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Lost ball...Am I imagining this?

• DarthMo0 43 Posts

  Sun, May 20 2018 9:35 AM

  I've really only been playing for about four months.  In that time, I think I've only had around 6 or 7 lost balls total.  But after getting the free Pro V1x with the Titleist rollout and using that up, I decided to purchase a modest sleeve of the Callaway Hex Chrome balls.  Also, I had the free Chambers Bay ball from the May promotion.

  So where I'm going is of those four balls, in six days I used up one and lost three.  The vast majority of my play is the mobile coin games where the courses are selected at random.  So am I just being a conspiracy theorist in thinking that I've been served up a heavier dose of holes where lost balls are more likely on slightly errant shots?  Or have I simply had a run or poor shots made?  Or have I simply lost way more of the free balls than I remember because they're generally of no consequence?

  I'm thinking it's probably the latter option, but when I lost the Chambers Bay ball on the first hole I used it, it got my mind working lol.

• pmm711 5,514 Posts

  Sun, May 20 2018 1:28 PM

  We’ve all entered The Twilight Zone on here.  I still think it’s an errant shot more than anything else...but...we all tilt our heads like confused/curious dogs many times after shots.  It is what it is...just like when playing IRL.

• el3n1 4,494 Posts

  Sun, May 20 2018 3:31 PM

  DarthMo0:

  The vast majority of my play is the mobile coin games where the courses are selected at random.

  There is no way to provide definitive proof either way from a user stand point, but I will share that I have commented or complained to customer support that I have experienced lost balls on mobile in situation that have never happened on desktop play and in ways that I haven't been able to replicate on desktop.  One that stands out was on Erin Hills in which I would have had to hit a 360 + yard carry into trees in the air no bounce and roughly 120 yards offline from where I was aiming.  Even with the sponsor apparel boosting gear and driver we have now, I haven't hit a shot like that and it happened before sponsor apparel was in effect.  

  Another example was on Olympic when you can aim down the right side on #1 to go over the trees … never lost a ball on desktop doing this and yet on mobile when I attempted the shot at one time, I was prompted with OOB... how that ball went OOB I have no idea as this shot has never played that way any other time.  

  So, do I think there are quirks or glitches in the game that seemingly take balls intermittently... possibly.  Can it be proven, not necessarily.  The only other option would be to try and record matches in which these freak shots occur and then submit them to WGT or in the Forum and ask for an explanation.  You may or may not get one.  

  I have also found it doesn't matter if I pay extra for a slow meter ball or use a less expensive ball... the meter still gets jumpy at times almost as if the game is trying to induce a miss hit. 

  On the desktop, people speculate that this is due to the cache or other software running as possibly explanations for a flaky meter, but on the mobile platform you are typically only running one app at a time --WGT (unless you are trying to record the match with another app).  If you are on a phone, could it be an incoming call?  I don't know.   What is causing the jumpy meter on the mobile platform since these other explanations are no longer applicable?  Is it more likely that aspects of the game to replicate "real world" dynamics to force miss hits (often attributed to VEM) is more likely the explanation?  If so, if the game is going to build in factors that increase the likelihood of losing a ball...the alternative especially on the mobile platform...don't buy expensive balls!  

  I have resorted to playing nothing more expensive than the L13 Srixon on the mobile platform because it just isn't worth it and WGT does not appear interested in offering mobile players a way to convert coins into credits or adjust the cost of balls into a comparative coin rate in which balls could be purchased with the coins being accumulated on the mobile platform.  

  The other aspect is...with all the juiced up sponsor apparel you can put on...you don't really need a high credit ball... you can get by playing a less expensive ball and use some of those coins to boost your apparel to enhance your clubs performance.  

  This is of course just my take and I am not saying there is definitive proof but then we can only base things on our experience and sometimes after you have played a few hundred rounds... you can seem to tell when shots are off or the game is just not playing "normal"

• Luckystar5 1,636 Posts

  Sun, May 20 2018 6:04 PM

  There is the inevitable, and that there are certain holes in this game, where discretion is the better part of valor! There are certain holes that if you go for the hole, you will for sure end in water or ob. Learn which holes they are, and where you just aim for the center of the green, or hit it farther than you think.  The old saying goes, " when water is involved, hit one more iron, or two more balls. "   learn the courses and manage them well, or lose your balls.