To answer a couple of your questions. First off you are partially right on spin out of the rough. But there are a lot of different spins to put on a ball. It is very hard to put back spin out of the rough. It is also hard to shape a shot out of the rough, especially a specialty shot like a punch shot with a fade or draw to get around a tree and under the branches and run up the fairway, but it is possible. That is actually one of my favorite shots in real life. Don't get me wrong I don't like being put in that position, but I tell you when your out with some friends playing golf and you end up in the trees and you've got a tree in front of you, no way to hit the green and you club up, then hit a nice fading punch that curves around the tree and runs up the fairway right next to the green, there is almost nothing more rewarding or anything more that will impress your group then making a Brodie or saving par from that tee shot.
As for is it realism or hard for sake of hard. It's definitely a step towards realism. The fact is, when a skilled pro or even top competitive amateurs have spent so much time refining their swing to where they can shape shots on command to get advantages like extra roll, better control and simple course management, it is actually harder for them to hit a ball dead straight than to hit their "go to" shot of fade or draw off the tee. That's why even on a perfectly straight par 4 with the flag in the middle of the green you will still see every one of them hit a fade or draw off the tee.
As stated by jet earlier though, they still have a ways to go. They are missing key elements that need some work over the next couple editions. First and foremost, when in scoring range (essentially 150 yds and in) there should be an option for a straight shot. Because no pro, if they have a straight approach option at the flag, is going to try and shape a wedge into the green. Right now the only club you don't have to shape is your lob wedge I believe from what I've noticed. This should be an option for pretty much 8 or even 7 iron down. What's unknown by many is that one of the biggest advantages to shaping a shot is the fact that you increase distance over a straight shot. This also goes back to why a pro will shape a shot off the tee on a straight hole, to increase their roll after the ball lands, giving them an extra 10-20 yds off the tee. But short irons and wedges the pros are not concerned about power (this is one major difference between the average golfer and a pro) a pro does not care how far they can hit a short iron or wedge, they use those clubs simply for their accuracy. They will take the easiest approach possible to the green with a short iron or wedge. So this is something that I'm sure will be addressed in the future.
Another key element that is missing is a yardage book. I love that they took away the aim feature because you don't get binoculars on the PGA tour, but you do have a yardage book that tells you distances from the tee to every hazard on the course, as well as front of green, back of green, how far to carry both fairway and green side bunkers, as well as pin positions. Pin positions are given in feet. It will tell you the pin for Sunday is 15 ft deep (meaning 15 ft from the front edge) and 13 ft from the right or left side of the green. This allows for pros to have a good understand of how to play their shot. Not only on their approach but also from the tee. If they know the flag is back left tucked behind a green side bunker on a hole, they will ideally play their shot to the right side of the fairway so they can hit a high draw to the left side of the green to put it close and keep the green side bunker out of play.
Sorry about my long winded info over load, I just figured some explanation of things like yardage books and advantages to shot shaping might helps those that aren't knowledgable about these things that might be be reading since these areas have been brought up a lot in conversation.
For those that have read this whole thing, thanks for listening lol. I hope this was informative to at least one person, that way it was all worth it haha.
As for is it realism or hard for sake of hard. It's definitely a step towards realism. The fact is, when a skilled pro or even top competitive amateurs have spent so much time refining their swing to where they can shape shots on command to get advantages like extra roll, better control and simple course management, it is actually harder for them to hit a ball dead straight than to hit their "go to" shot of fade or draw off the tee. That's why even on a perfectly straight par 4 with the flag in the middle of the green you will still see every one of them hit a fade or draw off the tee.
As stated by jet earlier though, they still have a ways to go. They are missing key elements that need some work over the next couple editions. First and foremost, when in scoring range (essentially 150 yds and in) there should be an option for a straight shot. Because no pro, if they have a straight approach option at the flag, is going to try and shape a wedge into the green. Right now the only club you don't have to shape is your lob wedge I believe from what I've noticed. This should be an option for pretty much 8 or even 7 iron down. What's unknown by many is that one of the biggest advantages to shaping a shot is the fact that you increase distance over a straight shot. This also goes back to why a pro will shape a shot off the tee on a straight hole, to increase their roll after the ball lands, giving them an extra 10-20 yds off the tee. But short irons and wedges the pros are not concerned about power (this is one major difference between the average golfer and a pro) a pro does not care how far they can hit a short iron or wedge, they use those clubs simply for their accuracy. They will take the easiest approach possible to the green with a short iron or wedge. So this is something that I'm sure will be addressed in the future.
Another key element that is missing is a yardage book. I love that they took away the aim feature because you don't get binoculars on the PGA tour, but you do have a yardage book that tells you distances from the tee to every hazard on the course, as well as front of green, back of green, how far to carry both fairway and green side bunkers, as well as pin positions. Pin positions are given in feet. It will tell you the pin for Sunday is 15 ft deep (meaning 15 ft from the front edge) and 13 ft from the right or left side of the green. This allows for pros to have a good understand of how to play their shot. Not only on their approach but also from the tee. If they know the flag is back left tucked behind a green side bunker on a hole, they will ideally play their shot to the right side of the fairway so they can hit a high draw to the left side of the green to put it close and keep the green side bunker out of play.
Sorry about my long winded info over load, I just figured some explanation of things like yardage books and advantages to shot shaping might helps those that aren't knowledgable about these things that might be be reading since these areas have been brought up a lot in conversation.
For those that have read this whole thing, thanks for listening lol. I hope this was informative to at least one person, that way it was all worth it haha.
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