Practicing
So you want to finesse the intricacies of a beautiful shot before committing it to record? Great! You're at the right place. And just to make sure you always know where you are, when in Practice Mode, you'll see a club hitting a ball in the top-right corner of the Game Window.
If you see this, you're in Practice Mode:
Playing a Practice Round
You can play a practice round by clicking on the Practice button in the SimGolf Main Menu. That will open the Practice Set-up Screen where you specify the course and player.
Select The Prince Course, Rancho La Quinta or any other course you've saved. Then click on Player Selection to get to the Player Roster Screen. Accept the default "New SimGolfer" or give yourself a new identity if you wish. With your course and player selected, click OK.
And there you are -- that well-dressed golfer at the first tee ready to swing. Give it your best shot, then wait for the results.
The Practice Results Box
As soon as your ball stops after a hit, you'll get the dirt on it. The Results Box will remind you of your shortcomings or brilliance with its display of the number of yards the ball traveled and how many are left to go to reach the hole. YouÆll also see two options: Reposition and Rehit.
Reposition
When you click on Reposition, a Top View window will pop up showing you a view of the entire golf course. You can reposition yourself anywhere on the course by clicking and dragging the tiny little golfer icon to a spot in the Top View window. By merely closing the window, without choosing a repositioning spot, you will be moved to wherever the ball landed on your previous swing.
Rehit
If the results of that first shot are just too embarrassing to leave alone, click on Rehit. This will erase your last shot and give you another try from the tee. You might as well -- it don't cost a thing if you ain't got that swing. And that is the beauty of Practice.
Taking a Practice Shot During a Game
When you're playing a game of golf, you can switch to Practice Mode to take a practice shot -- and then switch back to your golf game in progress.
Why take a practice shot? Lots of reasons. You might come to a spot during your golf game where you must choose between two routes to the hole: a safe, long route or a short "heroic" route that demands you play over a nightmarish obstacle. (Hole 7 of The Prince Course is a great example.)
Switching to Practice Mode
Click on the Mode Indicator in the Swing Indicator. (After you do, you'll see the Practice Mode golf club and ball up in the right-hand corner of the Game Window.)
Click on the Mode Indicator To Switch Modes
When you take a swing, the results of the swing will appear in a marquee running across the bottom of the Game Window. You will not see a Results Box after each shot as you would if you had selected Practice from the SimGolf Main Menu. Take as many practice shots as you like, and feel free to change the club or adjust the spin.
Returning to the Game After a Practice Shot
It's a short walk back to your golf game. Click on the Mode Indicator (it will have changed to the letter "P" on the Swing Indicator) and you'll switch to Walk Mode. To jump back to your game, click on the Swing Indicator which has shrunk in size and is in the bottom-left corner of the Game Window. (Or instead you may click on the white golf shoes in the upper corner.) You'll be returned to the point in your game where you left to take a practice shot.
Note: If you've selected "Practice" from the SimGolf Main Menu, you'll be in full Practice Mode and will not be able to switch directly to Golf Mode. You'll have to set up a new game first.
