
                         Links Golf (PC) Docs

                        - From The Skeleton -


  To start Links enter the command Links.  This will give show you some nice
graphics and play music for you to enjoy.  If you tire of this at a later time
you can always start the game by entering the command Golf.  This will bypass
the song and dance routine and take you directly to game start up.
  After all this you are at what I would call the main menu.  It includes
boxes all of which are described below.

     Start Box = Starts up the game.
     Practice  = Takes  you to the practice area.
     Resume    = Resumes a previously saved game.
     Players   = The saved player configuration selector/editor.
     Info      = View and/or change system configuration.
     Exit      = Quit the game.
     Start     = Start The game.


   Selecting the Start Box........

    The first thing you will have to do is select a course to play.  Links
currently comes with only one course so you will have to play Torrey Pines
South.  Once you select it,it will become highlighted.  You will then need to
click on OK to continue to the next screen.
    This screen will ask you to select players.  You have three options here.
Either select a player, use the default player or add a player Adding a player
will be covered later).
    When you select either a player or the default player you will be taken to
a new screen.  On this screen you can change several things by clicking the
appropriate box.  You can select to play the front 9, back 9 holes or 18
holes.  You can select the level you would like to play at Pro, Amateur or
Beginner.  If you play at the beginner level an automatic caddy will select
clubs for you throughout the game.  Lastly you can select your tee off point
Black, Blue White or Red.  Red is the Women's Tee, White is the Men's Tee,
Blue is the Pro Tees and Black is the Tournament Level Tees.  After everything
looks good click on OK.  The game will load and show you some info about the
course.  Then you will be taken to the first Tee.

     On The First Tee......

     Top Box = Clicking on this shows you the top view of where you are at.
     The blinking white dot is your ball.

     Drop Box = This is the box to click on if you feel you are in an
     unplayable lie situation.  This will automatically be invoked if you hit
     out of bounds or in to a hazard.   The next box you see will give you
     several options.

             Hit from this =  hit from the spot the computer has automatically
             selected for you.

             Select = Select the spot yourself.  You can move your ball to a
             point you feel is good.  The computer will not let you select an
             illegal spot.  For example one that is closer to the hole.

             Back up 50 =  This will back you up 50 feet from the current spot
             you are at.

             Cancel = You can cancel this operation if you decide to invoke it
             However if you are in water for example you will have to drop
             your ball at an acceptable spot before you will be able to
             continue.

      Remember!!!  When you drop a stroke is added to your score!!!!


      Options Box = Allows several system options.

              Quit Game = Quits the current game.

              Save Game = Allows saving of the current game.  You will have to
              specify a name for the game to be saved under.  The name will
              appear in the options box when you select Resume from the main
              menu.

               Exit = This will take you back to the swing screen.

               Sound Toggles = these allow you to toggle the various sound
               options on and off.  Note that if even if a sound option is
               toggled on it still may not work.  This is do to lack of system
               memory.  If you have this symptom you will need to free up more
               memory to use the particular sound feature.

               Drawing Detail = Allows you to toggle the drawing complexities
               of the images at close, medium and far ranges.  The Max, Med
               and Min options are toggled .  Max obviously will take more
               time than Min but will not look as detailed.

      Lie Box = Shows the lie of your ball.  Fairway, Rough, Water or Sand.

      Setup Box = Tailoring your shot....

               Clicking setup brings you to another box which shows your feet
               and club ball/club position.  Clicking on the various arrows
               will allow you to do many things.

               You can move the ball up or back in your stance.  Moving it up
               causes it to fly higher but not as far.  It will also get up in
               the air faster ( good for clearing bushes and things).  Moving
               the ball back seems to lessen the effect of wind on your ball.
               It also keeps it down in case you wish to try and go under a
               tree. However, placing the ball to far back will cause you to
               drive it into the ground and it will go nowhere.

                Stance..  You can open or close your stance.  The effects of
                this will be just as they are on a real golf course.  Opening
                you stance causes the ball to fly from left to right.  Closing
                the stance causes a right to left motion on the ball.

                Swing Plane...  You may also modify the plane of your swing.
                Out to in causes a left to right ball flight.  In to out
                causes the opposite.

                Club Face ...  You can open or close the clubface.  Opening it
                causes  left to right ball flight.  Closing it causes the
                opposite.

                Cancel....cancels the operation including all changes you have
                made.

                Continue....  Continues to the swing screen.  You can now take
                your shot using the setup you have created.

       NOTE...   We now come to a point which I feel is a bad design move in
       the game.  After you take your shot the new setup remains in effect.
       You must go back in to setup and return things to normal. For example..
       if you needed to get over a tree in a hurry and moved the ball up in
       your stance it would stay that way.  On the next tee you might pop
       the ball up a mile in the air with your driver and get no distance.
       Then you will remember that you changed the setup.  Fortunately you can
       always take a mulligan,return the setup to normal and shoot over again.


      D,S,F  Box....   This will draw , fade or hit your ball straight.  You
                       should experiment with this at the driving range to see
                       exactly how much of a predefined draw or fade you will
                       get.  You can accomplish the same effect but with
                       greater detail in the setup box.

      Grid Box....     This turns on a grid which shows hills and slopes that
                       you are on or that are in front of you.  This is most
                       useful when putting or approaching the green.  This is
                       the only way you can read breaks when putting.

      Club Box....  Clicking on the right arrow increments your club selection
                    up.  The left increments it down. The clubs go up and down
                    according to what is in your bag.  Remember you selected
                    these clubs when you added yourself as a Links Player.

      1 + 2 Boxes...  These will be described later since it is a rather
                      lengthy explanation.


         Address box.....  Allows a practice swing at any time.

         Rotate and Redraw Box....  Allows you to rotate your view left or
                                    right and then redraw the screen.

          Aiming.....   You aim with the cursor arrow on your screen.  Hold
                        the right mouse button and a red and white stick will
                        pop up.  Move it to where you want to aim taking wind
                        in to account.  In the lower right hand corner of the
                        scenery window you will see the distance you have to
                        that marker.  If you let go that is where your aim is
                        set.  The left button will keep this stick on for your
                        convenience.


          Putting.....   Putting works in the same aiming way as described
                         above.  Turn on the grid to see the contour of the
                         green.




         Now you can take your shot!!!!!

               You do this by clicking the right mouse button once to start
               your backswing , again to stop your backswing and once more to
               control fade or slice.  Hitting it right on the line will put
               it right down the fairway.  Early will cause a hook and loss of
               distance.  Late will cause a slice and loss of distance.

                1st click....  Starts Backswing.

                2nd click.... Stops Backswing

                3rd click ...  Determines straightness of shot.

              If you fail to click a second time you will overswing and duff
              the ball.  The 12 o'clock position is maximum normal swing and
              will give you  the best distance and control combination.
              Once you go over the 12 o'clock position the third click becomes
              more critical and missing the 6 o'clock line will become more
              critical because the hook and slice effect will be magnified.
              I only overswing when I am trying to reach the corner of a
              dogleg or when going for a par 5 in two.  Remember it is a
              gamble to overswing!!!

     After Shot Window...

             After taking a shot the after shot window will pop up.  This
             allows several choices described below.

              Instant Replay =  You can watch a forward or reverse angle
              replay of your shot by clicking on the forward or reverse box.

              Mulligan Box = Allows you to take your shot over with no
                             penalty.  The mulligans are totaled up on your
                             scorecard.  You can disable the mulligan feature
                             by clicking outside of this box. The mulligan box
                             will turn red to reflect that it is off.  You
                             can re-enable the option by clicking outside the
                             box again.

               Stats.....    This box will also give you some information on
                             your last shot.  How far it flew in the air, how
                             far it rolled and how far you are from the pin.

               Continue Box =    Continue to your next shot.

      Scorecard.....   After sinking your put you will be shown a scorecard.
                       Boxes here allow you to view the front or back nine
                       card or to continue.  Select continue to proceed to the
                       next hole.


       Hazards....     If you hit your ball in to a hazard the hazard box will
                       pop up.  You basically have two choices here.

                       Rehit = Rehit your shot and take a one stroke penalty.

                       Drop =  This will invoke the drop routine that was
                       explained above.

       1 + 2 Boxes... The 1 + 2 boxes are a powerful tool when playing links.
                      These are basically two custom shots per club.
                      Pressing the one box will tell Links that you want to
                      set up a custom shot for the currently selected club.
                      After highlighting the 1 box and selecting the club go
                      to the setup menu.  From here you can make all
                      adjustments to your stance, clubface, swing plane etc..
                      These settings will then be saved as custom shot 1 for
                      the selected club.  You may have two custom shots
                      per club. I find that you must keep extensive notes on
                      what each club and custom shot can do for you. Otherwise
                      it is tough to remember what you designed a custom shot
                      for.  Notes such as 3 wood out of the rough can be very
                      helpful.


          That is basically how to play the game.  Below starts the section
          on options.


           Main Menu Options


            Resume Box =  Clicking this presents you with a list of your saved
                          Links games.  Select a game and click OK to resume a
                          saved game.  All parameters such as score and player
                          options are saved.

            Players =     Your facility to build player profiles.
                          You start by typing in your name or the name of a
                          player to add. Then pick your tee off points and the
                          level you want this player to play Links at.You then
                          need to pick your clubs. You simply click to select
                          or deselect them. Remember you can only take 13 with
                          you because the 14th is your putter.

             Info Box =   Shows sound and memory set ups.  You can toggle
                          expanded and extended memory on and off from here.
                          Using additional memory dramatically increases the
                          performance of screen redraws.  I have only tested
                          QEMM ( Quarter Deck Expanded Memory Manager) and
                          the Microsoft Windows 3.0 drivers.   Both work fine
                          and speed up the game.
                          You can also pick what type of sound board you have
                          from here.

             Practice Box = Takes you to the practice area for Driving or
                          chipping and putting.

                          Upon opening this window you must first select a
                          player.  This gives you the proper bag of clubs.
                          You can also add a player as described above.  If
                          finished click OK.  You then decide if you want to
                          chip and putt or practice driving.

                          Driving... You are taken to a driving range.  You
                          aim and swing in the same manner described above.
                          The colored barriers represent 50 yd. increments.
                          Notice the practice greens you can shoot at.
                          After each shot the status window will show
                          you how well you did.
                          This is also a good place to change your setups
                          and see the results.  The setup box will work in the
                          same way as the one described above.

                          Chip & Putt...  The chip area will allow you to
                          place your ball and then to practice chipping
                          from that position.  You also have a move to last
                          ball option which will basically allow you to
                          finish the hole out.  Remember you can place your
                          ball anywhere so watch and try different setups.
                          Practice those bunker shots too.


             Exit =  Leave the game and return to DOS.


        Notes....  The game seems to have a flaw in this example.  If you
        200 yds or so away from your target it is hard to determine what you
        are hitting in to.  If for example the green is guarded by a slope
        you may hit into the slope and not get a lot of roll.  This is known
        as a bad kick.  I have found no way to zoom in or look at a close up
        of approach areas.  You can see this only by doing an instant reverse
        angle replay.  If you have to drive in to a tight landing area this
        also becomes a problem.
        Despite the few shortcomings of Links I find it to be a
        very good and complete golf game.  Unless you are really on your
        game you will find it hard to break par.
        Though one course ( Torrey Pines ) is the only one available
        the folks at Access promise more are on the way.



X-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-X
 Another file downloaded from:                     The NIRVANAnet(tm) Seven

 & the Temple of the Screaming Electron   Taipan Enigma        510/935-5845
 Burn This Flag                           Zardoz               408/363-9766
 realitycheck                             Poindexter Fortran   510/527-1662
 Lies Unlimited                           Mick Freen           801/278-2699
 The New Dork Sublime                     Biffnix              415/864-DORK
 The Shrine                               Rif Raf              206/794-6674
 Planet Mirth                             Simon Jester         510/786-6560

                          "Raw Data for Raw Nerves"
X-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-X
