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The art of the meter

• YankeeJim 25,827 Posts

  Sun, Mar 28 2010 10:14 PM

  E-Ever notice how when you play a fast paced game you tend to shoot better? Multi games are fun but the long time between shots brings on impatience and the ultimate struggle to stay "tuned in." It does help to not over analyze those 8-15 birds just like it helps to not try so hard to ding the swing. Your meter speed will vary slightly between rounds, sometimes, so going with a more relaxed swing should pay off in the long run. You're going to make yourself crazy trying to hit perfect every time!  :-)

• AvatarLee 1,644 Posts

  Mon, Mar 29 2010 6:23 AM

  Tempo of the round is critical to my performance.  When I play in single player I am a very fast player.  I need to maintain the rhythm, when I start to get meter issues and have to take 'practice swings' it actually throws my timing off for a little while.  On a good round I can usually ding well over 50% and the others are 1 pixel misses with the odd 2 pixel miss thrown in there.  As for the method, I'm kind of a hybrid of A and B, I'll focus (although not intently) on a point a bit before the ding and when I catch the meter in my peripheral I will follow it to the ding, aborting on any abnormal speed.  Of course it takes practice to master it (forgive the pun).

  And another tip that relates to your pace of play, and for those that have more playing experience than the average WGTer.... Trust your first instinct!!  This is crucial!  Unless you miss a glaring variable... your first instinct will usually be correct 90% or more of the time.  Second guessing hurts you in 2 ways, it casts doubt on your shot reducing confidence, and it destroys the rhythm of the round.

• andyson 6,415 Posts

  Mon, Mar 29 2010 8:50 AM

  AvatarLee:

  Trust your first instinct!!  This is crucial!  Unless you miss a glaring variable... your first instinct will usually be correct 90% or more of the time.  

  Funny you mention that as I'm fighting that 2nd thought right now on aiming putts.  I take in the moving dots on reverse view for a few seconds, get a feel for how its going to break, move the pointer, then I fight the urge to bump the pointer a couple more inches.  I'll often miss the putt after I submit to the urge and think to myself I should have left it alone.

  That's good advice Lee, hard for me to do, but still good advice....

   

• MacDermot25 25 Posts

  Sun, Apr 4 2010 5:44 PM

  Personally i find option A better to work with, along with sitting a bit closer to the screen!

  I think what helps me the most though is keeping my window size the same. I have found that if i minimize of maximize the screen from what i have been playing with previously my eyes need to adjust and my timing also goes off!

  I had a friend also stick a ruler to his screen to help with meter speed and obviously distance control.

  So for all those amatuers out there best advice i can give is to keep things the same as much as possible!

  Cheers

  MacDermot25

• rehill 431 Posts

  Sun, Apr 4 2010 10:01 PM

  SWoods:

  I use a hybrid of A and B. Start following the line through one to two centimetres to get a sense of the speed and then refocus eyes to the ding line. 

  On critical shots take a few practice swings and instead of pressing the mouse button, press something else. This I think has been the biggest help in being close to target. The only problem is that I cant use it effectively in MP games as it slows down the round.

  I have had mixed success with these techniques. There are rounds when everything seems to go well and others where things fall apart. 

  Would be interested to hear the thoughts of people who consistently are close to ding.

  Great methods!

  As for my technique, I use a very similar strategy as A. It works well for me besides meter hiccups, or when I try too hard (previously mentioned). Anyway, good thread, I have wondered what others do.

• iwb1 110 Posts

  Mon, Apr 5 2010 3:48 AM

  marioh:

  Keep task manager open in your system tray.

  Wait til CPU utilization settles down prior to swinging.

  Instead of task manager a handy utility I found is RMClock by Rightmark.

  I also use Bitmeter for internet activity.

• salamii 1,058 Posts

  Mon, Apr 5 2010 5:24 AM

  AvatarLee:

  As for the method, I'm kind of a hybrid of A and B, I'll focus (although not intently) on a point a bit before the ding and when I catch the meter in my peripheral I will follow it to the ding, aborting on any abnormal speed.  Of course it takes practice to master it

  I have to agree with Lee, A good tempo and ding point is the best way to deal with the meter.  I usually count  1-2-3 to time my swing while keeping the ding point in my peripheral. This keeps me within a pixel or two on either side of the line.

• BOFFMEN 337 Posts

  Mon, Apr 5 2010 5:58 AM

  I'm like Lee and Sir salamii...but I also add in the fact that I bring down the swing icon point right above the "excellent" line to see it better in my peripheral vision.

• lfclegends 20 Posts

  Mon, Apr 12 2010 3:29 AM

  AvatarLee:

  And another tip that relates to your pace of play, and for those that have more playing experience than the average WGTer.... Trust your first instinct!!  This is crucial!  Unless you miss a glaring variable... your first instinct will usually be correct 90% or more of the time.  Second guessing hurts you in 2 ways, it casts doubt on your shot reducing confidence, and it destroys the rhythm of the round.

   

  Jeez, Next we'll be getting Dr. Bob Rotella in to help us play. ;)

  I'm beginning to wonder if chasing the ding is the best way to go. Recently I've been experimenting with a good deal of sucess with purposely under reading the side wind and clicking early or late to hold the shot into the wind. This helps because if you have a very strong sidewind and you miss the meter by a fraction effectively 'slicing' it with the wind direction it amplifies the error enormously especially if you use backspin. If you consiously click early or late you're much less likely to end up the wrong side of the meter.