Links 2004 xbox 360 putting help...

[Nittany]

I am loving this game but I just can't figure out putting. I can read the lines fine....I just can't gauge speed and distance. Does moving the red line farther back mean anything (ala TW)?

I can't beat that guy on Rookie Tourney (1st 9 hole championship match play)...keep losing b/c my damn putts coming up short every time. Do you have to have a specific number of skill points? I only have 2-3 for each so far.

thanks

Nit

[sroz39]

Re: Links 2004 xbox 360 putting help...

The farthest you can hit a putt in Links, assuming the green was perfectly flat, is 80 feet. So if you're using the gauge, this should actually be slightly easier. Let's say you have a ten footer on a flat green. Estimate where 1/8 of the gauge would be (10 feet out of a maximum of 80 feet=1/8), and just push up from there. On the shorter putts, instead of pulling the stick all the way back, move it back slowly to get a better read on the distance.

[mgoblue]

Re: Links 2004 xbox 360 putting help...

I found that putting in Links is really just feel....you have to keep practicing and get used to putting, and it eventually clicks in your mind. Hard to explain, just not something you can think "Ok, pull back this far", etc.

[fishepa]

Re: Links 2004 xbox 360 putting help...

Is there a way to get a grid for putting in this game? I totally forgot if there was or not.

[Casper]

Re: Links 2004 xbox 360 putting help...

To get the grid press X ... Atleased thats how it is for the original Xbox

[OnlookerDelay]

Re: Links 2004 xbox 360 putting help...

Is there a way to get a grid for putting in this game? I totally forgot if there was or not.

To get a full stationary grid, ala Links 2003 and TW on the PC, push or "click" the left thumbstick. I find it far more useful than the moving, sectional grid you get by pushing the "x" button.

[OnlookerDelay]

Re: Links 2004 xbox 360 putting help...

I am loving this game but I just can't figure out putting. I can read the lines fine....I just can't gauge speed and distance. Does moving the red line farther back mean anything (ala TW)?

Gauging the putt strength is the hidden charm in Links 2004, IMO. It is one of its main virtues that separates it from TW on the console. I gauge putt power strictly by watching the golfer animation. If you can make his stroke look like what a real life stroke would look like to produce the desired stroke, then you're on your way to figuring it out, but you'll never master it.

A word of caution though; it's not just how far back (or long you hold the stick back), it's how fast you make your forestroke also. You'll notice that you're given a swing analyzer report of how fast even your putting stroke was... pay attention to that for additional feedback.

Finally, when you're taking a really long putt, notice that you can fun out of "Y" axis travel with your left thumbstick durning the backstroke. However, as long as you continue to hold that stick fully down, the animation will continue to take the putterhead back. You *really* have to pay attention to the animation for putt strength then. I personally think it's an ingenious way to get around an inherent limitation of using s short throw thumbstick to govern a broader control band than it's really suited for.

You should do okay with the points you have. Use the full putting grid by clicking the button function of the left thumbstick. That gives me more information than the putt line, which I think is an unfair advantage, even in Advanced, on this game. I would like to be able to turn it off completely and rely totally on the grid. In fairness, the ideal putt line isn't all that useful in advanced beyond say 12'.