Questions about club selection and distance from rough/sand

[smokey]

Is TGC exactly the same as the PC game software wise or does it slightly differ playing on sim. I know obviously the biggy is using own clubs! but im talking just about the software.

Do you have to manually enter correct club before you hit in the software, or does it not matter which club, as distance is calculated by ball data?
so can you have driver selected and hit a PW and Launch angle/spin etc would give correct distance.

Are max distances locked for each club?
could you hit further than the distances shown in top right hand corner of software. What swing speed if it is locked, would max the distance out?

Rough/sand penalties - if penalty says 80% distance and PW says 100 yards would the max be 80 yards that I could hit it with that club, however hard I swung?

[goatbarn]

Club selection requirement would depend on simulator hardware used. A system that doesn't measure the ball at all would need club selection.

A system that measures the ball (GC2), no. If the system can supply all the ball data needed to calculate flight, it won't matter what club you hit.

A system that doesn't measure spin will approximate the spin based on the club you select. So hit a driver on pitching wedge club might result in a drive that balloons in the air, since it's assuming pitching wedge appropriate spin.

Hope that makes sense.

The interface handles the penalties. Right now the displayed TGC penalties are not used. The interface penalties are used.

Max distance per club is not locked.

[smokey]

Thanks that does make sense. So the interface penalties are set in the protee software, are these customisable?

What's the default settings for say rough\sand?

I still can't really understand how rough lies are handled. I know there are different hitting inserts you can have for rough\sand, do these really work and do they automatically change launch rates and give accurate distances

Can understand the penalties being in there as most will be hitting from same lie all time of a standard golf mat, so penalties have to be there.

i guess what im asking is how accurate can you get the "scruffy"shots, some players are better than others from rough and get great distance just less spin.

[goatbarn]

Well that's one of the tough things with simulated golf.

I think it's why most software packages include penalties, since the easiest way to simulate a penalty for a bad lie is with a decrease of shot distance.

Longer shots will always leave you farther from the hole on average, so I think it's appropriate.

There are rough/sand panels, but I have no experience with them.

Of course, the ease of use involving panels is questionable, since most simulators require you to hit from the same spot, or close to it. That means you'd have to move the panel over to the normal hitting location every time you're in the sand/rough. There are simulators (overhead cam) that have enough of a FOV to allow users to hit from different panels.

I believe the best/easiest penalty is the distance %. It works.

Many skills good golfers have in real golf you just can't "simulate"....one of these being reading your lie. Others would be hitting shots with mud on your ball, spinning it out of the sand or letting it run, reading the green...etc. You won't be able to accurately simulate these just because of their nature.

Overall the distance penalty works as it should. You're penalized when you miss the fairway because now you'll be 13% farther from the hole (or whatever the penalty is set at) instead of being in the rough. It's almost harder this way, depending on the harshness of your usual courses' rough/hazard, since I've been in the rough on many courses where the penalty isn't sever at all.

You can set your own penalty %'s...but if you plan on playing on the TGC tour, the moderators have decided on penalties for every user to set.

[smokey]

Thanks goatbarn again makes sense.

One quick question about the fixed point launch managers (skytrak, gc2) could the unit be placed on a rail and slid left\right so it doesn't wear one point in the mat and also to allow hitting off rough\sand inserts? Or does it have to go through a calibration every time unit is moved?

[goatbarn]

Im not certain about the GC2 needing to re calibrate. I don't know how often it's software leveling re-checks.

Have you hit off of these different insert panels before? You may want to try and find somewhere that has them to test out. I am not a fan of them at all.

In regard to the mat wearing, You can just have a square mat or rectangle that you could rotate once it's worn. Square would give you 4 spots to hit from, rectangle 2.

I have the reel feel mat, rectangular (something like 2 x 4) and I thus have 2 spots to hit off of. But I haven't even seen any wear in it yet (going on 1.5 years)

[bpep]

Thanks goatbarn again makes sense. One quick question about the fixed point launch managers (skytrak, gc2) could the unit be placed on a rail and slid left\right so it doesn't wear one point in the mat and also to allow hitting off rough\sand inserts? Or does it have to go through a calibration every time unit is moved?

The GC2 can be moved around if desired and it is instantly ready to go one you put a ball down and it detects it in the FoV. Check out the link below to answer your other question. http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=yKSLV00Uwq4