30 replies to this topic

[Ted_Ball]

I've just looked up the dates for the Masters and it's just around the corner so to capture some of the excitement I'd like to start our first Major on Sunday 29th March to coincide with Augusta week.

 

In our parallel cyber universe the famous Atlanta course is undergoing development so our 1st Major has been moved to Massachusetts. It has a certain resemblance and while I've been playing it lately I can almost convince myself I'm there. Some players will be happy to know that Massachusetts seems to be less of a drain on their computers.

 

To replicate the greens of Augusta I'd like to set the stimp to 11, then 12 for the last two rounds. I'll take into account discussion on that issue before the Championship starts. 

 

The forecast is for breezy conditions early in the tournament becoming calmer on the last two rounds.

 

I was encouraged by the wonderful turn-out at Florida and hopefully we can get the same sort of numbers at Massachusetts. This announcement means that players can start getting some practice in and start organising their yardage books.

 

Thank you

 

 

 

 

 

[jayw4862]

How do I find/access/enter these tournaments? Not that I play very well. I am awful, actually, but I'd like to play something other than just solo or with a buddy.

Thanks,

Jay

[Ted_Ball]

You don't have to sign on Jay - you just play a round or rounds following the guidelines and post your score in the thread.

 

Play with any of the assists you like. All welcome. 

[jayw4862]

Thanks for the quick reply/answer. I will keep an eye out for the next one.  I have a buddy on here and we play/learn together, while using Skype. Can we both play in it, but play together while doing so? Or does this have to be done as solo play? Sorry for another question. Last one. Promise

[Ted_Ball]

No problem Jay. Ask away.

 

You and your buddy can play together for sure. All you have to do is post your individual scores in the thread once I have started the competition on Sunday. You'll see a new thread with all the relevant info and rules (guidelines). Simply post your scores once you have played your round or rounds. I'll sort it all out as we go and update the leaderboard daily. 

 

There have been other competitions I have run which you will find if you go back through the forum. They are one round tournaments and you can still post scores to those tournaments if you like. They will give you an idea of how you are scoring compared to other players given the settings that I have stipulated for the competiton. You will also see the aids that others are using. Use the assist level that you feel comfortable with.

 

Have fun.

[RobV]

I'm definitely in for this one.. 

[Greensboronclion]

Ted I am looking forward to it and my swing guru says I should be ready by that time.  After my performance at the Florida Glades I had decided that until I was able to play tournament golf properly I was going to take a leave of absence from the tour and go home to South Florida to work on all aspects of my game and to clear my head mentally as for some reason I cant get the thought of skulling that wedge across the green in front of my fellow pro's and a full TV audience.  Rest assured after talking with Notah I fully expect to return to Tournament Golf at the PP Masters in Massachusetts.  I must tell you tho that I am now getting down from around 25 feet at least 50% of the time and expect to be a force at the Masters and feel not playing till then will benefit my game and who cares if the greens are running at 12 or better I can do it.  Oh and my tee game is just as bad as it was last week but not to worry.  Thanks again Ted for running this event and looking forward to my return to the field of battle.

[blueblood1995]

Ted I am looking forward to it and my swing guru says I should be ready by that time.  After my performance at the Florida Glades I had decided that until I was able to play tournament golf properly I was going to take a leave of absence from the tour and go home to South Florida to work on all aspects of my game and to clear my head mentally as for some reason I cant get the thought of skulling that wedge across the green in front of my fellow pro's and a full TV audience.  Rest assured after talking with Notah I fully expect to return to Tournament Golf at the PP Masters in Massachusetts.  I must tell you tho that I am now getting down from around 25 feet at least 50% of the time and expect to be a force at the Masters and feel not playing till then will benefit my game and who cares if the greens are running at 12 or better I can do it.  Oh and my tee game is just as bad as it was last week but not to worry.  Thanks again Ted for running this event and looking forward to my return to the field of battle.

Tiger? Is that you behind the veil of "Greensboroclion"?

[Richard]

Tiger? Is that you behind the veil of "Greensboroclion"?

 

Sound pretty familiar doesn't it?

[3199E5kennetharry]

ted a question, can we play in local [ as the meter is more controllable for me and it's slower ] or do we have to play online?

[jayw4862]

ted a question, can we play in local [ as the meter is more controllable for me and it's slower ] or do we have to play online?

Hi Kenneth...how do you play offline? Is it the same courses, settings, etc? Whenever I click the Perfect Golf desktop icon, it says loading steam, and then the PG opens up. so I assume it's got me online at the time. Playing offline would come in handy if the internet connection was down because of weather or other reasons. Also, if the meter is slower and more manageable, that it right my alley :-)

Thanks,

Jay

[JoeF]

Currently PG requires an internet connection to Steam in order to run.  The difference between "Local/Solo" (sometimes referred to as "offline") and "Online" modes are that "Local" is played solely on your own computer while "Online" indicates that you are playing against other players via the internet.  When playing "Online" against others there is always the potential that the hosts internet connection is slow, that there is a lot of traffic slowing the transfer of shot data or that there could be data packet loss between the players' internet connections.  These things could be the cause of the meter and/or visual stuttering that is being reported.  Since there is no data transfer when playing in "Local" mode the likelyhood is that there will no stuttering and the meter may be smoother.  However, the speed of the meter is the same whether playing in local or online mode.

 

I believe there may be a true "offline" mode of play (where no internet connection is required) at some point.

[Ted_Ball]

The latest weather forecast for the first round at Massachusetts is for breezy conditions which will continue to dry the course.

 

I would imagine that there will be a firmness of 8 and the greens will be running at 11 on the stimp meter. It would be a good idea to get some practice in under those conditions. It won't be easy to hold the greens and sometimes landing short and bouncing it in close is the way to go.

 

There is rain forecast as we get further into the tournament and the winds should drop.

 

Tournament starts on Sunday. Good luck.

[fungolfer]

I will be in this time. Too bad I wasn't able to play last week, but FG has some FPS drops on my mashine so I couldn't play that. Can't wait

[Greensboronclion]

Ted....Joe and I were up there yesterday with Notah and my game is getting better and after a few calls to Butch and please don't tell anyone as I am not supposed to forget my pride and talk to him but I did I can say that I will be making my comeback to the tour at the Masters.  The greens were running very fast as I think they told me they were at 12 and after a few stiff drinks I gave them a whorl and it really was as bad as I thought it would be and tho I am scared to death to show my Hinny on national TV again and of possibly killing someone with an errant shank I feel the time is right for my return.  Please note that on a few holes the pins at 12 were so tough I actually five putted but I am over that now.  This is one tough venue for a person to return and if the pressure gets to be to much might have to withdraw as my shrink now says its all mental with my game and I have gone bats.  I also will be wearing red everyday as I need to intimidate you guys once again so you all go and hide when I do something right which is not very often anymore. 

All kidding aside Ted I have tried 12 up there and those greens can be brutal and I will bet we wont be seeing many very low scores and I will go out on a limb and say at those conditions maybe -10 will win.  Looking forward to it and thanks again for running with this and setting it up.  Oh and for putting up with my Humor.

[Ted_Ball]

G.......what would we do without you. 

 

This being our Mast.rs I really felt that the greens should be running quick and the putting a real challenge. However, even Aug.sta can have a benign day and the greens should become reasonable late in the tournament after overnight rain. I'm assured by the Greens Committee that watering before the play begins will keep them to an 11 stimp. There might be a return of the breezy conditions for the last round though and with the pins placed in hard to get at positions we should see some interesting scores. 

 

Sack your imaginary shrink G........just run with this delusional role-playing as pro golfers and imaginary coaches and caddies like what I do. Fluff and I think it's more fun that way....don't we Fluff?   Fluff !!!??

 

And thanks...this is my pleasure and keeps me occupied. I just hope the authorities allow me to use my cool Mast.rs Leaderboard banner.

[Greensboronclion]

Ted....What I like about using this course is just like Augusta it's not about shooting for pins but hitting to spots to take advantage of the slope. With the stimp at 11 or 12 and firmness up you will haver to think that out. On one hole which I can't remember I tried hitting at the stick and hit it close and ended up over 40 ft away and then tried hitting it to the slope which was away from hole and ended up with a five footer which makes placement a must. Should be very interesting especially with some wind in the mix. On a positive note we will have the drop option by Sunday so that shoul help. Looking forward to this one as I love firm and fast.

[frank70]

A pledge to the tournament comittee: Firmness 8 isn't golf, it's too bouncy - never seen that ball behaviour in The Masters. With firmness 8 it will be impossible to hold some greens. What about firmness 6 and stimp 12? The greens at the Masters are extremely fast, not extremely bouncy. By the way: When comes the option back to play with stimp 13? That would be the real "Masters Test". 

 

P.S.: I played a practice round with 8/11. My score was okay (+2 off/min). But it just didn't look like golf.

[Greensboronclion]

I have to agree with Frank as I played with 7/10 and shot -2 and played with 8/11 and shot +1 but hit it much better in second round but couldn't hold the greens at all.  The only thing I will say is that firmness appears to be  much more penal than stimp at this point.  But with that said at least one round should be played with 8/11 just to let all see how it plays and you would then know what its like to play the hardest and fastest greens in the world and that would be Oakmont CC in Pittsburgh PA.

[Ted_Ball]

frank70.......I understand what you are saying and I've experienced the opposition to 'bouncy' firmness so I was prepared for this argument. To be honest, I believe it looks too bouncy as well but you have to understand what I'm trying to do here. I'm trying to replicate (and what would I really know) the way Augusta plays. You have to bear in mind that this is only for the first round with the pins in the easy positions. That doesn't necessarily mean they are easy to get at by the way. Nevertheless, I don't want to set up a course where a good player can throw darts at the pins. I'm not concerned about inexperienced players. It is up to them to get their game to a point where they can expect to achieve par on each hole. It's not up to me to help them score well.

 

So the first round will be firmness 8 and stimp 11. That is a given. I'm still confused by the fact that there is a distance flag on the swing gauge for putting and that whether it is a stimp 9 or 12 you still hit to the distance flag more or less which negates the effect of the green speed somewhat. Whether it looks and plays too bouncy for some players then so be it. I have played the course a few times under those conditions (in the breezy wind) and it is a good test of your skills. That's why I released the first round conditions early - so that the players can get in some practice. And that's exactly what you will have to do to score well. There is a certain hole that I found really hard to hold the green on my approach and I spent some time trying to work out how to play that hole. I find this EXCITING! 

 

Let's try to suspend reality and some ambivalent expectation and try to treat this as a if we were actually playing a course in those conditions. You can come at this game as a game or you can spend as much or in many cases more time playing Perfect Golf than you would on a real course. After all, the best golfers have the ability to score well in any conditions and under any circumstances. That's what we look for in champions and it's also why we say that some players are only good when things are to their liking.

 

I agree - the bounce looks too bouncy. Now, if you took away that 'bounce' but the result was the same would your argument be the same?

 

The pins will be Medium for rounds 2 and 3 with Difficult pins for the last round. The wind will be back for the last round but the course will be softened up from overnight rain as we get into the tournament. The greens will still be fast. That was always going to be the case.

 

I wish everyone good luck and hope they enjoy the experience.