How did you spend your skill points?

[Scrub]

I've created a second character and I haven't spent any of my SP yet, was wondering if there was some more agreed-upon setup for an overall good golfer, or what each of the skills really means in terms of actual gameplay.

Also: woof Augusta doesn't mess around, how do even video game golfers play well here :O

[Mondyrocks]

Originally posted by Maverick22:

I went heavy on putting at first and but I'm spreading evenly across the other areas.

I only put enough into putting to unlock the first "Texas Wedge" skill.

Early on, other points were split between approach and irons, with the odd point spent in drivers.
You need to spend some in power, but it's so expensive.
It took me till level 39 to unlock "power drive" and I've spent no more there since.
I think it's another 8 points for the next power slot and at level 40 odd, it take 5 or 6 full rounds per level, which means 20 plus rounds to unlock enough points :)

[Scrub]

Originally posted by Mondyrocks:

Originally posted by Maverick22:

I went heavy on putting at first and but I'm spreading evenly across the other areas.

I only put enough into putting to unlock the first "Texas Wedge" skill.

How useful has the Texas Wedge been? I've been intimidated by how hard it would be to putt but sometimes these chip shots just don't stop rolling so I rather just putt it onto the green, hahah

[Mondyrocks]

Originally posted by doc:

Originally posted by Mondyrocks:

I only put enough into putting to unlock the first "Texas Wedge" skill.

How useful has the Texas Wedge been? I've been intimidated by how hard it would be to putt but sometimes these chip shots just don't stop rolling so I rather just putt it onto the green, hahah

It's definitely worth getting mate, imho :)

[Tie Domi Fan]

From my experience so far, at level 46, I've been happy with this distribution:

• Power: 6 --> that my Bronze Power Drive has ~310 carry, and ~300 on a standard driver. It's long enough to reach most par 5s in 2, have a short iron into most par 4s, and not need my 3 wood on par 3s.
  
• Driving: 5 Accuracy/5 Control --> Probably doesn't need to be that high, I was hitting fairways easily at 3 Accuracy/1 Control.
  
• Putting: 5 points --> I suspect I could get away with only 3 points. Unlocking the Texas Wedge at Bronze is important though, as putting from the fringe not only can be a lot easier than chipping, even if you choose not to putt, you can use it to see the green slope to help inform a chip or pitch shot. Note that using the Texas Wedge will require you to account for elevation, not just direction, if you're used to assisted aim putting on Arcade/Pro.
  
• Approach: 7 Accuracy/8 Control/6 Recovery --> Lots of courses are "second shot" courses, which means your score will be most impacted by how accurate your approach is. I like the Finesse shot for it's small landing window, and only at 5 iron and longer do you have to worry about rollout much. Once you have decent power, this is probably the most impactful category for scoring low, as if you can regularly hit to within 10ft you're going to be doing great.
  
• Short Game: 5 Accuracy/8 Control/8 Recovery. Control 8 and Recovery 7 get you the Gold Pick and Spinner shots, which I much prefer to the Blast and Pitch shots since they have significantly less roll and you can be more accurate. I should note that I use this on Tour mode, but if you play on Pro or Arcade, you can rely on post shot spin instead and invest less here.

[Dead Goat]

Everything in power. Then remainders in short game accuracy/control.

[Mondyrocks]

Originally posted by Dead Goat:

Everything in power. Then remainders in short game accuracy/control.

I would have to disagree....but this is what I like about this system, you can spend the points where you want them, meaning lots of different specs :)

[Scrub]

Originally posted by Dead Goat:

Everything in power. Then remainders in short game accuracy/control.

show me the screenshot of your build I gotta see this

[Manhattan]

Power
6
Driver
8
9
Approach
8
8
8
Short Game
8
8
8
putting
3

Driver = Dustin Johnson
Woods = Hideki Matsuyama
Hybrids = Hideki Matsuyama
Irons = Jordan Spieth
Wedge = Jordan Spieth
Ball = Jordan Spieth

[Inspector Callahan]

Originally posted by Tie Domi Fan:

From my experience so far, at level 46, I've been happy with this distribution:

• Power: 6 --> that my Bronze Power Drive has ~310 carry, and ~300 on a standard driver. It's long enough to reach most par 5s in 2, have a short iron into most par 4s, and not need my 3 wood on par 3s.
  
• Driving: 5 Accuracy/5 Control --> Probably doesn't need to be that high, I was hitting fairways easily at 3 Accuracy/1 Control.
  
• Putting: 5 points --> I suspect I could get away with only 3 points. Unlocking the Texas Wedge at Bronze is important though, as putting from the fringe not only can be a lot easier than chipping, even if you choose not to putt, you can use it to see the green slope to help inform a chip or pitch shot. Note that using the Texas Wedge will require you to account for elevation, not just direction, if you're used to assisted aim putting on Arcade/Pro.
  
• Approach: 7 Accuracy/8 Control/6 Recovery --> Lots of courses are "second shot" courses, which means your score will be most impacted by how accurate your approach is. I like the Finesse shot for it's small landing window, and only at 5 iron and longer do you have to worry about rollout much. Once you have decent power, this is probably the most impactful category for scoring low, as if you can regularly hit to within 10ft you're going to be doing great.
  
• Short Game: 5 Accuracy/8 Control/8 Recovery. Control 8 and Recovery 7 get you the Gold Pick and Spinner shots, which I much prefer to the Blast and Pitch shots since they have significantly less roll and you can be more accurate. I should note that I use this on Tour mode, but if you play on Pro or Arcade, you can rely on post shot spin instead and invest less here.

I may have to redistribute. My approach is what is leaving me with putts that are more difficult than they need to be. Good plan here - thanks for posting! I'm a bit lower level than you - 39 I believe, so I should probably throw down some single rounds to get more points to spend.

I'm also glad you can sell back the points and make changes on the fly instead of being locked into whatever you did before.

[lawjax]

As some of the others mentioned, Power 6 is a very comfortable spec for shot distance. There are only a handful of Par 5s that remain beyond reach in 2 and some of those are actually still accessible if you have favorable wind conditions. I do not see equitable utility offered in investing anything beyond 6 in Power; having a silver-grade Hack Shot already makes bad lies in rough after a strong drive on longer holes quite manageable. It is not worth the additional investment as the silver Hack Shot will typically clear 200-220 yards. There are only a handful of holes where you would ever even have the opportunity to break out a premium Hack Shot. This is a similar story for the Power Drive and Power Approach - if you are overclocking your swing for +10% power anyway then it will be less accurate but also be 320+ yards minimally close to the hole after your initial drive. On hard courses and with wind resistance 320 is expected. On soft courses, in favorable wind conditions, and/or courses where the grass behaves like it was treated with glycerin your ball can easily travel 400-450 yards.

Accuracy - I find that 7-10 accuracy for everything is pretty good, driving included, as you would rather be hitting fairways on narrower courses. Your shots should also be delivering the ball as close to the hole as possible for the best and most low-scoring opportunities.

Control - for Approach and Short Game I have this set to 8. Unlocks all of the utility shots, most of which are all circumstantially viable and recommended to have at your disposal. For Driving I did only put 3 into it - the Stinger shot is the only shot type I play without and that is because it does nothing for me that a regular drive or Power Approach could not accomplish. It is simply not a justifiable investment for what is does.

Recovery - sunk 8 into these categories as well. The radius slims down quite nicely and you are usually able to play within 3-5 feet of the hole when hitting a recovery shot if the ball does not just do you the favor of just seeing itself down the hole.

Putting - I invested 6 into this. I do not know if there was any discernible benefit in doing so as my putts were going in on Tour difficulty at a 0 investment after I became familiar with the green speeds and yardage accommodations when putting up-slope. I have used the wedge a fair number of times, nifty tool to have, but I fancy my odds of holing with a good chip/pitch over using it on most occasions. I usually get the ball to park within 2-3 feet if I miss anyway.

[Scrub]

Originally posted by couturemk57:

They seem to have over complicated this EA has ruled arcade golf. IMHO

I'll try your advice out!

[Dead Goat]

I've never missed a fairway that did not have massive wind and or was too short/intentional with 0 driving accuracy.

[The_Singularity]

Originally posted by Manhattan:

Power
6
Driver
8
9
Approach
8
8
8
Short Game
8
8
8
putting
3

Driver = Dustin Johnson
Woods = Hideki Matsuyama
Hybrids = Hideki Matsuyama
Irons = Jordan Spieth
Wedge = Jordan Spieth
Ball = Jordan Spieth

Yeah, so that's just ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥. You would need 117 skill points to get to those numbers. Why even lie on this forum?

[per.oqvist]

I recommend 0 on short game control. Think of it how often do you shots cape wedges or have trouble creating spins?

Yes pick shot you loose and its a total cheat so bunker shots will be less precise. But you can actually hole blast shots and they tend to get close enough.

As for recovery rough tend to be over 90 % most of the time. If you spend the points in accuracy and control for driving and approach you spend less time in the rough

Power helps I am at level 8 there. Level 54 going to try getting putting up again to see if it helps me hole more often by doing better reads. I am happy with my distance and decent accuracy though I often have to sink 15 to 25 footers but that is due I generally always can attack the flag and never lays up.

I have stopped using lame flop shots and dont have access to the pick shot. Much more fun this way

[per.oqvist]

Level 58. After some experimenting I realize accuracy then control. Dont get any tough recovery shots focusing on that and get as close to the pin as possible

Still fooling around I now sacrifice all my short game skill for 9 in power. Probably not worth it lol