**************************************
INTRODUCTION
Q: WHO is this system designed for?
A: It was designed to help the bottom 25% of SL golfers, myself being one of those, learn some of the metrics of SL Golf, play better golf, i.e. produce lower scores.
Q: WHAT is this system designed to do?
A: It is designed to accept information about a given COURSE, HOLE, PLAN, and SWING, accept WIND data, and then ADVISE the SL Golfer and give 1 or more choices on which: CLUB, POWER, BACKSPIN, AIM, and SWING vs CHIP to use.
Q: WHEN was it designed?
A: It started a year ago
Q: WHY was it designed?
A: I used to make crude, cryptic, notes for holes like below:
Hole #1 – 107 m to Flag
Dr – 85% – to fairway
Dr – 85% – to flag
putter 6m to flag – tilts right so angle left from below
Hole #17 – 3W 80% = 1 or 0 BS
Hole #18 – DR 85% = 0 BS
I wanted a more systematic, consistent, organized, method to approaching certain, what i call, TROUBLE HOLES. So this system was not meant to be used on EVERY HOLE but just on those holes that have proved challenging and/or troublesome. You probably wont need it on holes where you consistently get birdies or eagles. (1 or 2 under par).
Below is presented a lot of information that may seem daunting. Know that we will walk you thru actual examples of how to use and implement the system that will explain and reinforce the data below. If you find yourself overwhelmed due to information overload, feel free to skip forward to the actual CASE STUDY #1, way below.
**************************************
There are 2 HUDs. GOLF COURSE and GOLF COACH.
******************************
TARGETS
This system is based around TARGETS. Two TARGETS determine a DISTANCE. A DISTANCE is what the system uses to decide how to ADVISE you as to what decisions to make when striking the golf ball with a golf club. An ADVICE consists of: CLUB, POWER, BACKSPIN, AIM, and choice of full-SWING or CHIP. The system also relies on you supplying approximate anticipated WIND information to more accurately determine the ADVICE. TARGETS can be supplied using either or both Pro Golf SL Digest System HUDs.
******************************
WIND
Wind (Head/Tail) affects how much harder or softer you must hit the golf-ball, which factors into which club you use, power, and backspin combination. The cross-wind, (left-right) affects your aim or taps off of center either left or right in combination with club selection.
I want to preface how wind is calculated and how it should be taken into account. This system currently supplies SLWind information automatically when the WIND button is pressed. You can probably rely on the Head/Tail Wind calculation but the CrossWind (Left/Right) may leave something to be desired. You can also enter your own wind values, overriding the auto-supplied SLWind values, say when you are using b-Wind or g-Wind or another wind system. You can also enter a Wind Bias (advanced).
The SL wind in weather-vanes usually polls every couple of seconds. So in essence, wind-metric providers can always change between the time you calculate its value AND affect and the time you take actually make your swing. This variance is most apparent in the cross-wind. The head/tail wind often do not change that much to make a meaningful difference. So your aim calculations are up the gods, essentially. May you get lucky. This wait-time applies to SL-Wind and MAY at times also apply to, depending on how it changes and how the ball choose to obey its values, b-Wind or g-Wind or other wind systems.
******************************
PURPOSES
1 – GOLF COURSE HUD – Stores and forwards static information about courses and their holes. It uses MEASURES to create TARGETS.
It measures distances for HAZARDS between 2 markers OR between a position (HOME) and you the golfer (ME). You do NOT NEED to use the GOLF COURSE HUD but
it can keep you from having to continuously reenter the same TARGETS over and over again. You CAN enter TARGET information using only
the GOLF COACH HUD, but then you must GUESS-TIMATE the TARGET “DISTANCE” and ELEVATION.
2 – GOLF COACH HUD- Accepts information about your situation and your choices and makes ADVICE (club/power/backspin/swing-type) recommendation(s).
GOLF COACH HUD is a Second Life HUD that you wear to help assist you, based on: a course, hole, plan, and swing number, and sometimes round, in choosing:
- the right club
- the right amount of power
- the directional aim (left vs. right)
- the amount of backspin, if any
- the choice of Swing or Chip
There are 3 categories of information. My Situation, My Choices, and My Results.
My Situation is static information about a given Course-Hole, like par and tee-to-pin distance, as examples.
My Choices are decisions you make about making a given swing, like: club-choice, backspin, power, aim, etc.
My Results document what happened after your swing, like hole, hazard, penalty, distance-left-to-hole, etc.
You enter information about a given course, hole, plan, and swing #, and it will make one or more recommendations. You also provide wind-metrics and possibly target-elevation.
There are 5 types of data presented.
1) Key:– These are: Course, Hole, Swing, Round. This data is data you MUST enter. They are preceded by a plus-sign (+) This identifies associated information about a given swing. Logging (saving) a recorded requires all 4 of these fields. Most other functions only require Course, Hole, and Swing Number.
2) Computational: These fields are the MAJOR fields you enter that are used in analysis. Examples: Target, Head/Tail Wind, Elevation, etc. These fields are preceded by an asterisk (*)
3) Calculated: This is information calculated based upon computational information and automatically supplied. Example: Wind Adj. (wind adjustment), Total Bias, etc. You do not and cannot enter this information.
4) Choice: These entries are fields you enter based upon your choice from 1 or more recommendations from the 6-Analyze/Advise step. Analyze will recommend items like: Club, taps, backspin, swing-type(swing or chip), and power. These entries are preceded by a hyphen (-). These fields are OPTIONAL but recommended. You SHOULD enter these fields after making your choice from 1 or more recommendations from the 6-Analyze process, so that they exist for future review, comparison, and analysis after logging the total swing. You use the 7-Results button to enter Results information, although as I said before, Results information is OPTIONAL.
5) Informational: This type of data is just for you to ponder and consider when making your swing decisions or when analyzing results, but is not used to make any type of calculations or recommendations. Examples are par, terrain, result, score, penalty, etc.
Main-Menu Screen Example:
The My Situation screen button-names are preceded by a number. This number indicates the suggested order that the buttons should be chosen. Example: 1-Set Course should be the 1st button that you press, followed by 2-Set Hole, 3-Set Swing, etc. thru 9-Strategies which is optional and an advanced choice. NOTE: After creating a strategy from 9-Strategies button, you must use the 5-Prep Swing button to add a strategy that you created using the 9-Strategies button,.
***************************
GOLF COACH HUD MODES
There are 3 Golf Coach HUD Modes:
1) Normal [N]; = This is the mode you would use if you wanted to enter values without using the pre-defined values you created using the Course HUD
2) Course [C]; = This is the same as Normal mode in that you can enter or override values but it automatically populates existing values from the Course HUD for a given swing #
3) History [H]: = This changes the displays from currently entering new values to showing previously logged historical values from previous games / round for review.
There is an optional pop-up menu (on the right) that has extra buttons for faster short-cut access to commonly-used features. This side pop-up is optional and can be hidden using the Invisible/Visible toggle button accessed thru the Information button on the Main Menu (also referred to as the My Situation menu). You can also MINIMIZE the Golf Coach HUD by using the Blue minimize-button in the lower right hand corner.
You can Maximize it again by clicking on the smaller image of the GOLF COACH HUD.
You create a HISTORICAL Log record by using the 8-Log button and then using the CreateLog button. This will save all the My Situation, My Choice, and My Results information into one record identified by Course, Hole, Swing, and Round for later review and comparison.
Ok
So the most important piece of information we need is TARGET DISTANCE for each SWING Number. You can pull this piece of data from the GOLF COURSE HUD if you previously entered a Distance for this given: Course, Hole, and SWING (and ROUND if using History). Or, if not using the GOLF COURSE, you can directly enter this value using the GOLF COACH HUD. We will see how to directly enter this value later.
This next screen below illustrates how 3 buttons on the AddOn panel give direct access to the My Situation menu, the My Choices menu, and the My Results menu, respectively;
This next example below illustrates a quick method of changing Game Mode:
The “Hi” button changes to History Mode and loads in History that matches the current: Course, Hole, Plan, Swing, and Round. (Round is ALWAYS required for History)
The “Co” button changes the game mode to Course Mode. This means that every time you change Swings, the HUD imports existing matching Target/Elevation information from the ATTACHED Course HUD that matches the current; Course, Hole, Plan, Swing. (In this case, Round not needed and is ignored). The 1st time you press the “Co” button, it not only changes the game mode, but it also loads any existing Course information matching the current: Course, Hole, Plan, Swing. CAUTIION: Imports do NOT OVERRIDE any manual entries you may have previously manually entered for Target/Elevation.
The “No” is normal mode and works like “Co” except there are no imports. You are expected to manually enter the Target Distance and Elevation data. This is how it was done before the GOLF COURSE HUD was invented. I used to just guestimate both Distance and Elevation to my target before I created this system. When the target is the hole then this information, Target Distance, is automatically provided for you.
The blue Golf Ball icon is used to reevaluate the distance and elevation between your golf-ball’s current position and the target for that Swing No#, since it is very unlikely that your ball will hit your target exactly, but if it did, or maybe within 1 meter of your target, then you may not need to reevaluate because that target distance was already included in your sub-plan from the GOLF COURSE HUD. A Sub-Plan is just a series of from 1 to 5 predefined TARGETS with Distances and Elevations meant as a guide as to your intentions for a given Course, Hole, and Plan. There are 2 major Plans. MAIN and ALT. The MAIN plan is meant to be the low-risk, low-reward approach, i.e. avoiding a hazard but risking a sloping putt. The ALT is a high-risk, high-reward approach, taking on a hazard head-on, with a more favorable putting situation, i.e. avoiding putt slope. This is just an example of how and why you might use ALT vs MAIN plan. Feel free to reverse the MAIN and ALT plans if you so desire. It is just meant as a guide.
You can acquire the distances to the pin/hole, when it is your target, via the Rainbow Scorecard. I am not sure if all the other score-cards provide this information. You can also double-check the distance by using the hover-text value over the pin. Mine said 41.25. Close enough.
Using hover-text values I get 23.06 (pin-hole) – 21.08 (my golf-ball) = 1.98.
The easier way is to grab the value is using the TrueGolf Caddy HUD. See below.
**************************
REZ – REZZER
There is a REZ button on the Add-On. It makes it more convenient to ALIGN your AIMING Line to TARGETs that are NOT the PIN/HOLE by temporarily rezzing a marker that is not intrusive. Meaning that it rezzes:
1) The REZZER will not rez if there is no calculated PIN-POSITION. (Use ReScan button, if necessary)
2) The REZZER will not rez closer than 5 meters to the PIN-POSITION
3) The TARGET to REZ at must be less than 71 meters or less from the ball
4) The REZZER will NOT rez VISIBLE if anyone other than you is on the sim.
5) The REZZER rezzes as PHANTOM
6) The REZZER auto-deletes after 20 seconds.
*************************
PIN POSITION
Pin-Position (hole), like wind, is one of the things that purposely keeps changing to keep golf interesting and challenging. Pin-Positions often change for tournaments and sometimes arbitrarily change as often as every 10 minutes, assuming no-one is near them.
This system makes it convenient to update the pin-position easily with a few clicks in a few different ways. You must insure an accurate PIN-POSITION for each SWING that intends to aim for the PIN. (i.e. swings where the ball is within range and intends to aim for the hole, barring any intervening hazard(s).
Pin-Position is merely a metric to help gauge the DISTANCE to the PIN from the current position of the BALL. DISTANCE and especially ADJUSTED-DISTANCE, is how the ADVISEr/ANALYZER determines what resources to use for a particular SWING turn.
Pin-Position can be passed from COURSE-HUD to COACH-HUD via SUB-PLANS, having been scanned using the ScanForPin button in the COURSE-HUD, from off the [MEASURES] menu, recommended. The PIN-POSITION, along with other information, is sent to the COACH-HUD and specifically to the REZ icon to prevent unneeded REZ-zing-at-target close to the FLAG/PIN since the FLAG/PIN, itself, serves as the AIM-ing target.
Another method, for a given SWING, is to manually enter the DISTANCE by accessing the TARGET button from off the 5-Prep Swing main-menu. This TARGET actually is a DISTANCE. You would also enter the ELEVATION from this same sub-menu. We just learned how to manually access these values from the: SCORE-CARD (some) and the CADDY-HUD. Instead, we also learned how to find this information using HOVER-TEXT and a subtraction calculation.
And still another method is offered, assuming. There is a ReScanPin button off the 8-Log sub-menu. This will re-scan the existing hole, without having to renter the hole number/name, within 71 meters of the requested HOLE number for a matching PIN/FLAG.
*************************
PRELOADED GOLF TOOLS
This is what is assumed you will have loaded as far as GOLF TOOLS are concerned. The TrueGolf HUD, The TrueGolf Caddy, The Aiming Line. The Golf Course and the Golf Coach. And, optionally, the TrueGolf VGS Distance Charts. We are going to use the RAINBOW course for our 1st case-study example. (UPDATE: A new PRO TOUR TrueGolf HUD has since been released that includes 2 new clubs. The 3-iron and 4-iron. It is intended for there to be an eventual upcoming update to this system to factor in the availability and effect of these 2 new clubs.)
***********************************
SUB-PLANS
A SUB-PLAN is a series of PRE-DEFINED TARGET-PAIRS meant to be executed in a specific order. Each SUB-PLAN is assigned to 1 of up to 5 SWING NOs. There are currently 4 PRE-DEFINED SUB-PLANS, #1 thru #4.
You can create your own CUSTOM SUB-PLAN using the TARGET-PAIRS MENU but that is more advanced and probably unlikely to be needed except in rare strategic approaches to a situation. If you do explore CUSTOM SUB-PLANs, there are 8 TARGET-PAIRS, A thru H. You can assign a single TARGET-PAIR, A thru H, to a given SWING NO.
The SUB-PLANS are suggested PREDEFINED TARGET-PAIR collections that we think you would probably end up using 99% of the time. This saves you from always having to select individual TARGET PAIRS (CUSTOM) when you end up always using the same ones all the time. A SUB-PLAN automatically assigns the TARGET-PAIRS to the respective SWING NOs in sequence. Example: 2-Plan4/5=DFC would assign TARGET-PAIR D to SWING NO. 1, TARGET-PAIR F to SWING NO. 2. TARGET-PAIR C to SWING NO. 3. So, specifically, TARGET-PAIR D is meant to swing from TEE to FAIRWAY 1 and has a predefined DISTANCE and ELEVATION. That COULD get pre-populated into the COACH HUD. There is no readjustment necessary since it is the 1st swing no., assuming you start at relatively the same TEE position as you specified. If more precision is necessary or to calm you fears, you can always use the [GOTOS] feature in the COURSE HUD to position you more precisely for any pre-defined target, in this case, TEE-POSITION.
***********************************
TARGET-PAIRS:
***********************************
CASE STUDY #1 – COURSE HUD – Creating our 1st TARGET using the MEASURES MENU
Well that has been a lot of NEW information to absorb so now lets try and make sense, absorb, associate, and reinforce some of what we have read and learned by having a real-life situation. (It is suggested that you reposition the Golf Corse HUD to the LEFT, or somewhere out of the way, or else its keypad will be blocked by the Golf Coach)
STEP #1 – Choose the RAINBOW GOLF LINKS group making it the active so you can use HUDS to rez things like ball, bag, markers, etc.
It will display as Rainbow Valley VIP.
STEP #2 – Press the COURSES button on the CADDY HUD
STEP #3 – Select Rainbow (it might be on 1st or 2nd page)
STEP #4 – Click on the COURSE HUD face
STEP #5 – Press RESET button, wait. Then Press COURSE button. Choose Rainbow for course.
STEP #6 – Press HOLE from the MAIN MENU.
STEP #7 – Enter either 0 then 1 -OR- just 1 on the KeyPad, then press ACCEPT button. This sets our HOLE to HOLE #1
STEP #8– Press the [Measures] button then press the SWING # button. Enter 1 from the KeyPad.
STEP #9 – Press the PAR button on the same MAIN MENU then press 4 from the KeyPad.
***************************
Special Rule #1: The Rule of Approach
IMPORTANT: The APPROACH position can used ‘in place’ of EITHER a FAIRWAY or the GREEN. This means that instead of using position FAIRWAY 1, you can use the APPROACH position. Or it also means that instead of using the GREEN position, you can use the APPROACH position.
APPROACH is loosely defined as the position prior to aiming for the hole, EXCEPT in one condition. That condition is when a HAZARD is between the ball and the hole/pin which makes aiming for the hole/pin too risky, as in too little room for error before and/or after the hole/pin. So instead you aim for a safe, less-risky position on the GREEN instead of going for the PIN. In that case the ball at the APPROACH shot will NOT be aiming for the PIN but instead, aiming for some arbitrary spot on the GREEN in preparation for the next shot to aim directly at the hole/pin.
***************************
EXPLANATION: Plans and Sub-Plans – Mapping out your swings – Now is the time to plan your swings by denoting WHERE specifically you want your ball to land. What attack strategy do you want to take? A safe attack or a risky attack. Our PRIMARY GOAL is to BIRDIE every hole. But you may, at some points, wish to take a risk for an EAGLE that could cost you an extra stroke should you error, with you ending up getting a bogey )one-over-par) on the hole. Below is a diagram showing a risk/reward scenario that includes a HAZARD that you may or may not wish to gamble on. It also shows you which sub-plan you would use in each decisive scenario.
NOTE: The example below assumes a PAR 4 hole.
You are ultimately aiming for the E area. The fairway areas are considered to be inside the red rectangles.
So, if you are way short, you could land in the sand bunker (Hazard). Or if you clear the bunker but are still short of the level green area, (E), then you could roll back down a hill, B to A. Or, if you land too far on the backside of the hole, you will end up rolling down the hill from C to D. So it is risky but it is your only chance for an Eagle, or if you safely land in the E area, you could still make a birdie.
The legs of the subplan (LowRisk) are: #2 -Par 4/5 D|F|C:
(1) D-Tee2Fair1,
(2) F-FairX2Appr,
(3) C-Appr2Pin. [NOTE: FairX means it could be Fairway1 OR Fairway2, depending). In this case, it is Fairway1]
The legs of the subplan (HighRisk) are: #1 -Par 3/4 B|C:
(1) B-Tee2Appr
(2) C-Appr2Pin.
******************************************************
COURSE ATTACK CONSIDERATIONS
Official definition of an APPROACH SHOT:
Any golf shot played from the fairway with the goal of landing the ball on the putting surface is called an approach shot (whether the ball actually winds up on the putting green or not. (A bit different than how i use the term for this SL GOLF SYSTEM)
It is suggested that we consider attacking a HOLE using a method that considers the EXPECTED SLOPE of the final tee shot.
Ok. So the thinking of how to decide where to line up for an approach shot is to consider OBSTACLES. We want to usually consider the WHERE, that has the fewest obstacles to overcome. #1 is HAZARD. #2 is ELEVATION. #3 and often overlooked is EXPECTED PUTT-SLOPE. We want to try and avoid or limit the effects of a slopping green terrain. This means we want to choose a path that, if we miss, will not veer off to one side or the other of the hole. This means we need to know ahead of time the general slope of the hole based on where we EXPECT to be if we are either going for a not-hole target.
EXHIBIT #1
Above, we see an ACTUAL layout of a hole that we will prepare for in the following section.
First, we consider, off the TEE, near the bottom of the screen, the maximum distance we can hit our most powerful club, the DRIVER.
The YELLOW LINE is 69 meters. So we have 3 choices. 1, 2, and 3. Option #1 we can approach hole avoiding any hazard. There is a visible hazard between Option #2 and the hole called hazard #1 also a hazard (hazard #2, not visible in the exhibit #1 but visible below in Exhibit #2), between Option #3 and the hole. All 3 options must factor in Elevation to hole.
EXHIBIT #2
We decide to choose Option #1 which will end up just at the end of the GREEN. Our target is horizontal to the hole.
This works such that if we aim for the hole on our 3rd shot and miss, that we do not curve up or down, assuming there is no curve. We understand that
this is just ONE of FIVE possible pin placements. When the curvature/slope change based on pin-placement, you can store for later retrieval, the way that the
EXPECTED, approach will be affected by slope.
*****************************************************
EXHIBIT #3
Assume the ball is on a fairway not seen in the picture above. (blue line).
The natural instinct is to aim straight for the hole. You can 3 outcomes.
#1, black-line, you hit the ball too softly and you come up short and the ball veers down the hill aways.
#2, white-dotted-line, you hit the ball right at the pin, perfect aim, but a bit too hard, such that it bounces off in a random direction.
#3, red-line, you hit the ball to hard and misses the hole or goes over the hole and then veers downhill.
#4, So, ideally a conservative approach might be to aim for the YELLOW STAR, Then (#4 yellow line) if you miss you wont veer off and will still be lined of with a non-veering aim.
Also you are less likely to bounce off the pin if you hit it to hard since it is sloping back towards you. Worst case is if you over shoot you might end up at #5.
The thinking is avoiding a shot where when you miss, you curve away. Avoid trying to compensate for curve or slope to the hole. Just a conservative idea for beginners or those struggling.
******************************************************
AN ACTUAL COURSE DECISION-MAKING PROCESS
COURSE: Rainbow
HOLE: #1
PAR: 4
******************************************************
So, for our example, we will choose our MAIN plan and take the LowRisk attack plan.
STEP #10– Position yourself where you want to tee off. Then we are going to create our 1st TARGET.
STEP #11 – Press the [Measures] button from the Main Menu, then press SetTeePos
STEP #12 – Position yourself to where you want the ball to land after hitting it from the TEE. It should be within about 71 meters
STEP #13 – Position yourself horizontal to pin/hole.
STEP #14 – Press the [Measures] button from the Main Menu, then press SetApproach
Next, we need the Pin Position. We get this by using the ScanForPin button from the [Measures] sub-menu, below.
This will produce a pop-up box where we can enter either a 1 or a ‘Hole #1’ which is the actual name of the hole. We can use just the hole number because the system is smart enough to know that 1 is equal to Hole #1 for the Rainbow Course and we are within 96 meters of the hole. It turns out that from where I was at was too far from the hole so i needed to move closer.
[21:35:10] Golf Measure: FOUND POSITION of PIN Named: Hole #1
We now have all the Measures needed to save for subsequent use on this MAIN plan. (DFC). See Below.
Now we find the sub-plan that matches DFC which is Sub-Plan #2.
Pressing it will save 3 records that have the positions, distances, and elevations for the 3 measures. This can now later be repeatedly retrieved from the Golf Coach HUD.
Pressing the DUMP button from the [Markers] Sub-Menu will confirm our 3 records. If there was a minimum-carry required, it would also be included at the end.
Golf Measure: TARGETRA01M1 – D-TeeToFairway1,<14.08, 94.04, 21.99>,68.84,0.49,
Golf Measure: TARGETRA01M2 – F-Fairway1ToApproach,<20.98, 137.7, 23.69>,44.20,1.70,
Golf Measure: TARGETRA01M3 – C-ApproachToPin,<24.10, 138.3, 22.70>,3.17,-0.99,