Tips on Sim Golf

Tips on the Layout and Design of Your Course (official tips)

IMPORTANT: Make sure that you have a pathway connecting each club facility with the clubhouse!
Club facilities - the snack bar, pro shop, driving range, etc. - must be connected to the clubhouse by a pathway. The path can be as long and devious as all get-out, but if there is no connection your facility will not operate, your golfers will be disgruntled and you won't get any cash. (Note that you do not have to link home sites to the clubhouse.)

Place the tee of a hole near to the green of the previous hole.
You don't want your golfers to have to travel a long distance between holes. It irritates them and they might decide to leave the course before completing your course. This can cost you valuable green fees. If possible, place the tee of the next hole near the green of the previous one. Note that golfers will play the course in the order that you built it; however you can change the order of play at the Routing Map.

If possible, place two tees near to each other.
If you set up your course with tees near to each other, you may be able to place marshals and rangers so that they will cover both areas. This can save you a bundle.

Give your golfers a place to sit down.
Your golfers will get tired after a few rounds of play. If they don't have somewhere to rest, they'll head on home to their Sim-easy-chair and watch Sim-reality TV. Make sure that you place benches around your course.

Avoid building steep slopes in trafficked areas.
Sim-golfers hate walking up hills. If you've got hills on your course, run your paths around rather than over them. If the golfers must ascend the hill, build a bridge from the bottom of the hill to the top. The bridge will be less steep than a path would be, anyway.

Put pretty and/or cool stuff near to difficult holes.
It's important to keep your golfers happy. If you've got a particularly nasty hole, say with a huge water hazard, a narrow dogleg fairway, and a tiny green sloped heavily towards the world's deepest sand trap; your less-accomplished golfers may become somewhat irate (if not pig-biting mad). Giving them something attractive to look at will help to take their minds off their woes.

Build a golf cart garage as soon as you can.
Golf carts speed up play dramatically. You should build one as soon as you are allowed to. It will pay for itself in an extremely short time.

Build Slowly
Don't expect to go from Putt Putt land to a world class golf resort in a day or two. Build your course slowly, taking the time to make every hole fun and profitable. Start with a nice 3 hole course and save up as much money as possible while slowly adding on holes as your cash reserves increase.
- Zach Mumbach
- Lead Tester

Hired Help
Gary Golf cannot be expected to take care of all the work on the course by himself. A world class golf resort requires world class employees. Once your course is starting to grow you want to make sure and have plenty of groundskeepers, soda vendors, marshals, and greeters. Nothing can ruin a day of golf like unsightly weeds or thirst.
- Zach Mumbach
- Lead Tester

Listen To The Golfers
As the golfers play your course they will make comments about the layout and difficulty of your course. Pay attention to these comments and adjust your course accordingly. The happier your golfers are, the more money you will make.
- Ed Huey
- Assistant Lead Tester, SimGolf

Place Landmarks
To keep golfers happy place a lot of landmarks around your course. Many times golfers will be more willing to overlook small inconveniences if there is a scenic landmark nearby. Landmarks keep golfers happy.
- Ed Huey
- Assistant Lead Tester, SimGolf

Give I.M.Picky the Royal Treatment
When I.M.Picky is playing your course, pay extra attention to him. Have employees waiting on his footsteps to ensure that he'll have a great time. Check his stats often to see if he's hungry or thirsty and get rid of those dandelions before he gets there. When he's happy, you're happy.
- Ed Huey
- Assistant Lead Tester, SimGolf

Tweak Your Course by Playing on It
The only way to really know your golf course is if you play on it yourself. Have Gary Golf play a few rounds and he'll show you how difficult your holes are. At the same time, you can show off and improve Gary Golf's skills and help you earn a few extra bucks!
- Ed Huey
- Assistant Lead Tester, SimGolf

Plan Ahead
There is a limited space you will be able to use when building a course. Take that into consideration as you're building your course. If you want to have an 18-hole course make sure you are going to have enough space available.
- Shari Tague
- Tester, SimGolf

Scenic trees
I recommend the Scenic trees over scenic flowers. They might cost quite a bit more, but require little upkeep and generally look nicer. This way your employees can spend that valuable time tending things other than weed-stricken flowers.
- Shari Tague
- Tester, SimGolf

My Tips

As well as backing up what has been said above, try these:

Get the balance right.
If you are trying to build a championship golf course try to get the holes balanced so as the players get a different challenge every hole. For example, space your par 3's and par 5's out and make the majority of holes par 4's. On these par 4's you should have yardages ranging from anything around 330 yards to 460 yards. This way players don't always get an easy ride and they'll enjoy the variety. You can tell if they like your course's varying design because they will say 'I like the variety on this course' as they walk round.

Use slopes - don't be afraid of moaning golfers!
Use the contours tool to create sloping fairways and rolling greens. I know some golfers moan about walking up the slopes so do as above and make some bridges or paths round it, you can even try to gradually increase the gradient so it is less severe.
This way you can create stunning golf holes (especially par 3's) with the added bonus of waterfalls if you cover the slopes with water. When these techniques are used you often end up with the hole with the biggest gradient variety being the signature hole.

Prevent players getting hit by golf balls
To stop players crying 'Hey! That ball almost hit me!' leave a gap between close tees and greens so as you can plant tall trees and palms. This way any balls that are flying off course towards another group on the next tee will mostly be deflected by a well positioned tree.

Send your tips in here!

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			Here are some tips on 'Sid Meier's Sim Golf' for you to try out. They vary from the official tips from EA to the tips provided by some of the testers of the game to my personal tips and any other tips sent to me from site viewers.

			Tips on the Layout and Design of Your Course (official tips) IMPORTANT: Make sure that you have a pathway connecting each club facility with the clubhouse! Club facilities - the snack bar, pro shop, driving range, etc. - must be connected to the clubhouse by a pathway. The path can be as long and devious as all get-out, but if there is no connection your facility will not operate, your golfers will be disgruntled and you won't get any cash. (Note that you do not have to link home sites to the clubhouse.) Place the tee of a hole near to the green of the previous hole. You don't want your golfers to have to travel a long distance between holes. It irritates them and they might decide to leave the course before completing your course. This can cost you valuable green fees. If possible, place the tee of the next hole near the green of the previous one. Note that golfers will play the course in the order that you built it; however you can change the order of play at the Routing Map. If possible, place two tees near to each other. If you set up your course with tees near to each other, you may be able to place marshals and rangers so that they will cover both areas. This can save you a bundle. Give your golfers a place to sit down. Your golfers will get tired after a few rounds of play. If they don't have somewhere to rest, they'll head on home to their Sim-easy-chair and watch Sim-reality TV. Make sure that you place benches around your course. Avoid building steep slopes in trafficked areas. Sim-golfers hate walking up hills. If you've got hills on your course, run your paths around rather than over them. If the golfers must ascend the hill, build a bridge from the bottom of the hill to the top. The bridge will be less steep than a path would be, anyway. Put pretty and/or cool stuff near to difficult holes. It's important to keep your golfers happy. If you've got a particularly nasty hole, say with a huge water hazard, a narrow dogleg fairway, and a tiny green sloped heavily towards the world's deepest sand trap; your less-accomplished golfers may become somewhat irate (if not pig-biting mad). Giving them something attractive to look at will help to take their minds off their woes. Build a golf cart garage as soon as you can. Golf carts speed up play dramatically. You should build one as soon as you are allowed to. It will pay for itself in an extremely short time. Tips © Copyright EA Sports 2002. Testers Tips Build Slowly Don't expect to go from Putt Putt land to a world class golf resort in a day or two. Build your course slowly, taking the time to make every hole fun and profitable. Start with a nice 3 hole course and save up as much money as possible while slowly adding on holes as your cash reserves increase. - Zach Mumbach - Lead Tester Hired Help Gary Golf cannot be expected to take care of all the work on the course by himself. A world class golf resort requires world class employees. Once your course is starting to grow you want to make sure and have plenty of groundskeepers, soda vendors, marshals, and greeters. Nothing can ruin a day of golf like unsightly weeds or thirst. - Zach Mumbach - Lead Tester Listen To The Golfers As the golfers play your course they will make comments about the layout and difficulty of your course. Pay attention to these comments and adjust your course accordingly. The happier your golfers are, the more money you will make. - Ed Huey - Assistant Lead Tester, SimGolf Place Landmarks To keep golfers happy place a lot of landmarks around your course. Many times golfers will be more willing to overlook small inconveniences if there is a scenic landmark nearby. Landmarks keep golfers happy. - Ed Huey - Assistant Lead Tester, SimGolf Give I.M.Picky the Royal Treatment When I.M.Picky is playing your course, pay extra attention to him. Have employees waiting on his footsteps to ensure that he'll have a great time. Check his stats often to see if he's hungry or thirsty and get rid of those dandelions before he gets there. When he's happy, you're happy. - Ed Huey - Assistant Lead Tester, SimGolf Tweak Your Course by Playing on It The only way to really know your golf course is if you play on it yourself. Have Gary Golf play a few rounds and he'll show you how difficult your holes are. At the same time, you can show off and improve Gary Golf's skills and help you earn a few extra bucks! - Ed Huey - Assistant Lead Tester, SimGolf Plan Ahead There is a limited space you will be able to use when building a course. Take that into consideration as you're building your course. If you want to have an 18-hole course make sure you are going to have enough space available. - Shari Tague - Tester, SimGolf Scenic trees I recommend the Scenic trees over scenic flowers. They might cost quite a bit more, but require little upkeep and generally look nicer. This way your employees can spend that valuable time tending things other than weed-stricken flowers. - Shari Tague - Tester, SimGolf Tips © Copyright EA Sports 2002. My Tips As well as backing up what has been said above, try these: Get the balance right. If you are trying to build a championship golf course try to get the holes balanced so as the players get a different challenge every hole. For example, space your par 3's and par 5's out and make the majority of holes par 4's. On these par 4's you should have yardages ranging from anything around 330 yards to 460 yards. This way players don't always get an easy ride and they'll enjoy the variety. You can tell if they like your course's varying design because they will say 'I like the variety on this course' as they walk round. Use slopes - don't be afraid of moaning golfers! Use the contours tool to create sloping fairways and rolling greens. I know some golfers moan about walking up the slopes so do as above and make some bridges or paths round it, you can even try to gradually increase the gradient so it is less severe. This way you can create stunning golf holes (especially par 3's) with the added bonus of waterfalls if you cover the slopes with water. When these techniques are used you often end up with the hole with the biggest gradient variety being the signature hole. Prevent players getting hit by golf balls To stop players crying 'Hey! That ball almost hit me!' leave a gap between close tees and greens so as you can plant tall trees and palms. This way any balls that are flying off course towards another group on the next tee will mostly be deflected by a well positioned tree. Tips © Copyright Adamation Studios 2002. Send your tips in here!