Perhaps it’s because it’s arguably the most challenging game on the Wii Sports package. It creates more frustration than any other game I’ve played. It also provides more enjoyment when a great shot is made, much like the game in real life (so I’ve heard).The trick with the game is obvious: practice, practice, practice. Wii Training has some great golf exercises, with putting probably the most helpful as it’s certainly the most difficult shot to master in the game.There are 9 holes in the game and each is a 3-D version of the NES version of Golf. The game is pretty straightforward: pick your club, aim your shot taking into account the terrain and wind, and swing the club. That’s it.I’ve noticed that there’s almost nearly no Wii Golf advice or reviews out there, so I’ll break down each of the holes as I see them. I’ve bolded the shot for each hole that I beat myself up if I don’t make. =)

1. (Par 4) A simple drive and iron shot should put you really close to the hole. Putt it in for the birdie.
2. (Par 3) The wind is extremely key here - it can make or break your chance for the birdie. Ideally you’d have about a 10mph head wind so you can easily hit past the bunker but not too far. A hole in 1 is ideal but normally you should settle for the birdie.
3. (Par 5) Always go for the left-most landing pad on your 1^st shot, unless the wind is coming back at you 15 mph or more. Your 2^nd shot can hit the green most of the time if you hit it softer than you’re used to - the strength meter doesn’t take into consideration elevation drops, so you’ll want to go about a half a dot less than you might first think. Eagles should be fairly common here with practice.
4. (Par 3) Just like hole 2, the wind is very important. Birdies are common but always go for that hole in 1 with your iron.
5. (Par 5) With a light or favorable wind, you should always aim into the trees about a third of the way up the main fairway stretch. Even if the ball hits the trees or lands in the rough, a shot to the green is very possible at this point. With a cleverly placed driver whack for shot 2, you can get the ball to bounce over the sand trap since there’s a large bump in the fairway right before it. Aim for the eagle, settle for birdie.
6. (Par 4) I’ve seen a chip-in on the 2^nd shot here, but of course that’s as luck as a hole in 1 on the Par 3s. This one’s pretty straightforward, although the difficulty of the putting slope may push you from a birdie to a par.
7. (Par 4) Here you’re often faced with a situation where a sand trap’s position is advantageous to your driver shot. If you have no clear iron shot to the green after your 1^st shot (often it’ll be obstructed by trees), you can actually drive the shot to the very edge of a sand trap - the sand will slow the ball down and allow it to slide onto the green perfectly. Mark it a birdie.
8. (Par 3) The wind will make or break you here. Most of the time, get your first shot to bounce just above the middle pathway’s end and roll onto the green. Ideally you’ll have a head wind to slow your ball down but even without it you can usually get pretty close to the pin on your 1^st shot. Aim for birdie but settle for par here.
9. (Par 5) Most of the time, aim for the left-most island on your first shot. Then aim for the last island with your driver on the 2^nd shot, aiming for the first piece of accessible land. The ball will roll very far so be careful not to overshoot it. An eagle is possible but birdies are a bit more common.

Other tips:

• If you’re in the rough and you have a strong head or tail wind (>20mph), don’t worry about overshooting into the red if you need the extra distance. The wind will take control of the ball very quickly and your hook or slice will barely matter.
• In the sand trap, the game will always auto-choose your wedge. This isn’t always the best club choice, as oftentimes you won’t be able to get the distance you want without hitting into the red. Choose the iron and hit the ball super soft, and let it roll right close to or into the hole.
• If you land at the edge of a green or even in a fairway near the green, sometimes it’s best to putt, especially if you have a strong wind. Wind doesn’t affect putts, nor do you hook or slice if you hit into the red.

It’s possible to at least birdie every hole - I figure with absolutely no mistakes and a little luck with the wind, the best score you could get would be about a -12 or -13. This includes one or two hole in 1s and eagles on each of the par 5s. Sounds crazy I know, but it’s doable. =) The best possible score, as in there’s no physical way you could beat it, has got to be -21. That includes nothing but eagles and hole in 1s - anytime you can hit the green, it’d have to go in.

On that note, I’ve almost double eagled all 3 par 5s - each time actually hitting the pin but the ball bounced away. I wonder if anyone’s ever made these shots…?

My best game so far is a -10. I was stuck at -9 for about 6 months until finally I pulled this one off last week.

Anyone else have any tips or insight to share?

This entry was posted on Saturday, November 24th, 2007 at 11:40 pm and is filed under General Games. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.