38 replies to this topic

[Ted_Ball]

If there's one thing JNPG has provided me it is many hours contemplating ways to keep myself interested. And then I become interested - again.

 

I revisited BARE golf yesterday. I felt reborn. In recent months I've had the full HUD and putted with the BLI among other quickie aids. No wonder my interest started to wane - again.

 

The beauty of BARE for me is that there will always be room for improvement. That is the absolute necessity for long term interest. I, too, wait for a Career mode I suppose but in the meantime my aim is to get my game down to scratch from a 12 over at Medinah playing completely naked.

 

Prepare for the 'point form'.

 

NOTE WELL:  BARE golf has NO information on the screen.

 

SETUP

 

*  I set up with 3 foot gimmes (thanks PP. That's a fair distance for a gimme playing without BLI or grid. Recordings can be played in a match play style so it's ok - it's the same for all)

 

*  Calm winds ensure level playing fields. If there is a wind there are ways to gauge the direction even though there is no wind indicator.

 

*  Realistic greens of course.

 

ON COURSE

 

*  Once you are on the tee Hit Control/Alt/U to disappear the HUD. From that point on the HUD stays off unless you are in a hazard or faced with an impossible shot with the club selected.

 

*  If there is a wind do a quick match of wind direction to your shadow. That direction prevails during the round.

 

*  There is no info on elevation (elevation can be quite well judged in most cases) or club (although you can work out which club you have by scrolling through your bag). You can't adjust the shot shaper. 

 

*  Assuming there is no wind, driving is straightforward. 

 

*  Approach shots are where the fun starts. You are given a club by your caddy which is not always the best choice. From the middle of the fairway in calm conditions it will be the best club most of the time. You will have to make adjustments for elevation and maybe the pitch of the green but it is a good starting point.

 

*  If you are in the rough you will get a penalty. It's one club up, maybe two, maybe three or more. So what. Make a choice and believe.

 

*  Around the green is where the angst starts. In a sense of purity I don't change the shot type (flop, chip, pitch, full). It can mean learning how to pitch with a "Full Shot" from, say, 35 feet and many other innovations. I will use the club and shot type I've been given BUT I will hit C/A/U and change if I can't reasonably promote my ball. I love the fact that I have to make a decision from just off the green. I love chipping and pitching and half shots. Love it. If you are better than me I'd love to play you one day.  (Think about it....the flop shot can't be used)

 

*  You will have to bring up the HUD if you land in a hazard.

 

*  Putting is putting. This is this. Use your eyes, your instincts, your experience, your ability to walk around the putt. The very best part of this whole shindig is putting. The satisfaction of lagging a 40 footer to gimme range without ANY assistance bar the graphics on your screen and your intellect is where a simulation earns its name.

 

 

 

 

This is raw golf. You have to do your own work. This isn't tournament golf (yet) and I liken it to club golf. There's a reliance on judgement rather than mathematics and thankfully PP has given us a means to put our judgement into place for better or worse.

 

There is a significant increase in difficulty when wind etc is added to the mix meaning tougher rounds can be set in more selective increments. Local knowledge becomes an asset. Decisions and decision-making become the art. The golfer becomes a good golfer by hard work instead of relying on other things.

 

I have uploaded some of my BARE rounds at Medinah (Chicago Oaks - what a great rendition) on the MEGA recorded rounds site.

 

Keep that HUD off now. Hear!

[jmk59]

How do I play 3C without a HUD?

[Ted_Ball]

aaaah..........

[DoGgs]

I played this last night and enjoyed it to a degree, you have to hit many partial shots which is near impossible with a controller, i had a few shots where it defaults to chip, These shots were off the green but having to chip up a banking.  Sometimes these bankings are very steep and chip shots do not get enough height to enable you to play a well weighted shot, we all know how quickly they die once they hit an up slope.  It felt like i was giving up a stroke for something i could not control, and there lies my issue with bare golf.  I could not select the flop, which is required for these shots, it just cements you to chipping, its a shame as it was otherwise enjoyable.

[Ted_Ball]

Yeah, well, the mouse has lovely control.

 

The default to chip can be overcome by scrolling back to putter, then back the other way (putter, your loftiest club, etc) which changes the stroke type to "Full Shot". Then if you are wise enough to have a 64 wedge you can pitch high enough to get good results. In fact I'm determined to become very good at the "Fullshot" pitch. In some ways it's better than a "Pitch".

[Ted_Ball]

I couldn't find a spot on Medinah that was too severe but this example on 16 where it defaulted to a chip serves the purpose.

 

It was almost chipable but the flop would be the obvious choice. It really is way too accurate. I would normally and happily play a pitch shot here but the only other option is a full wedge. 

 

It would be good to be able to adjust loft (and club face) without pulling up the HUD. It would make a huge difference. 

 

 

[DoGgs]

will give it another go later 

[bortimus]

This is much like playing club golf.  I like it but would love to see more hotkeys available to access some functions that would make sense during the round.  Someone posted a list of desired hotkeys in another thread that were great suggestions.       

 

Even if hotkeys become available, two simple mouseover/hover menus in game would make BARE golf more like a true everyday round in my opinion. 

   

For all shots other than tee shots, mouseover the ball to give distance to the pin.  NO elevation, just distance.  I could pace off distances to a fairway marker in real life, so this seems reasonable for a club golfer not playing with a rangefinder.    

 

Mouseover the golfers hands or the clubshaft to see the club in hand.      

 

Or just combine both pieces of info when you mouseover the ball, although I think the short game and putting are more realistic when you have to eyeball the distance instead of having it stated.  If they are separated the user can choose to not reveal the info when they get close enough to the green.    

 

Simple enough to add a few mouseover menus in this version of the game?  Hmmm....

[GoldenBear]

When I play bare golf I simply turn off my monitor and swing away.  

[bortimus]

PerfectSnap, on 13 Jun 2017 - 2:53 PM, said:

When I play bare golf I simply turn off my monitor and swing away.

So how do you know that your meter stutters?

[DoGgs]

when it defaults to chip around the green there is no way of selecting any other shot, tried cycling thru clubs but does not work (controller) so trying to chip up steep slopes is gonna cost a shot more often than not, not a viable method for controller play.

[Crow357]

I can change my shot type with my right trigger.  Does yours not work?

[jmk59]

can we have a hotkey to turn on/off the 3C meter?

[DoGgs]

Crow357, on 13 Jun 2017 - 4:45 PM, said:

I can change my shot type with my right trigger.  Does yours not work?

right trigger? thought it was x button, i'll give it a go

[GoldenBear]

bortimus, on 13 Jun 2017 - 3:14 PM, said:

So how do you know that your meter stutters?

 

Touche.  

[Ted_Ball]

bortimus, on 13 Jun 2017 - 2:23 PM, said:

For all shots other than tee shots, mouseover the ball to give distance to the pin.  NO elevation, just distance.  I could pace off distances to a fairway marker in real life, so this seems reasonable for a club golfer not playing with a rangefinder.    

 

The distance component and how it is displayed is an interesting debate. If we approach BARE golf from an amateur or club golfer viewpoint the solution to simulating real life in deciding on a club is a matter of comparing to how most of us play the real game. How many club golfers use yardage books for instance?

 

Do clubs allow rangefinders in competition these days? It's a whole new ball game if they do but when you think about it the information is available anyway. I don't suppose it really matters if we are given the exact distance for any shot because you have to take into account various other factors BUT...if my ball is in line with the 150 yard marker in real life it won't necessarily be 150 yards to the pin.

 

Maybe distances in BARE should be to the middle of the green. 

[bortimus]

I agree with you about the center of the green distance.
Unfortunately there is no way that I know of in CourseForge to mark the COG and have the distance based on that number.

[jmk59]

I know CTRL/ALT/U turns off the HUD (and 3C meter).  Is there a console command to turn (back) on just the 3C meter?

[Ted_Ball]

Good point bortimus. 

 

It's not as if an exact distance for a full approach will be much help.  The shorter game is a bit more problematic if you want to stay pure to the ideal.

 

 

 

When I play LAZY golf - if I've got a pitch across a bunker from rough to a short side -  I move my 'magic stick' to a point just over the banker to within 12 inches; I can do a calculation based on the exact percentage penalty; I can check my chart which will give me an almost exact distance to where the ball will carry; and I can use the avatar to determine the almost exact length of backswing needed to lob the ball almost exactly where I want it to land. In practice it might not work out almost exactly but you get the point.

 

That just does not sound like what we encounter IRL.

 

When I play BARE golf I utilize my experience and a bit of nouse to make my calculation. I'm only just getting back into BARE but I'm finding myself not even gauging the backswing to an exact point on the avatar.  I'm getting more of a 'feel' for the swing and an instinct for distances.

 

When that shot comes off playing BARE it is damn fun with a real sense of achievement. Compare that to the feeling of 'slide rule' golf. Enter data, press GO, move on.

[Ted_Ball]

Further to the distance issue - experience is your friend. How wonderful is that !? 

 

 

Not only becoming familiar with a certain course or courses (which is a real asset) but eventually the ability to judge distances becomes keener and more accurate. There is a cerebral component which makes the game much more thrilling. It's not about scoring -12 for 18 holes: it's about how to get around the course using your wits. I can now look at a pin and make a fair guesstimate of the distance. It's the same with putting.

 

 

That's the way I played in real life. Sure, if I was inside 100 yards I would use the 100 yard (or metre) distance markers to give me an idea of the distance but then my experience and instinct kicks in. You will say that it is easier to instinctively gauge distance IRL but, amazingly, I'm getting better at it in JNPG.