Tips on Playing LinksLS

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"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

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

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.

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.

next two photos show how the putt behaves vs. the aim.
always try to make this adjustment when putting especially on hairy greens.

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.

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.

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