Greg Norman's Ultimate Golf - Shark Attack
Brought to you by Belgarath

LOADING INSTRUCTIONS 

AMIGA — 500/2000/2500: Insert the program disk into the Internal 
Drive and turn the computer on. 

1000: Load Kickstart 1.2 or higher, at the Workbench 
prompt insert the program disk. 

ATARI ST — Insert the program disk into the Internal Drive and turn 
the computer on. 

COMMODORE 64/128 — Insert the program disk into drive one 
and type LOAD "*",8,1 and press return. 

IBM — Load DOS 2.11 or higher. Insert the program disk into drive 
A, and at the A> prompt type GOLF and press return. 

IBM hard disk installation: Load DOS, at the A > prompt, 
Insert the program disk into drive A and type INSTALL. 

GREG NORMAN'S ULTIMATE GOLF 

Introduction 
Golf has always been a difficult game to simulate accurately on a 
computer, due to the vast number of factors to be taken into 
consideration. In real life the simple flight of the ball is affected by a 
multitude of parameters, ranging from the physical characteristics of the 
ball itself through to the atmospheric conditions at the time of flight. 
When we were designing Ultimate Golf we decided that the only 
way to produce a truly realistic simulation was to include as many as 
possible of those factors. We took real holes and real courses, and 
created accurate 3D models, including height and vegetation 
information; we simulated global weather conditions for all 12 months 
of the year; we took the best professional advice on how to create not 
only a golf game, but a teaching aid as well. Now, eight man-years later, 
we believe that the product you hold in your hands is worthy of the title 
Ultimate Golf. 

How to use this manual 

Ultimate Golf can be played on many levels, from a simple arcade game 
right up to a full-blown simulation of all the conditions to be found on a 
real golf course. Because of this we've divided this manual into three 
parts: the first is a simple 'walk through' of the one-player game, and 
gets you going as quickly as possible; the second is a fuller description of
the game's features; the third is a more detailed and technical explanation 
of the finer aspects of the program. Part One can be skipped, if you wish, 
since all the information in it is also contained in Part Two. 
If you're impatient to get out on the course and tee off we suggest 
you go straight to Part One. Then you can explore some of the game's 
deeper features in Part Two and, when you're good and ready, delve 
into Part Three to hone your game to perfection. 

PART ONE 
A Quick Round 

Refer to the loading instructions for your particular machine, then follow 
the on-screen prompts to select joystick, mouse or keyboard. You will 
then be prompted to select the course on which you will play. After 
selecting the course the main option screen will be displayed

Move the pointer over the PLAYER icon and press fire. Move to 
NAME, press fire and then type in your name. Press RETURN and then 
press fire on ACCEPT. Player 1 is now set up. 
Now move the pointer over the caddy icon and press once to de- 
select. De-selecting the caddy will enable the game to be played faster. 
Now click on START GAME. The club selection screen will appear. As 
you are only allowed to carry 14 clubs you must deselect three of them. 
We suggest that you click on the 2, 4 and 5 Wood icons. You will now 
find yourself on the first tee at the beginning of the course.
The INFO menu will now drop down. This menu shows which club 
you are using, what its range is, distance to the hole, and other 
information about the hole. 
Move the pointer onto PLAY and click. Greg Norman will appear on 
screen, ready to take your shot, alongside a power meter. The power 
ranges from 0% of the club's normal power through to 112.5% ( be 
warned - overpowering is to be used with caution!) Holding down the 
button or key will cause the power level to rise. Release the button 
when you have reached the desired level for the particular shot. 
The bar will now begin to fall from the top of the meter. Before it 
reaches the bottom you must align your shot. To do this you use the 
direction meter, found below the power meter. The direction meter has 
two needles, one of them stationary and normally pointing straight 
ahead, the other swinging left and right. To make sure your shot goes 
straight ahead, press fire when the two needles coincide. If the two lines 
do not coincide when you fire, then your shot will veer left or right 
accordingly. Repeat the process until you reach the green. 
Putting is carried out in the same way as driving, except that there is 
no direction meter. If you do need to deviate from a straight shot to 
compensate for any slope on the green you should deselect all the 
menus so the screen is clear, then press FIRE while the cursor is over the 
play area; a cross will appear on screen which you can move around to 
select the direction of your shot. 

PART TWO Golf for real 

After referring to the loading instructions for your particular machine, 
load the game and follow the on-screen prompts to select joystick, 
mouse or keyboard. 
You are then asked to select a course. On the disks supplied there 
are two courses, RAC and Gremlin; if you wish to play one of these, 
press 1 or 2 at the prompt. If you have further course disks, you may 
insert one of these. 

SETTING UP PLAYERS 

Ultimate Golf can be played with up to four players, each of which can be 
controlled by either a human player or the computer - giving you the novel 
facility of watching four professional golfers play a round of any game type 
(except practice). To introduce a player, select one of the player icons. The 
player and database control screen will then be displayed. 

The icon at the top left of the screen selects whether the player is to be 
controlled by the computer (the chip icon) or by a human player (the face 
icon). The name (if any) of the player is entered by clicking on the name 
icon, then typing in the relevant name (Maximum 12 characters, including 
spaces). If you do not enter a name then players will be referred to 
throughout the game as Player 1, Player 2, and so on. 
Initially the game loads with a predefined database of 10 players, with 
room for a total of 50 players available. When a name is entered an 
automatic check is made to see if a database entry for that name has already 
been set up. For example, typing in 'Greg Norman' will bring up the factors 
of experience, skill and so on relating to Mr. Norman himself. Entering a 
blank name allows you to step through the list of players using the Forwards 
and Backwards icons on the Database control screen. 
The Experience, Stance, Grip, Swing and Fitness factors are used only to 
set up the skill level of the computer-controlled players. They bear no relation 
to the gameplay for the human players, their only use for human players 
being to provide a handicap level (for a full explanation of handicap and how 
it affects gameplay, see Handicaps, Pars and Stroke Index). 
These icons are all 'sliding-bar' controlled; moving the pointer left and 
right with Fire depressed increases or decreases the level of the factor. As 
each factor changes, the handicap level (shown at the top of the screen) will 
also change. If you are setting up a human player, adjust the bars until a 
suitable handicap is shown (a suitable handicap is about 16). Of course, you 
are free to set up computer players to be as good or as bad at the game as 
you wish... 

When all necessary adjustments have been made you can store the 
personal attributes in the database for further use by clicking on ADD TO 
CURRENT DATABASE. When stepping through the database ERASE will remove 
the currently displayed set-up from the database screen. Clicking 
on ACCEPT will return you to the main options screen. Now you 
have set up a player ready for use in the various game types... 

GAME TYPES 
Practice 

This is strictly a one-player game. It gives you a chance to work on your 
game without the pressure of competition and provides you with total 
control of all the course parameters; you can walk around the course, 
replay shots, change holes and even reposition balls (if you think it's 
absolutely necessary). After each shot your score is entered on the score 
card, and the total score for the course is given at the end of the game. 

Strokeplay 

Choose this option if two or more players have been selected. Like the 
practice game the number of shots taken for each hole is entered on the 
score card, and the total score for the course given at the end of the 
game. 

Matchplay 

Like Strokeplay, this is a scoring method, but for only two or four players. 
The difference is that instead of the scoring being based on the number 
of shots taken for the course it is the winning (or losing) of individual 
holes that counts - the score card displays only the final result for each 
hole, giving a total of holes won or lost at the end of the game. See 
Handicaps, Pars and Indexes for an explanation of the different strategies 
involved in Strokeplay and Matchplay. 


Singles, Fourball, Foursome & Greensome 

Initially, the fourth game type icon will display Singles. Clicking on this 
will change the display to one of the other game types - all of them 
team games for four players only. These team games are all played with 
Players 1 & 2 versus Players 3 & 4 with scoring as either Matchplay or 
Strokeplay. 

A Fourball game is where each player plays one ball as per normal, but 
where only the best score from each team is entered onto the score card 
at the end of each hole. 

A Foursome game is played with just two balls, the players in each 
team playing alternately. Players 1 & 3 start off. 

A Greensome game is played in a similar manner to a foursome 
except that all four players tee off and then the best of each team's 
shots is chosen to finish the hole. 

N.B. The options for changing position, replaying shots, and so on, are 
available only in practice mode. 

PREFERENCES 

Initially all game preferences are switched to ON. To toggle any of them 
ON or OFF, click once on the relevant icon. 

Wind 

This decides whether or not your ball will be affected by the wind. 
Obviously, a strong wind coming towards you will decrease the length of 
the shot, whereas a mild wind blowing from behind you will slightly 
increase the distance the ball will travel. 

Weather 

The distance the ball will travel is also affected by the climatic conditions: 
whether or not the grass is wet, and so on. See Where, How Far and 
Why for a further discussion of ball flight and how it relates to climatic 
conditions. 

Ball effects 
This enables or disables the effects generated if the ball is spinning. If it is 
disabled then BACK and SIDE spin cannot be adjusted within the SWING 
menu. 

Caddy
When the caddy is enabled it will recommend the correct club to use for 
each shot, and will also select IN, OUT, HOOK and SLICE. It works out 
exactly what needs to be done to make the best shot, i.e., curve balls 
around trees, compensate for the wind, and so on. 
Now that you've set up a player, chosen a game type and selected 
your game preferences you are now ready to click on START GAME or 
on PLAY SAVED GAME 

PLAYING THE GAME 

Having clicked on 'start game', you will then be asked to DE-SELECT 
three of the available clubs. 17 clubs are available to choose from, but 
you can only carry 14 of these around the course with you. We suggest 
that you de-select the 2, 4 and 5 Woods. Click on the relevant club 
icons to deselect them then continue to the main game display. 

At the top of the screen is a menu bar. To access any of the options, 
move the pointer to the relevant icon and dick on it. At the start of each 
player's turn, a window drops down automatically (Figure 4). This is the 
info menu. 

Info menu

This displays all relevant information on the hole and the environmental 
conditions, except for the wind direction, which is displayed on the 
SWING menu. If you haven't got the wind and weather options turned 
on, the wind speed will be displayed as 0 MPH and the weather will 
always be sunny. 
The distance to the hole is displayed, along with the currently 
selected club and the maximum distance the ball will travel under ideal 
conditions using that club. Also shown are the hole number, the par for 
the hole (the 'ideal' number of shots needed) and the number of strokes 
taken already, as well as the score-card icon, which brings up the score- 
card when you click on it. 
If you are in practice mode, other options are also available: 

. RESTART HOLE will take you back to the tee of the hole you are 
  currently playing. 
. REPLAY SHOT allows you to take the last shot again. 
. CHANGE HOLE brings up a map of the whole course, allowing you to 
  click on the hole that you wish to play. 
. MOVE acts in the same way as the WALK section on the MAP menu 
  but instead of just allowing you to see what other parts of the hole look 
  like, it actually moves the ball as well. 

Having found out the distance to the hole, move to 
the CLUBS icon and click.

Clubs 

All 17 clubs are listed on the right hand side of the
window. A picture of the club currently selected is displayed in the main 
part. Below this is the ideal distance that the ball will travel when hit by 
this club. Only 14 of these clubs are available to you. 
As well as the club type, the terrain that the ball is lying on is 
displayed along with the condition of the grass (whether wet or dry). 
For an explanation of how terrain and weather affects the play of the 
ball, see the section Where, How Far and Why. 
To change clubs, either click on one of the listed clubs or click on 
one of the NEXT/LAST icons to increment/decrement the club number. A 
list of average distances and special considerations is given in the section 
'Clubs'. 

To now see what the hole looks like, click on MAP 

Map 

This brings up an overhead view of the hole, complete with all the 
course features (trees, sand, etc.) and hole information. This option also 
allows you to 'walk around' the course, and to change your viewing 
angle before playing a shot. 
To look at other parts of the course, click on the WALK icon. Holding 
down Fire, move the pointer to any place on the map and, when 
positioned, click again. Clicking on VIEW then shows you what the 
course looks like from that point, looking towards the hole. 
To look in a different direction, click and hold on TURN. When you 
then move the pointer over the map, a line will be drawn between your 
'walked' position and the pointer. Releasing the button and then 
VIEWing gives you the course view in the selected direction. 
If you TURN without WALKing, the course view will have changed 
direction when you exit from the map. This feature can be used for fine adjust- 
ments of the pin direction when putting, or for playing round dog legs, trees 
and other obstacles. Click and hold on TURN as before, then move the cursor 
to turn around. To exit from the map, dick on CONTINUE, then move to.. 

Swing 

The amount of spin applied to the ball and the swing arc of the club 
both affect the flight path of the ball. This menu allows you to change 
these factors to produce various effects. Altering one of the three 
parameters (backspin, sidespin and swing arc) using the icons will 
change the diagram at the top of the window to show the new flight 
path. Again, a full explanation of the mechanics behind the ball's flight 
path is given in the section Where, How Far and Why. The best route to 
full understanding is by experimentation. 
Also shown on this menu is the direction of the wind, to help you 
decide which way you want the ball to go, so as to counter the wind's 
effect. The wind arrow is shown relative to the golfer on the SWING 
menu, and the direction of the wind is the direction of the head of the 
arrow. 
When you have altered the ball's path, and then chosen to play with 
SOUND either on or off, you are ready to select... 

Play

A power bar is displayed alongside the start of a digitised animation 
sequence of Greg Norman ready to swing. This bar ranges from 0% 
power at the bottom through to 112.5% power at the top. The extra 
power, although sometimes necessary, should generally be avoided as it 
will tend to magnify any errors in direction. 
To play a shot, hold down the button and the power level will rise 
from the bottom. Release the button at the desired power level, and the 
bar will start to fall to the bottom. The time this bar takes to reach the 
bottom is the time you have to align your shot. You must make your 
shot before the bar reaches 0%. 
Below the power bar is a direction indicator with a swinging line and a 
stationary line. To align your shot, fire or click when the two lines coincide. 
If the two lines meet before you click, don't worry. You have at least 
another two tries before the bar reaches the bottom. If you miss, the ball 
will veer off in the direction, of the miss, (it will be 'hooked' or 'sliced'). 

Your ball will now be sent winging its way towards the hole. Your 
new position will then be displayed. Go to INFO, then CLUBS, then MAP 
and SWING if necessary, and play your next shot. 
Once on the green, shots are played in exactly the same way, except 
that the direction meter is not present on the power bar. Instead, de- 
select all menus and press Fire anywhere over the play area. A direction 
cursor will appear to change the direction of the putt. Move the cursor 
left or right to align your shot, and then press play to select your power 
level as before. 
At the end of the 18 holes, your score card for the whole course will 
be displayed, showing how many strokes under or over par you took for 
the course. If there is more than one player, pressing space will show 
you the second player's score card. Keep pressing space to display any 
other players' score cards or to wrap back round to your own. Press fire 
to take you to the game options screen, ready to play another round of 
Ultimate Golf. 

Exit 

At any point in the game, pressing on EXIT will give you the option of 
either restarting the game, saving your current position, leaving the 
game altogether or simply continuing with the current game. Follow the 
on-screen prompts to save the game, but remember not to save the 
game to the game disk itself. 

Greensomes 

The only important difference to normal gameplay when playing a 
Greensome is that after each team has teed off, and each of the four 
players has played a shot, a decision must be made as to which ball is 
going to be used to continue the hole. For each team, the map of the 
hole is displayed showing the position of both balls, and a decision box 
for each ball will appear, giving their respective distances from the hole. 
The balls will be displayed with a number by them. Statistics related to 
each ball are printed at the bottom of the map. Click on the player name 
to make a selection. 

TECHNIQUES, STRATEGIES AND RULES 

Now that you've learned the mechanics of playing Ultimate Golf, there 
are a few things we think you should bear in mind, whether playing golf 
on a computer or on a golf course. 

Play 

When you are teeing off, your basic aim is to get to the green with as 
little fuss as possible. As Greg Norman says, To my mind, the most 
important shot in golf is the drive. Hit it well, and you have a jump on 
the hole, an edge on your opponent. Hit it poorly, and you'll be 
scrambling all the way to the green.' 
Remember that most course designers put the traps and hazards in 
front of the green, in an attempt to catch out the cautious player. If you 
are driving for the green, attempt 
to overhit rather than underhit the 
ball, as it is less likely that you will 
get caught in a trap. 


When playing from a bunker, you must use a high-lofted club or the 
ball will go nowhere. Usually, a sand wedge is the best choice, although 
in certain circumstances - for instance, when you want the ball to roll 
further on the green - a high iron such as an 8 or 9 could be used. 
Remember that shots from the bunker need extra power. 
In windy conditions, it is likely that the ball will be deflected off 
course. The amount of compensation necessary is something you will 
only pick up through experience, but the following basic rules always 
apply. 
In a headwind (with the wind conning towards you), you need more 
power than usual. The reverse applies to winds that are coming from 
behind you. 
In a crosswind (from right to left or vice versa), the aim is to allow 
for the wind by playing the shot more to one side, or by curving the ball. 
For example, if you are playing a shot where the wind is going from left 
to right, either aim the ball more to the left than usual, or put a lot of 
sidespin on it so as to hook the shot, making it curve over to the left. 
The net result will be a straight shot. See the section on Where, How Far 
and Why for more details on ball trajectories. 
In general, you should try not to overpower the club. If you have to 
use 100% or more of the club's power to attain a certain distance, then 
you are probably using the wrong club, and should select one higher 
than the current one. This may sound rather obvious, but very often the 
tendency is to pick the club whose maximum distance matches the 
distance to the hole. Bearing in mind the earlier advice about playing 
towards the green, it is usually better to play a more controlled shot 
with a longer club than to take the risk of overpowering a shot, or 
hitting it just below maximum power, and then landing in a hazard. 
If extra distance is necessary, however, one way of 
achieving it is by hooking the shot. For reasons explained 
later on in this manual, a hooked shot travels further than 
a straight shot. But make sure that you compensate for the curve with 
your swing, or you will find yourself in a stickier situation than if you had 
just played a short straight shot. 
Hooking and slicing can also be used to 'minimise your losses' when 
playing onto the green. If you mis-hit a straight shot, the result could be 
a ball that lands anywhere, whereas mis-hitting a deliberately curved 
shot results in a ball which, although in the wrong place, is still moving 
in the direction of the hole, thus giving you a smaller error margin. 

Strategies 

Depending on the game type you are playing, different strategies will be 
necessary when in competition with other players. In Strokeplay games, 
every single shot counts, so your basic plan should be to play as simply 
and efficiently as possible. If, for instance, your ball is lying in heavy 
rough quite a way from the hole, it would be better to play a simple shot 
onto the fairway so as to give yourself an easy shot to the green rather 
than aiming for the green straight away, as a bad shot then may cost 
you another two or three strokes. 
In Matchplay games a lost hole is a lost hole, irrespective of the 
number of shots taken; even if you take 100 shots to get to the green, 
you will only be one point down. So if an attempt at the green is 
necessary to win the hole, then go for it! You can't lose anything by 
trying, and it could be the shot that snatches the hole from under your 
opponent's nose. 
Of course you should use you common sense in these situations, and 
attempt to avoid the obvious pitfalls of the course. On the whole, you 
will fare better if you take two safe shots round an 
obstruction rather than one dodgy one over it.

PART 3 In depth 

HANDICAPS, PARS AND STROKE INDEXES 

The handicapping system is a method of allowing for the skill and 
experience of different golfers, so as to ensure a degree of fairness in 
competition. A novice player with a high handicap will be given a 'stroke 
allowance' on a golf course, enabling him to compete more effectively 
with an expert player with a very low handicap. 
Handicaps start at 28 and gradually work their way down to 0 
('scratch'). Every time a golfer plays in a competition, his handicap is 
altered depending upon his score for the course. If the score is lower 
than the 'allowed' score for his handicap level, then the handicap is 
reduced. Conversely, if the score is higher than allowed, then the 
handicap is raised. 
This is where Ultimate Golf's STROKE INDEX comes in. On the score- 
card, beside the par for each hole, you will see the stroke index (the S.I.) 
for the hole. This is the handicap level at which, if your handicap is 
greater or equal than it, you are given an extra, uncounted shot for the 
hole. Thus, if you have a handicap of 17 and the S.I. for the hole is 16, 
your score for that hole will be reduced by 1. 
PARS are the expected average score for each hole. Basically, a par is 
calculated from the hole's distance. Two shots are allowed for the putt, 
and when this is added to the amount of strokes needed to get to the 
green, the result is the hole's par. If the distance from tee to hole is 
(roughly) under 210 yards, then one shot is allowed to get to the green, 
and the hole has a par of 3. Holes between 210 yards and 400 yards are 
normally par 4, while anything over 400 yards is usually a par 5, giving 
you three shots to reach the green from the tee. Holes with a par of 6 do 
exist, but are very rare. 

Working out your handicap 

If you are interested in working out your Ultimate Golf handicap 
accurately, you will need to keep a record of your score each time you 
play. When you first play, you should give yourself a handicap of 28. 
Then, every time you finish a course, the number of strokes over or 
under par you are (your NET score on the score-card, having taken the 
S.I. into account) determines how far up and down your handicap 
should go. 

There are four categories of handicap - each with their own 
adjustments, listed below. 

HANDICAP 0-5       Category 1     = 0.1 strokes
HANDICAP 6-12      Category 2     = 0.2 strokes
HANDICAP 13-20     Category 3     = 0.3 strokes
HANDICAP 21 -28    Category 4     = 0.4 strokes

So, if you are in category 3, every stroke under or over par at the end of 
the course is multiplied by 0.3 to give you the adjustment to your 
handicap. Similarly, if your handicap is 4, each shot over or under par 
adjusts your handicap by 0.1 either up or down. 

Although decimal points are stored for further adjustments, you normally 
talk about your handicap as being the nearest whole figure to it. So a 
handicap of 15.5 is treated as a handicap of 15, whereas 15.6 is treated 
as a handicap of 16. Similarly, a handicap of 12 could refer to anywhere 
between 11.6 and 12.5. 

After a few games, your handicap should level out, as it gets harder to 
move down the lower you go.

Handicapping with other people 

The handicapping system applies in a slightly different way if you are 
playing in a competition. In a singles game using strokeplay scoring, 
each person's handicap allowance applies as usual, with the extra shots 
being included if your handicap is at or above the level of the S.I. In 
Matchplay scoring, however, each player's handicap is set at 75% of the 
difference between their handicap and the top handicapped player, who 
has his handicap set to 0. So if 4 players of handicaps 3, 7, 12 and 11 
decide to play a fourball game, their handicaps would be treated as 0, 3, 
6 and 6 for the duration of the game. Team games also have different 
handicapping systems, listed below. 

GREENSOME 

Matchplay 75% of the difference between the handicap totals of 
each team is allowed for the highest handicapped team; the other 
team being 0. 

Strokeplay Each team has a handicap of 40% of the top handicap in 
that team and 60% of the lowest handicap 

FOURSOME 

Matchplay 37.5% of the difference between the combined total for 
each side is allowed for the higher team, the lower team again being 
treated as scratch. 

Strokeplay Each team has its average handicap, ie: 50% (player 1 + 
player 2) 

FOURBALL 

Matchplay As in singles, each player is given 75% of the difference 
between his score and that of the lowest handicapped player,who is 
treated as a handicap 0. 

Strokeplay As in singles, each player is given his full 
handicap allowance. 

WHERE, HOW FAR, AND WHY 

How far the ball goes, and in what direction, is dependent upon a 
number of factors. The first and most obvious is the club used to hit 
the ball. 

LOFT ANGLE 
Different clubs, as well as different weights, all have different loft 
angles - the angle that the head makes with the neck of the 
club. This means that different clubs will hit the ball at different 
angles. The steeper the angle that the ball makes with the ground, 
the greater the ratio of vertical to horizontal velocity. 
In other words, the higher the ball goes, the less distance it will 
travel. This is why, although a 1 iron is the same weight as a 9 iron, it 
will project the ball further if given the same velocity. 

SPIN 
The spin applied to the ball also has a significant effect on the flight 
path of the ball. There are basically two types of spin - backspin and 
sidespin. 

Due to the drag factors applied to the ball when it is in the air, more 
backspin generally means less distance as the ball spends less time in 
the air, therefore 'choking' it's flight. Also, when the ball lands it will 
virtually come to a halt, as the ball is spinning in the opposite 
direction to the direction of travel, thus restricting its bounce and 
preventing it from rolling. 
This is more often than not a good thing for the player, as it 
means that shots can be placed to land in exact positions, instead of 
rolling forwards - something you have little control over. 

SIDESPIN 
Obviously there are two types of sidespin; left and right
(clockwise and anti-clockwise). Imparting spin to a ball means to 
open or close the face of the club, so as to hit the ball more on one 
side than the other. This also changes the loft angle of the ball and 
therefore changes the distance that the ball travels. 
A ball that is spinning anti-clockwise will tend to veer off to the 
right, or slice, while a clockwise spinning ball will veer to the left, or 
hook. Slicing the ball lifts it higher than normal, thus decreasing its 
distance, while hooking gives a shallower loft angle and so sends the 
ball further. 

ANGLE OF SWING 
These effects are normally used in conjunction with the angle of 
swing of the club so as to bend the ball round trees and other 
hazards. The angle of swing determines in which direction the ball is 
hit, and so a combination of a swing one way and a spin in the 
opposite direction will produce curved flight paths, enabling you to 
skirt obstruction and approach greens from different angles. 

BALL POSITION 
Another factor to take into consideration, as well as how the ball is 
hit, is where the ball is hit from. If the ball is in light rough, (slightly 
more overgrown than the fairway), then the contact between the 
club and the ball is interfered with by blades of grass, and the 
friction between the ball and the ground is more marked than usual. 
This produces a lessening of the backspin applied to the ball, and 
therefore the ball will go further. 
The same effect is also seen on the fairway if the 
ground is wet. This shot, with less backspin, is known 
as a flyer. (To give a famous example: Greg Norman 
once played a 300 yard shot with a 5 iron from the rough due to this 
effect). 
Normally, you should use a club 1 or 2 higher than usual when 
playing from light rough or from a wet fairway to produce the same 
distance as you would when playing from a dry fairway - a 7 iron 
instead of a 5 iron for example. 
On the other hand, when the ball lands in heavier rough (or even 
in wet light rough), it tends to embed itself, making low-angle shots 
very difficult. In this situation, the only way out is to use a club with a 
very high loft angle (a pitch wedge or a sand wedge) to get under 
the ball and hit it back onto the fairway. This is known as a floater. 
This shot, played with a wedge (usually a sand wedge) is also 
necessary when he ball lands in a bunker, as again the ball tends to 
embed itself, making it virtually impossible to hit it from underneath. 

WIND 
Wind of course also plays a part in messing up an otherwise perfect 
shot. Because of the variable nature of this phenomenon, there are 
no hard-and-fast rules on compensating for the wind Obviously, if 
the wind is from behind you then your shot will usually be longer 
and vice versa if the wind is blowing towards you. 
But the wind speed too determines how your ball will be 
affected. The solution to this problem is found only through 
experience; the more you play, the more able you will be to estimate 
how to play a shot so as to take advantage of the situation. 

HOOKING AND SLICING 
Hooking and slicing can be used to your advantage 
when playing in a crosswind, as the tendency for the
ball to curve one way will cancel out the effect of the wind blowing 
in the opposite direction. Again, how much you should curve the 
shot is something that can only be learned through experience. 

HEIGHT 
The only other factor to mention is that of height. Driving from a tee 
which is above the fairway will result in a longer shot than driving 
from a low tee. Again, how much the height of the terrain will 
affect your shot is something that can only be estimated through 
experience and observation. 


          Clubs             Average            Loft
                            Distance           Angle

Woods     No 1              250 yds            12° 
          No 2              235 yds            14°
          No 3              220 yds            16°
          No 4              205 yds            20° 
          No 5              190 yds            24° 
Irons     No 1              195 yds            16°
          No 2              185 yds            19°
          No 3              175 yds            23°
          No 4              165 yds            27°
          No 5              155 yds            31°
          No 6              145 yds            35°
          No 7              135 yds            39° 
          No 8              125 yds            43° 
          No 9              115 yds            47°
          Pitching Wedge    105 yds            52°
          Sand Wedge        95 yds             58° 
          Putter            50 ft              n/a 

The given distance refers to full-power shots taken under ideal 
conditions on a sunny, windless day from a perfect level tee with no 
spin.

Brought to you by Belgarath