Swing Mechanics

I have been pretty critical of both golf games in that I thought they could have executed a much better concept than having multiple shot types. That it would probably been easier to program and it would have been better to just allow us to adjust our stance to achieve the same thing.

Open/close... move the ball forward or back in our stance to hook/draw/slice/fade, flop, knockdown... or any number of shot types with this open canvas. Rather than being locked in to preset shot types. 

You could choose to try and pick a ball out of the bunker requiring much better timing or move the ball back in your stance taking some sand allowing for an easier splash shot which would roll out more.

Skills could have been used to allow how much we could open or close our stance. How far we could move the ball forward or backward in our stance. And adding power and accuracy to the swing plane to your game. I am pretty adamant though that a prefect shot is 1 pixel wide on the swing plane and eveything would deviate exponentially from there. This could effectively do away with RNG.

As for the swing.

In my opinion 2K got it pretty close. Except for the exaggerated swing speed, and their one tempo fits all swings concept it is pretty good.

All swing speeds are not the same...faster swings should propel the ball further with more spin (a concept lost on any game I have ever played), and a better swing/tempo should be required to execute a straighter shot.

EA should have built on what 2K developed. I like the swing speed (animation) of the EA game... though it could use just a touch of speeding up. As I mention previously... swing speed should not be linear... it should accelerate. Slower at the start and speed up as it gets to the top of your swing.

The tempo is a great concept to control some the cheating... though people will always find a way if inclined.

I would like to see tempo calibrated with your practice swings prior to actually hitting the ball. The game would have you away from the ball... you take a few practice swings and these swings would recalibrate your timing for your upcoming shot. You would then click a button to address the ball with your new calibrated swing speed. Note that your lie would also affect the size of your timing window.

I don't know about anyone else... but the way I swing my driver is not indicative of how I chip a ball from the greenside fringe. Which is why I think 2K23's swing mechanics could be better.

AND..  I would limit this swing timing... unrealistic fast/slow swings would not be registered, so that you could not game the system. In addition swings well outside would result in topping the ball (too fast) or burying your club in the ground (too slow).

And on this same thought... balls where you swing harder would generate more spin. But again the harder you swing the smaller the timing area... but this could make the difference between having a ball stick versus one that would roll out. RISK/REWARD.

Of course ball lie should be an important factor... rather than giving us a percentage loss turning the game into a math problem. Provide us a screen shot on the lie... where a ball in the rough sitting up on the grass where you can see all of the ball does not affect the timing, where something where you can only see the top of the would, as well as the distance, with or against the grain. Same with having different shots in a sandtrap, whether it rolled in sitting on top of the sand, buried deep or splashed like a fried egg.

Just my thoughts and opinions about how this game could have been so much better. I don't expect anyone to agree with me.

And for beginners or those wanting an easier scoring experience... you could aways increase the size of the timing zone or remove it altogether. Plus for those that need it, a shot line coming off the club face to show how the ball would react coming off the club as you adjusted your stance.

None of this seems like the proverbial Rocket Science, why can't anyone seem to get it right?