Chipping help?

[Ruthian23]

Hi everyone,

I have been playing Gary's games since TPG1, as you can see from my forum join date. One thing I've never been able to figure out about the TPG series is chipping. I'm not sure if it's something I'm doing wrong, something the game has been doing wrong, or if it's something the game is doing on purpose for balance issues and to keep scores up a bit. I love what Gary has done to putting in the newest version (I always found putting very unrealistic, as pro players just don't regularly miss 35 foot putts by 15 feet), but chipping feels similar to the other versions. My main issue is that I will often have a very easy chip with a player with a very high or maxed out wedge rating and will chip it to like 40 feet. I know this happens occasionally on Tour, but it has been a constant plague throughout all of my time playing the TPG series. Hit one right off the green, chip to 50 feet somehow, and it feels like I have zero control over it at all. As a general rule, wedge shots in golf are easier for professionals, than, say, mid-irons, but in the games I constantly find myself playing conservative on purpose not for the normal strategic reasons golfers do, but because I feel like I have a much better shot at hitting it close from 160 than I do from 50, where it could just go anywhere. I think that's kind of the opposite of real golf strategy. My questions are:

1. Do you guys experience the same thing?
2. If not, any ideas what I might be doing wrong?
3. When do you guys use chip vs. flop? Do you ever use punch outside of trees scenarios?

And while I'm at it, do you guys ever use fades and draws, and if so, under what circumstances? I have never found them very useful.

Finally, has Gary said if he plans to bring back the better ball animation graphics from the first three games?

[PointGuard]

I haven't been having big problems with chipping. Almost always use chip rather than flop or punch. But yeah, my chipping accuracy isn't quite as good as the real life PGA pros. More often in the 12-21 ft range than 40+ feet that you seem to be experiencing, though. If using tri-click, I click on the hole (or to the right or left of it if my caddie suggests that) and try to click in the distance and accuracy bars...seems to work pretty well. With one-click, I just click on the hole (or to the right/left of it if suggested by the caddie) and click.

I've only used punch to get out from under trees.

[Ruthian23]

I haven't been having big problems with chipping. Almost always use chip rather than flop or punch. But yeah, my chipping accuracy isn't quite as good as the real life PGA pros. More often in the 12-21 ft range than 40+ feet that you seem to be experiencing, though. If using tri-click, I click on the hole (or to the right or left of it if my caddie suggests that) and try to click in the distance and accuracy bars...seems to work pretty well. With one-click, I just click on the hole (or to the right/left of it if suggested by the caddie) and click.

I've only used punch to get out from under trees.

Thanks. The 40+ was somewhat hyperbole, though it has happened. More often I have easy chips that end up 15 or 20 feet away, which you just don't see often in the PGA unless it's the US Open and the greens are crazy or something. I use one click and do the same thing you're doing. I wish this was a bit better to more closely simulate the type of strategic choices golfers actually make. I should want to be closer to the green than further away.

[slybelle1]

Not sure if this is placebo or what helps, but before I chip I place the target near the hole and mostly have good results. If I don't place the target before the chip, I do sometimes get the wild shot of not being close.

[Ruthian23]

Not sure if this is placebo or what helps, but before I chip I place the target near the hole and mostly have good results. If I don't place the target before the chip, I do sometimes get the wild shot of not being close.

Yeah, I was told that in one of the earlier TPG versions and while it does make things better, results are still not anywhere near realistic. I've been saying it since TPG1, but there aren't any PGA pros chipping to 25 feet from just off the green and then leaving their first putt 12 feet short on the regular. That's me when I try to play golf. The putting problem has somewhat been addressed in this version, I've noticed. I am seeing it a lot less, though still more often than I'd like. The chipping seems to have the same issues I've seen since TPG1, minus the ridiculous chip-in rate that Gary thankfully fixed in the earlier versions.

Don't get me wrong--I've always loved the game and it's a game that fills a niche that no one else is filling, but I think shots from <80 yards or so have always been the only significant thing holding the game back from being even better.

[Gary Gorski]

I will see what I can do with this in the first update that comes out.