disappeared. I said,  "That's really nice of you.  Do you always do
that when a funeral goes by?  He said "No, not usually, but I it's the
least I could do in this case.  I was married to the woman for 40
years!"

There were these two guys who played golf together frequently. 
The one guy was several strokes better than the other guy, but the
lesser player was very proud, and never wanted to take any strokes
to even up the game.  Finally, one Saturday morning he shows up
with a gorilla at the first tee.  He says to his friend, " You know, I've
been trying to beat you for so long, I'm about ready to give up.  But
I heard about this golfing gorilla, and was wondering if it would be
OK if he plays for me today.  In fact, if you're willing, I'd like to try to
get back all the money I've lost to you this year, which I figure
comes to about a thousand bucks.  You game?"  The other guy
thought about it for a minute, and then decided to play the gorilla,
thinking, "after all, how good could a gorilla be at golf?"  Well, the
first hole was a straightaway par 4 of 450 yards.  The guy hits a
beautiful tee shot, 275 yards down the middle, leaving himself a 6
iron to the green.  The gorilla takes a few powerful practice swings
and then laces the ball 450 yards, right at the pin, stopping about 6
inches away from the hole.  The guy turns to his friend and says
"that's incredible, I would have never believed it if I hadn't seen it
with my own eyes.  But you know what, I've seen enough.  I've got
no interest in being totally humiliated by this gorilla golfing machine. 
You send this f***ing gorilla back to where he comes from--I need a
drink, better make it a double, and I'll write you a check."  After
handing over the check, and well into his second double the guy
asks, "By the way, how's that gorilla's putting?"  The other guy
replies "same as his driving"  "That good, huh?" " No, I mean, he
hits putts the same way--450 yards, right down the middle!"