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To ding or not to ding ? and other thoughts...

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Fri, Apr 1 2022 12:56 PM (30 replies)
  • cd11110
    3 Posts
    Tue, Oct 5 2021 6:06 AM

    Hi there, my first post here

    First, all my best thanks to the community of players and forumers who have helped me discover this great game.

    I first played this game about 4 months ago, and am now a level 83 master, and I am just about realizing all the potential of this what I thought to be just another game.

    I started playing like in a video game, and got addicted in the coin rooms by the challenge of trying to beat everlasting hacks who were playing like legends. Then, being a former golf player myself, I concentrated a bit more on the simulation of real golf. And there gradually came the tantalizing idea that it might be really as smart, as tough, as entertaining, as frustrating, whatever you call it , as real golf !

    So only yesterday did I shed my set of starter irons and putter in order to get more consistent equipment. And after a few rounds I am feeling like another totally new experience is coming, with better realism, the satisfaction to be able to gradually master such a complex and nicely simulated game (ok there are some glitches), together with a lot of frustration due to intense efforts in order to grasp the marginal experience that will make the difference along maybe insanely long hours of practice and gaming, the more so as I expect to progress to higher levels. I also realize this is nothing new to all the experts in this community who have for years been playing, sweating, and exchanging all their experience for newbies like me, for which I am very grateful.

    Just to come back to the title of this post, I just bought the putter Seemore M5HT lvl55, and, having read lots of posts about dinging or non dinging, I thought I might give my own perception of things, if this doesn't sound too presumptuous.

    Since I want to concentrate on the realism of the game, and not so much on the "arcade" aspect of the game, I have a rather off ding putting approach. I do not want to play this game with a calculator in one hand, or precalculated tables pinned above my screen. And even if I do make a lot of efforts in mentally calculating the trajectory of the ball on the green, factoring in (or trying to) all the aspects of height, slope, wind, surface, etc..., which is rather similar to all the mental calculations that a real golfer makes when trying to hole in, the off ding method is my favoured approach to this game because it reminds me of the real feel when playing golf.

    Having so far used exclusively the starter putter, and tried one or 2 of the widely acclaimed putters, I just want to share the fact that after a few hours of use, I am very pleased with the Seemore : it is very much like the starter putter in terms of ability to be used off ding, with much better precision, and overall balance, and also forgiveness when I want to use it as per calculation.

    So for anyone looking for an off ding putter not too far away from the starter putter, you might give this one a chance of convincing you. I am sure some other putters are also very good at that, and I will not swear I will never change !  ;-)

    Glad I came accross this game and this enthusiastic community !

  • Trtr30
    32 Posts
    Tue, Oct 5 2021 10:13 AM

    Enjoyed reading your post. I too rely on computing things in my head. Been doing that since I learned how to calculate pitchers' ERAs in my head when I was about 10. Like you, I know it is not as accurate as creating computation tables but it seems more "real" to me.

    As for the putter, I've stuck with generations of the Odyssey. Putters and balls very much seem to be personal things based on feel as much as anything.

  • alosso
    21,028 Posts
    Tue, Oct 5 2021 10:54 AM

    cd11110:
    Since I want to concentrate on the realism of the game, and not so much on the "arcade" aspect of the game, I have a rather off ding putting approach. I do not want to play this game with a calculator in one hand, or precalculated tables pinned above my screen. And even if I do make a lot of efforts in mentally calculating the trajectory of the ball on the green, factoring in (or trying to) all the aspects of height, slope, wind, surface, etc..., which is rather similar to all the mental calculations that a real golfer makes when trying to hole in, the off ding method is my favoured approach to this game because it reminds me of the real feel when playing golf.
    It's 100% o.k. to putt by "feel" - one of my fellows worked his way up to Champ this way - I'd rather give my two Pfennig to "ding or off-ding".

    I think that "ding" putting is superior because it works in all conditions. "off-ding" doesn't: There will be breaks on slippery greens which demand a degree of "off" which is impossible because the speed cannot be controlled. Then the marker must be moved but there will be no experience!

    It's better to start it early!

    Any of these methods may be used "by feel" or with elaborate calculation.
    Disclaimer: I'm still an off-ding putter, using a distance-and-green-speed table to work out the stroke power.

    Regarding real-life putting, it exactly resembles "ding" putting to me. I aim a certain amount higher than the cup and hit the ball straight in that direction. Many players even adjust the center line on the ball to the required starting position, like "moving the marker".

    Off-ding would be like stroking directly to the ball but tilting the putter surface for a start sideways...

  • cd11110
    3 Posts
    Tue, Oct 5 2021 4:10 PM

    Thank you Alosso for your input. In fact I realize I am not a truely off-ding player, in the sense that I do move the marker, mostly for putts above 5 feet, depending on how much break there is. But I do not attempt to ding, rather I will accompany the marker with an off-ding stroke, based on the "feel" I have about the situation. 

    I find this way of doing is quite fun, it is not perfect, but in most cases seems to be quite  reliable, and quick enough to be used in the coin rooms, where the 45 seconds timing is in fact pretty short . The nice thing about it is that it allows me to putt to within  2 feet of the hole most of times, for putts between 6 to 20 feet. 

    I agree with your point about real life, but then there is no "ding", so putting with WGT is an art in itself ! 

  • Babzilla33
    909 Posts
    Tue, Oct 5 2021 11:34 PM

    There are players like myself who only play on mobile (iPad to be specific). As I learned the game, I also found that it is pretty difficult to hit the ding line provided on the iPad. Therefore what was viewed as a struggle, could then be turned into an asset. I have been a 99% off-ding putter ever since and it has probably become the strongest part of my game. 

    All in all what works for some people may not work for others, but at the end of the day there’s no shortage of ways to experiment and practice various techniques that can help you see the lines and sink more putts. 

    Best of luck!

     

    Babz 

  • kelsp
    2,196 Posts
    Wed, Oct 6 2021 12:02 AM

    Babzilla33:
    All in all what works for some people may not work for others, but at the end of the day there’s no shortage of ways to experiment and practice various techniques that can help you see the lines and sink more putts. 

    Well said Babz

  • alosso
    21,028 Posts
    Thu, Oct 7 2021 12:09 AM

    cd11110:
    Thank you Alosso for your input. In fact I realize I am not a truely off-ding player, in the sense that I do move the marker, mostly for putts above 5 feet, depending on how much break there is. But I do not attempt to ding, rather I will accompany the marker with an off-ding stroke, based on the "feel" I have about the situation. 
    Thanks!

    A slight uphill offset certainly supports the putts in the same way as "miss it uphill" does. Alas, true off-ding putting leaves the marker unchanged and controls the direction by the amount of missing the ding line. This is bound to fail at some point.

    cd11110:
    I agree with your point about real life, but then there is no "ding", so putting with WGT is an art in itself ! 
    True, but funny enough, WGT putting has improved my real putting, and sometimes I'd stand on the green stating, "Dinged it!"

    Don't do this aloud, your group will not understand you!

  • borntobesting
    9,605 Posts
    Thu, Oct 7 2021 12:25 AM

    Last week I was on the green trying to read the break and said to myself I don't see any dots

  • JonnoAUS
    31 Posts
    Tue, Oct 19 2021 6:55 PM

    Holy moly. How do you go from scratch to level 83 in FOUR months? I played a guy that said he was level 23 after 4 days. I reported him for being a cheat. :D

    Who dings on purpose? I’m level 91 and rarely ding in a game anyway for ANY club. I ding a putt maybe once every 100 putts if I’m lucky. 
    just try and ding on the high side of the hole. Seems to work  

     

  • alosso
    21,028 Posts
    Thu, Oct 21 2021 8:51 AM

    [Quote order modified]

    JonnoAUS:
    I played a guy that said he was level 23 after 4 days. I reported him for being a cheat. :D
    How could a player cheat on XPs?

    Also, L23 is under 4,000 XPs - 1,000 a day is an easy task - a tad overzealous, aren't we?

    JonnoAUS:
    How do you go from scratch to level 83 in FOUR months?
    It's just over 2,500 XPs per day - only three hours. I did that much as well from  time to time when I was fully into it - L80 after 4+ months - you should report me!

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