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HOT SHOTS GOLF 2 - DETAILED COURSE GUIDE - BALATA COUNTRY CLUB
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Platform: Playstation
Version: 1.1
Written: 7 January 2001
Author: Jason Lawson (rangitamoe)
Email:
[email protected]
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
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1. Introduction
2. Legal Stuff
3. Revisions
4. What's in this FAQ
5. Course Guide
6. Tips to better scoring
7. Credits
8. Comments And Suggestions
9. Coming Soon
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1. INTRODUCTION
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Welcome to my first, and hopefully first of many FAQs. After toying with
the idea for ages, I decided that I would do something a little
different from the norm when it came to this excellent golf game. If you
have ever played golf, you know that course knowledge is important if
you want to shoot low scores. For the pros, this comes in the form of a
caddy. What I wanted to do was the same thing in print form so players
can know what to expect before actually hitting the course.
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2. LEGAL STUFF
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I don't have too much of a problem with my FAQ being used on other
sites, so long as you email me for permission, and give me due credit on
the site on which it is placed.
Anyone who does NOT ask my permission and blatantly rips off my FAQ will
find themselves facing serious legal action.
This FAQ will appear on:
GameFAQs <www.gamefaqs.com>
Playstation Cheat.net <www.psxcodes.com>
Game Advice <www.gameadvice.com>
Anyone who spots this on another site can contact me via email at:
[email protected]
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3. REVISIONS
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Version 1.1 - Added new sites on which FAQ appears. Added scoring tips
Version 1.0 - Basic course guide
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4.WHAT'S IN THIS FAQ
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This FAQ contains a hole-by-hole synopsis of the Balata Country Club
course, and a few very general tips for better scoring. I am assuming
that players are familiar with the controls and general gameplay. If you
are after specific tips for the game itself you may want to have a look
at either BYouns or Nemesis' FAQs in GameFAQs.
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5. BALATA COUNTRY CLUB COURSE GUIDE
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This a very straightforward course that beginners can use to get a
handle of the basic controls and tactics.
*** PLEASE NOTE ***
This guide gives a general synopsis on what I believe is the best way to
play each hole. Factors you will need to consider and adjust to
accordingly include wind direction and strength, ball lie, and the
golfer you have selected.
HOLE 1 - PAR 4 - 360y
This is not an incredibly challenging or difficult hole. Its essentially
straight up and down. The only dangers are the bunker on the right hand
side of the fairway, and the water to the left of the green to a much
lesser extent. If you can keep the ball straight, you shouldn't have any
trouble making birdie. Your second shot will be played slighty above the
green.
HOLE 2 - PAR 4 - 374y
This hole features a slight dogleg to the right, followed by a straight
run into the green. The ideal position off the tee is to be on the right
hand side of the fairway, which involves using one of two techniques
depending on your choice of golfer. If your chosen golfer has a high
trajectory and a lot of power (e.g Rocco) you can aim just right of the
large tree right in the middle of the screen and hit it straight over
the mound that cuts the corner. If you don't have either the power or
trajectory, you can aim the ball slightly left of that same tree and
press left on the D-pad as you make the shot. This will start the ball
left, but curl it right to follow the dogleg. This should leave you in a
perfect position for the approach to the green.
HOLE 3 - PAR 5 - 496y
This hole has a long downhill fairway which doglegs right at the end to
an uphill green. From the tee use a power shot and try to steer the ball
between the tree on the left and the second bunker on the right of the
green. It is a very narrow area, so accuracy is paramount. The first
bunker on the right can come into play here depending on wind conditions
so be wary. There are two options for the second shot. It is most likely
that no matter where you have landed on the fairway, there is no clear
shot at the pin in two. The safest option is to take a middle iron and
aim the ball left of the green and onto the fairway. This will set up a
short pitch to the green on your third shot. For the more adventurous,
it IS possible to reach in two, but you may need to curl the ball around
the trees on the hill directly in your line. The direction you choose to
curl depends on wind conditions and golfer choice. My personal
preference is to curl it from left to right by pressing down+left on the
D-pad. In most cases though it is hard to get the ball close as you are
usually using a wood and also due to the raised green.
HOLE 4 - PAR 3 - 135y
This hole is a basic straight par 3. The tee shot is slightly above the
green. There is a bunker short and left of the green, but it shouldn't
come into play unless you really duff the shot. The green is very flat,
so you shouldn't have any trouble putting backspin on the ball. A
straight point and shoot hole.
HOLE 5 - PAR 4 - 380y
This is rated the hardest hole on the course, although I don't really
know why. It has a slight dogleg to the left, but no major hazards to
speak of. Ideal drive is to the right of the fairway, as it opens up the
entire green. If you do hit the ball left, the trees that jut out on
the left side can come into play, meaning a hit over or around them.
From the right side, its a straight shot at the flag, however if you
stray left a little the is a bunker waiting to gobble your ball.
HOLE 6 - PAR 4 - 373y
This hole doglegs to the left after a relatively easy tee shot. Left
side of the fairway is paramount, as the right side has a large clump of
trees that can come into play and block the view of the pin. From the
left side, the only annoyance is a lone tree that seems to place itself
directly in the line of the green. There is a big enough gap to go
between it and the forest though, and depending on pin placement should
be an easy birdie. The green is sloped from left to right on the
approach, so backspin may be a problem.
HOLE 7 - PAR 3 - 168y
Similar to the 4th hole except the green is a lot lower than the tee.
It is imperative that you have enough power to easily land in the heart
of the green, as there is a large slope short of the green that will
take your ball back towards a small lake if the ball is not hit well
enough. Apart from that the hole is relatively easy to birdie. Green
slopes from back to front and slightly right to left.
HOLE 8 - PAR 4 - 330y
This hole has a slight dogleg right, and the only real threat off the
tee is a bunker to the left and rough on the right. The second shot is
blinded by a small hill in the fairway, but using the cameras to look
over it shows that its just a straight shot to the flag. The green
slopes from front to back so there won't be much backspin if you over
hit.
HOLE 9 - PAR 5 - 505y
This is my favourite hole on the course. Its pretty easy to see the
hazard here, a giant lake in the middle of the screen. You have to play
this hole carefully to be able to get an eagle. From the tee, you have
to be careful that you don't just blast away down the middle, because
the fairway runs out at about 250 yards, which is easily reachable with
a golfer of average power. If you overhit, you either land in the rough,
or break out the scuba gear! The closer you can get to the edge of the
rough, without actually landing in it the better. The second shot offers
two choices, you can either play right following the fairway and lay the
ball up, or you can go all guns blazing with your driver towards the
green, which looks oh so appealing right in front of you. A word of
warning though, if you do go for the green in two, you MUST hit the ball
perfectly and with enough power. There is a slope almost exactly like
the one on the 7th hole in case the ball comes up short. If you play the
safe option then the only worry is a tree that places itself in the
middle of your view, but a simple curl shot would avoid it. Green slopes
front to back again, so stopping the ball quickly is very difficult.
HOLE 10 - PAR 4 - 366y
So we've hit halfway. How are you travelling so far? This is another
hole you need to think about. Its a dogleg left, but with a very wide
landing area to the right, which is where you want to go. Power hitters
may have to drop back a club here to tee off as the fairway runs out at
about 240 yards. Best option is to lay up on the right with a 3 wood and
take the nice easy shot to the green. If you feel like taking a risk,
you can aim the cursor to the middle of the fairway past the bunker and
press right on the D-pad and try and curl the ball around the corner. If
you succeed you have a much easier shot to the green. Screw it up and
your in the bunker that sits right on the corner. This green is very
flat in the back right corner, but slopes viciously to the left
otherwise.
HOLE 11 - PAR 4 - 365y
From the tee this looks like a nice straightforward drive down the
middle. Beware! There is a big bunker on the right that comes into play,
as the fairway slopes towards it. Best thing to do is to aim slightly
left of centre and you should be OK. The approach to the green is
simple, you only have to compensate for the lowered green. The green
itself slopes slightly left to right, but more severely towards the
front left.
HOLE 12 - PAR 3 - 131y
Another straight up and down par 3. This green is a lot lower than the
previous par 3's but there a few hazards if any that come in to play.
Green slopes slightly from left to right.
HOLE 13 - PAR 5 - 466y
This is probably the easiest Par 5 on the course. If you have a power
hitter you can make eagle on here practically every time (I have
albatrossed this hole 3 times). From the tee there is a dogleg to the
left, and a copse of trees between the tee and the ideal landing area.
With a power hitter you can aim over the trees on the right, and just
let it rip. With the downhill slope of the fairway in that area a 290
yard drive is possible, leaving you a longish iron to the flag. For the
non power hitter, you can also go oer the top if you can (use backspin
to give the ball some extra height) or you can try curling the ball from
left to right. Either way, you should still have a chance in reaching in
two. The further to the right of the fairway you are, the better your
approach. If you can't reach in two, then lay the ball up short and to
the right of the green. The green itself slopes from back to front and
left to right.
HOLE 14 - PAR 4 - 367y
This is another very attractive hole. The fairway is long and straight,
but the green lies to the right of the fairway with a giant lake between
them. Off the tee, aim the cursor to the centre of the crest in front of
you. This should put you in a perfect position for the second shot to
the green. With the lake between you and the green, there is really no
obstructions. Green slopes from back to front ond from right to left.
HOLE 15 - PAR 4 - 349y
This hole has a slight dogleg left, but a huge driving area to work
with. The only danger is the bunker on the right hand side of the
fairway. The ideal place to be is left of the fairway, but be careful as
the fairway has a severe right to left slope itself, and aiming too far
left might put you in the rough. More than likely, your second shot will
be played on an uneven fairway sloping right to left, so you need to aim
accordingly to allow for that. The green is a raised green and it slopes
slightly from back to front.
HOLE 16 - PAR 3 - 161y
Depending on pin position, this could be one of the more difficult holes
despite the short length. The green is very small and slopes severely
from left to right. You have to carry part of a large lake to reach the
green, and you need to hit the ball hard enough to hit the green on the
full. The problem with that however, is due to the small landing area,
you may go over the back. Finding the right balance here is important.
HOLE 17 - PAR 4 - 358y
This is another slightly doglegged hole, but is predominantly straight.
The middle or slightly left is the place to land the tee shot, which can
be achieved by aiming just on the edge of the bunker on the right of the
fairway. The bunker itself doesn't come into play. The approach is to a
raised green which slopes from right to left.
HOLE 18 - PAR 5 - 475y
As the sun sets over Balata Country Club, what better way to finish the
round than with an eagle. This hole has a big dogleg left, which also
travels down a moderate slope. You can use this to your advantage.
Simply place the cursor directly in the middle of the tree that juts out
on the left corner of the fairway, put the power shot on, hold right on
the D-pad and let the big dog eat. You should find the ball dancing
happily down the slope and in the middle of the fairway, leaving you a
200 yard shot or so. The second shot however needs to be hit spot on to
make the green in two. It has a setup similar to that of the 9th hole,
with a large slope ready to drag any short balls back in the rough. If
you are way short... SPLASH! The green has a varying slope but its from
front to back slightly.
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6. TIPS FOR BETTER SCORING
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Here are a few basic tips to help you get that handicap down, and to
also win a few tournaments.
(a) Putting is THE most important skill in the game PERIOD. Its no point
putting the ball 7 feet from the cup if you can't sink the putt.
Constant practise is the best way to learn how to read greens, and know
where to aim and how hard to hit. Master this skill and scores will
plummet.
(b) Know the limitations of the golfer you choose. There's no point in
trying to go for the green in 2 on a par 5 if your golfer only barely
has the power to get there.
(c) Use the cameras to your advantage. Before teeing off I ALWAYS raise
the camera (up on D-pad) and zoom it forward (triangle) to the landing
area of the tee shot. Sometimes there are hazards that are hidden from
the tee that you will see with cameras. Take notes on the slope of the
fairway, and the potential dangers off the fairway.
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7. CREDITS
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First and foremost, a big thanks to CJayC for putting together the best
gaming site around.
Thanks also to Al Amaloo and Chris Wirth for letting me place this FAQ
on their sites.
Thank you's also to Nemesis and BYoun for writing the general FAQs for
this game and giving me the idea to write a course guide.
Thanks to the makers and programmers of this fine golf game.
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8. COMMENTS & SUGGESTIONS
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This is the first FAQ I have ever written, and I hope you find it
useful. I would like to write more in the future, but any feedback or
suggestions you can give me on how to improve my FAQ writing skills,
please email me at:
[email protected]
NOTE: I will NOT tolerate any unconstructive criticism or plain outright
stupidity.
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9. COMING SOON
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In the near future I would like to do course guides for the remaining
courses on Hot Shots Golf 2. Time and work committments pending.
This concludes my FAQ. Good luck and happy golfing!
