Taking a default score

[stillgolfing]

I apologize if this question has been asked before (I searched the forum, and ... as usual, no luck... not knocking this site, as in my experience all web forum search engines are pretty well useless); However, I was wondering if there was anyway to end a difficult hole?
Somewhere I had read that you can pick up and take a twelve, but that may have been in Links2003. Recently I was playing the Silent Monk (2nd hole) and also Cabo del Diablo (8th hole) and could I could not recover from the many and varied bad lies I experienced after hitting a wayward shot on these holes. After playing PGA2000 for a few months, I sort of set my own personal tolerance for abuse at 20 strokes on a bad hole. It was only recently that this situation actually occured and it was on these two courses. However, when I tried to select "pick up" it was greyed out and could not be selected. I tried to persevere, but was unable to recover from my situation so ended up canning those games. Is there a solution to this problem or is ending the game when you encouter this kind of difficulty the right approach?
Thanks, Dave

[Indy Anna Jones]

If you're set on "regulation", no, there's no way to "pick up" without ending the game. With pickups on, you can pick up at +4 to par (ie, 7-8-9.) Unfortunately with pickups on your golfer's stats won't record, nor can you keep season stats . If you're just playing for fun, though, "pickups" is the way to go. It doesn't interfere with your game in any way.

I don't understand why "pickups" would be blacked out unless you're playing a tournament in season mode; with this you MUST play regulation IIRC. Try clicking "custom" and see if the status for pickups, gimmes and mulligans change for you. On my options screen they never grey out, though...

[stillgolfing]

Thanks for your prompt reply Indy. I'm not sure what my settings are but thanks to your advise in an earliier question - about why I had no stats - I had made the requisite changes so that I do now have stats. How that relates to this discussion is beyond me, but I assume you know and will inform me accordingly. I think you previous advise was "no nothing" no mulligans. no sex in the afternoon, no sex anytime, Whatever!
Cheers, Dave
P.S. Yes "Pick up" is always greyed out. I created two basic players for some friends to play and checked after they couldn't complete a hole on a really easy course and "Pick up" which they were praying they could do was greyed out.
Thanks, Dave

[SteveHorn]

Dave! Use the drop ball option on the bottom left of your screen (click options). Unfortunatly its not perfect and sometimes leads you in an unexpected direction or area of the course. But ussually you can work your way to the hole (after your drop)and possibly salvage your round with a good score.

[stillgolfing]

Dave! Use the drop ball option on the bottom left of your screen (click options). Unfortunatly its not perfect and sometimes leads you in an unexpected direction or area of the course. But ussually you can work your way to the hole (after your drop)and possibly salvage your round with a good score.

Steve, thanks for commenting. I always appreciate you and Indy's input. You have both been very helpful this past year, as I struggle to learn how to play this game.
I was aware of the drop ball option. However, I was specifically refering to textures (on certain courses) where the drop ball option doesn't appear to help. I use the term "certain courses" because I've played from deep rough several times with the the appropriate club distance to the hole and had no problem, then on another course I figured out I had to take 3 clubs more and on others I couldn't hit it 30 ft with any club so under those circumstances, there was no way to recover (that I could find, hence my original post). I just assumed this was how the course designer set up the penalty for this texture (too penile in my opinion). I don't know that much about the various course design programs, but I do know in Links the designer specifies the impact/penalty for the texture and I just assumed that was the same in PGA2000. So, I have a puzzle question for the experts. If I am 40 yds into "weed rough" and I'm 160 yds from the green and hit a perfect 5 iron and it goes 30 ft sideways (now I'm 50 yds from the fairway), then I choose an eight iron and aim out into the fairway for a recovery shot and hit it perfectly and it goes 30 ft towards the fairway, then I try the next recovery shot with a sand wedge (still optomistic at this point a recovery shot exists) and it also goes 30ft, what then is the correct club choice for the player to have a reasonable hope of recovery? Let's face it if I had known I wasn't going to be able to recover from the original lie, then I would have rehit the shot (stroke and distance), but under the circumstances I am describing, that horse has already left the barn!
Cheers, Dave

[Indy Anna Jones]

Yeh, I've been stuck in some situations while playing regulation that dropping did absolutely nothing, one being my own course in which I had to edit and add in a drop zone. On Cougill's Keep one of the reviewers mentioned getting in trouble on #8 and having to pickup and quit; I try to look for those spots and make them unplayable but ... It's always been one of my minor gripes (major sometimes!) that a "retee" or "rehit from previous spot" wasn't included as a drop option, one of the few major weaknesses with this game IMO.

One more thought on your problem. "Mix and match" doesn't work as far as using regulation and custom rules are concerned, ie, you can't play "reg" and keep stats on your player while your opponents/partner use custom rules. It is possible to use different tees and/or abilities if you don't click on those two options, but those are under "play" not "rules."

Other than what Steve and I said previously, that's about all I can think of.

[SteveHorn]

Dave! If in deep rough or any texture where you know that getting the ball up in the air for any distance is an issue I recommend hitting a flop shot. You lose about 20% of normal distance if hit off the fairway or tee's and it will go to the right (if your right handed). The longer the club distance the more to the right the ball will go. But out of deep rough or weed rough it will go right but not nearly as much. Hitting a flop will help get the ball in the air if your in the deep stuff. It doesn't always work but has saved me many many times. A 3 wood flop out of the deep stuff might only go 120 yards ( its all a guess ) but thats better then 30 feet

[stillgolfing]

Thanks Steve I will try that. I do use the flop shot for short chips around the green, but I hadn't thought of trying it for longer shots. Maybe that might also work in situations where an island green or green on top of a mound is impossible to hit from say 140 (playing at standard level where you get a short carry/long roll trajectory) because the shorter club choice is too short and the longer club is too long. Maybe a longer club flop is the answer.
I still make silly mistakes, and waste strokes, because I often play Links and PGA2000 during the day, sometimes concurrently if a course is available in both sims. Consequently, when I hit into the sand within 40 yds of the green, I often forget that the chip shot is automatically selected (in PGA2000) and just start hitting away, not realizing that I need to go to the top menu and select ACTION>BLAST WITH CLUB. Why do I let this happen? Because in Links when you are in a bunker near the green, the sandshot swing meter and the correct sand club are automatically selected. That would be something I would have on my PGA2000 Wish List. That "Blast with Club" and the appropriate sand club are automatically selected when you are in a bunker near the green.
Cheers, Dave