Difficulty Setting?

[GmanUK1965]

How does this work?
I started a Career at 50% difficulty but found it too hard. The leader was -5 and the best I could manage was -2 in the middle of round 1 but ended up as E by the end of the round. I withdrawed and started a new career with the difficulty setting at 0 (thinking that if it was too easy I would start again until I found the right difficulty) but even at 0 the leader was still -5 meaning I would have no chance in winning and probably never leave Q school.

Also is there any way in changing how many rounds?

[GmanUK1965]

Seems there is no difficulty setting and it just makes it up as it goes along. I restarted a career and the leader was at -2 ( I thought oh the difficulty must be working as expected now). My first shot was dreadful so I started again thinking the leader would still be -2 when I started new career. Nope, it was -5

I suppose I will just have to keep restarting a new career until the leader is at a desirable score

[Hawk_UK]

Just because you reduce the difficulty settings doesn't automatically mean you will come in with a much better score.... golf is not like that at all. :)))

You have to learn how to play golf for a start. :)

[GmanUK1965]

I agree that I have to learn to play better but what is the difficulty setting. I thought it may mean the AI golfers may not play as well but my current career attempt at difficulty setting set at 0, the leader started at -3 and by the end of round 1 the leader was -7

An earlier career attempt at difficulty setting 30, the leader was at -5 at start of round 1 and was still at -5 at the end of the round and still the same at the end of round 2. At this point I was +4 so thought I would have no chance getting into top 40 so wthdrew and started again.

I think, as it can be seen, that my current career set at difficulty setting 0 the AI golfers are doing better than a difficulty setting of 30

I think I still will be in Q School in 2024 with these skill settings

So, as I stated before. What does the difficulty setting stipulate? How is difficulty setting 0 easier than difficulty setting 30 or above?

[lawjax]

At the easiest difficulty the AI should still be making around 10-14 for an entire event (4 rounds), meaning that it is averaging 3-4 under each round. On the highest setting, I believe the amateur event AI will still play to the tune of 14+ under par for the event. For the PGA Tour the AI should be scoring 20+ under PAR for an event, or the top AI player for the event averaging 5 under for each round. Also depends on the course and perhaps how well you are playing too. Augusta is a great example where the top AI may only make 18 under for the entire event, while Whistling Straits' top AI may make 24 under for the event.

I do not think I have actually seen an AI score lower than 26 for an entire event, which is something of a shame because if you play this game for 10-20 hours you will likely have little difficulty clearing most courses at around 7 under consistently on Tour difficulty, which translates to almost never losing a single round against the AI even at the highest difficulty. You begin to understand club distances, elevation variance, wind factor, carry, and ball speed on most surfaces and can start to piece everything together in a fairly short amount of time. It is not a complicated game.

All in all, even if you are playing a brand new character with no skill point allocations it is not unreasonable to make 5 under par minimally for an entire event if you are playing on Tour difficulty. If you are new to the game and playing on simulation then try playing on the Tour/Pro/Arcade setting and get a feel for the grids on the greens, the putting, and the backspin/loft shots on certain shot types. Try doing some challenges too, especially ones where you are playing against AI players, long as those challenges can be since the game insists on showing you all of the AI's shots, and to see how the computer works through some of the holes if you want an in-game example of how to execute something properly.

Alternatively, rather than resetting your entire career because you are displeased with your start, try playing Quick Round instead, choose any course you want, set any conditions you want such as time of day and wind speed, and play through the course without having it mar your career. You can level your golfer this way and learn the courses without having to worry about your career stats, if you please.

[Les Whyte]

For your first round those scores were pretty fair, I would have thought. You have to build your career or what's the point? If you just want to win every round maybe EA could implement a setting for that. (Not before full mouse control though)

[GmanUK1965]

I've been watching some midKnight youtube tutorials to find out elevation and wind speed calculations and approach shots When playing 2K I used some calculations, something I didn't use in this game and the approach shots I tended to roll over the greens a lot using the default clubs.

[GmanUK1965]

Ah. It seems in the EA store things are not permanent. midKnight bought an Iron Control Spec that isn't in the store now. I will just have to do with what I've got

[THARN]

your new career will never get you wins early-as your skills arent built up///
you cant play long par 3s with no landing area and not stick the green with a non skilled player..

[GmanUK1965]

Originally posted by THARN:

your new career will never get you wins early-as your skills arent built up///
you cant play long par 3s with no landing area and not stick the green with a non skilled player..

So what skills do you suggest I need apart from the ones I have already aquired?

I have:
Driving Acc. 4 bars
" Control 5 bars
Driving I seem to be OK with.

Approach Acc. 2 bars
" Control 8 bars
" Recovery 5 bars
This area is where I really struggle

Short Game Acc. 1 bar
" Control 5 bars
" Recovery 2 bars
This area I am a bit hit or miss but sometimes do OK

Knock Down never works as it should and the same with Finesse

I have played a total of 24 hours and have gotten worse. My last career was +6 after round 2

It seems to make little difference if I shoot high, low or straight shots they rarely stay on green

I would really like to get better at this game and there are times I have thought of going back to the much easier 2K23 which I do not want to do but my perseverance with this game is close to ending and will have to revert back to 2K23

[THARN]

power- so you dont have to use a long iron into a firm green- for one.. also- some courses are easier than others- youre not going to shoot under par all the time -its golf.
wind- elevation- where your ball lands -how its going to bounce-timing on your swing..bunkers-water-all these come into play. I still havent figured out if the physics on ball lie actually work-as a right handed golfer, if the ball is below your feet the shot should go away from you(right)--if its above your feet it should go left a bit-- im not finding this happening in this game and it makes aiming really tough. also seems like a side wind at5- 7 mph moves the ball way more than it should..so you just have to play more to get used to it and use strategy for every shot-(on sim mode) ive shot -7 on one round then a +8 on the next..
pin placement also makes it easier or tougher.. theres a lot to golf.. pro golfers are unreal at what they can do - most average players barely break 100 if they dont use mulligans or move the ball around for better lie...i think they added some kind of weird random thing on your shot outcome to take this into account..

[GmanUK1965]

I will add more power bars on my skills to see if that helps.
I'm not expecting to get under par every time. Even if I am 40th in Q School I would be happy as it gets me qualified.

Just out of interest, if I get to Korn Your and I play badly does it knock me back to Q School again?

[oldman23]

Aim for center of green more often you cant always go for it. Look at landing area for your shot the shaded area when you preview if its off the green even if you hit it perfect It can go there. The wind does affect ball more than should. Plus the flop shot around the green is way better than pitch shot You have to play smart like in the real game,

[GmanUK1965]

But aiming for centre of green will always leave you with a 30 ro 50ft putt seeing that the pin is either at the front or rear end of the green

[oldman23]

Yes just like in real golf you have to pick your times to attack and time to play safe wind condition firmness of greens distance to hole. If I have a long iron I dont attack pin on the sides. Golf is a very strategic game this game emulates it fairly well IMO, Even in real golf the ball with a perfect hit does not go exactly where you want. Not very often, off by a couple yards can make a big difference.

[GmanUK1965]

I will take note of what's been said.
I mentioned in a post above about after Q School where if you are in top 40 you advance to Korn Tour but what if you do bad at that, do you get sent back to Q School or repeat Korn Tour again?

The reason I'm asking this is that part of me failing Q School again and again gets monotonous and playing the same course over and over adds to the monotony. if I continue onto Korn Tour instead of retry at least I will be playing different courses.