Tips
on Playing LinksLS
BREAK
PAR AT DEVIL'S ISLAND
CLICK HERE!!!
"you may have all the tips
on the web scattered on your desk like the map of a general at war, but at
the end of the day, it's still how you hit the snap that wins the
games."
-
firehead
Snap
The snap is the most crucial part of the game.
You can calculate your distance very well but miss the snap terribly and
leave you with a bad result. My only tip here is never, never, hit the
snap past the 12 o'clock mark. This will help you make a more consistent
hit each time. You do not need to hit beyond that mark. You have 14
clubs in your bag, make the most of them.
Driving Lesson
Driving has significantly changed with Links LS. It was not before
when you just KILL the ball. Now the slightest snap miss will sent it going
left or right. I can't imagine myself playing champ mode anymore LOL. Some
things you have to check are: a)obstruction to your target i.e., trees, branches,
etc. , make sure you have a clear target path, b) wind if any c) distance,
i.e., will 260 yards out be on the rough, bunker or fairway. Normal carry
of driver is about 260-265 yards, no wind.
Sand Play
In the latest LinksLS, the sand is now in play. The
sand play in Links LS is one of the most snap dependent shots. This is because
you have to hit the snap perfectly center otherwise it will come out short
or too hot. If you hit it before the 6 o'clock meter, you've hit a lot
more sand than you had to. while hitting it beyond that makes solid ball
contact so it comes out hot. In fairway bunkers, that is where you have to
hit it. The second snap is like the 6'o clock snap for you to hit normal
shots. While the 6'oclock snap is a true sand blast.
Chipping Lesson
Chipping must be very accurate. On match play, you cannot afford to chip
in from the fairway and land 15ft or more on the green. Take the roll
into consideration as like a straight shot, the chip goes into the air then
rolls onto the green. So check the green if it is uphill or downhill and
adjust your shot accordingly. I have a chart below from
www.golfweb.com for Chipping using a Sand Wedge
and normal defaults. For faster greens or more difficult lies, I use PW as
my chipping club, loft all the way up. This limits the distance it goes
but it minimizes the roll as well. Makes it seem like playing darts
as the ball almost stops upon landing on the green.
Also, I
found out that it is more effective to pitch ( i.e., LW or SW at
50% to 75% strength ) on distances beyond 21yds but less than 70yds.
Or shots from 70-125 yards using the LW set to punch. These shots normally
roll to a minimum (almost no backspin) but they require accuracy,
so again practice, practice, practice.
Another important shot I use is hitting the
ball low. Sometimes a tree gets in the way and there is no way out except
for a pitch to the side for the fairway (sacrificing distance ) or to hit
it low under the tree. This is a difficult shot to make as
the ball rolls more on the green.
Do not trust the swing meter that if you hit
SW at 50%, it will be at 50 yds. No way!!! The chart
below is not yet perfect but it is accurate enough.
Note: This is not a loft
chart.
Swing Meter |
1I |
3I |
5I |
SW |
LW |
LW Punch |
SW Chip |
PW Chip in feet |
4.0 |
230 |
210 |
185 |
100 |
80 |
125 |
35y |
60 |
3.3 |
207 |
189 |
167 |
90 |
72 |
120 |
33y |
53 |
3.2 |
184 |
168 |
148 |
80 |
64 |
110 |
29y |
47 |
3.1 |
161 |
147 |
130 |
70 |
62 |
100 |
25y |
43 |
3.0 |
138 |
126 |
111 |
60 |
55 |
90 |
60ft |
40 |
2.3 |
115 |
105 |
93 |
50 |
47 |
75 |
50ft |
33 |
2.2 |
99 |
90 |
80 |
43 |
40 |
62 |
47ft |
28 |
2.1 |
89 |
80 |
70 |
38 |
34 |
51 |
43ft |
25 |
2.0 |
76 |
69 |
61 |
33 |
27 |
45 |
37ft |
23 |
It is not true that
hitting it 50% gives 50% distance. The chart above is in yards
and requires accuracy. Snap must be good for it to be effective.
The distances above are not perfect as well because i cannot
perfect my snap for each.
And I do not take any responsibility whatsoever
for any game lost because of my chart
.
Putting Lesson
I can't put into words why putting is the most
important part of LS. This is where you score. A 2 inch putt
counts the same as a 300 yd drive so I guess that will sum it all up.
Three putts are a no-no. You must
limit your putts to a maximum of 2/hole if you want to score lower. This
is the most difficult part of Links LS. The greens are more complicated than
those from the older versions. A 2 inch increase or decrease of the path
from ball to pin means +1 ft or -1 ft distance i.e., 10ft putt downhill 10
inches, a 5ft putt will be enough to hole this if straight( supposedly but
not often) . Imagine how the hole would roll and try to target where the
ball starts to curve. I have a chart below from
www.golfweb.com for putting distances on normal/med
greens.
Here are my personal putting tips. BTW, I aim by feel
and not by counting the
steps .
1. Calculate correct distance, 2 inch elevation =
1 ft distance . (either to be added or subtracted). This is important as
you do not want to hit the ball too strong or too weak. Also, do not putt
the exact distance say for a 7ft shot, hit 9 ft. Sometimes they just fall
short .Better hit it a bit longer, at least they have the chance to go in.
2. Greens breaks just like IRL golf. They break more
than what we can see. Make an imaginary path where you think the ball will
pass. Say left to right. Take a look at the grid closely seeing where it
will roll starting from the pin to your ball. Now that you have an imaginary
path, if you aim here and putt, you will see that the ball will not follow
this but will roll on the inside. (let me suggest u turn on tracers first
so you will understand what I mean.)
3. After this imaginary line is established, for a
left to right break, aim a bit more to the left. For downhill putts add a
bit more.
4. Now putt the ball. This more or less will be near
or on the actual break. Lucky if you hole it. I say this because, this
is what I aim to do. Although I want to hole the ball, I want that if i miss,
it will be a tap in. USE TRACERS WHEN PRACTICING. You get to understand how
the greens behave.
5. Here's my secret
. If i hit the
putt too hard, normally I compensate this on the 2nd click . I wont go for
the six o'clock but for the 1st dot to the left or right of it depending
on where the break is. Also comparing with normal/medium greens, faster greens
break more and slower greens less.
![](putt.jpg)
next two photos show how the putt behaves vs. the aim.
always try to make this adjustment when putting especially on hairy greens.
![](putt2.jpg)
Using this method, I normally putt from the fringe
as well
and sometimes on the rough (when the ball is just outside
the fringe) especially on fast greens where a chip shot can
be unpredictable.
Swing Meter |
0.1 |
0.2 |
0.3 |
1.0 |
1.1 |
1.2 |
1.3 |
2.0 |
2.1 |
2.2 |
2.3 |
3.0 |
3.1 |
3.2 |
3.3 |
4.0 |
Soft/Slow |
2 |
2 |
4 |
6 |
7 |
10 |
12 |
15 |
19 |
23 |
30 |
35 |
45 |
50 |
55 |
65 |
Soft/Medium Normal/Slow |
2 |
3 |
5 |
6 |
8 |
12 |
14 |
17 |
22 |
26 |
33 |
40 |
50 |
57 |
62 |
73 |
Soft/Fast Normal/Medium Hard/Slow |
2 |
3 |
5 |
7 |
9 |
13 |
15 |
19 |
24 |
29 |
37 |
44 |
56 |
63 |
69 |
81 |
Normal/Fast Hard/Medium |
2 |
4 |
6 |
8 |
11 |
16 |
18 |
23 |
29 |
35 |
44 |
53 |
67 |
76 |
83 |
97 |
Hard/Fast |
3 |
4 |
7 |
10 |
13 |
18 |
21 |
27 |
34 |
41 |
52 |
62 |
78 |
88 |
97 |
113 |
For a more mechanical but effective way to
putt, try
Rons'
Putting Lessons.
Ron's Putting lesson expanded further . Based on Ron's putting
lessons, you count the steps from your location to the pin. It
is effective but what if the distance to pin computed is
not exact i.e., not on the swing meter say 12 ft or 14 ft?
What you can do is subtract the aim a bit say if the
position of the aim should be 21" left of the hole but the swing
computed requires 17 ft strength, you can aim 19" left of the hole
and hit 19 ft strength. The stonger putt will compensate for the
little break. Again, this requires practice and is not guaranteed
100% to work since there are a lot of factors involved but most of the
time it does work!
Club Selection
Par 3, 180 yards, pin 20 ft below the ball, no wind.
What club will I use? 5I, 6I, 7I? On shots like this, uphill or downhill
targets make the difference. Keep in mind though that an elevation
of 3 ft is approximately 1 yd equivalent distance. So for this hole, 180
yds less (20/3=6.67yds) is about 174 yds. Ball position as well affects your
shot. Based on my experience, one click on the loft is approx 5yards (loftchart
available at
http://www.ottawagolf.com/linksls/loftchart.htm).
If you click it up once, your club distance decreases by 5 yds
approx. from LW to 6I, then 2 yds approx. from 5I to Driver. Vice versa if
clicked down down. So for this
shot, i can hit a 5I, but click the loft 4X up for about 8 yards less,
then hit a perfect 12,6 (perfect shot 12 o'clock, six o'clock) or a 7i but
click the loft down once for 175 yds, then perfect shot.
For different green speeds, take a little more club
for slow greens and a little less for fast ones. Also consider the backspin
for slow greens.
![](putchart.gif) ![](chipchrt.gif)
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