The objective of strokeplay is to complete all 18 holes of a course in as few shots as possible. In Holed Out there can be 1 - 4 players and the player who has played the least number of strokes at the end of the round will be the winner. Each hole has a par (the estimated standard score) and the scoreboard will tell you if you are above, below or equal to par.

Matchplay differs from strokeplay in that the objective of a round is to win the most holes. Matchplay in Holed Out is a game for 2 players and the player who has the least number of strokes on a particular hole is deemed to be the winner of that hole. Where both players hole out in the same number of strokes on a hole it is "halved" and the score remains unchanged.

There are 4 skill levels in Holed Out. Each player can use a different skill level and the effects of each are as follows:

After a hole has loaded a view of a current shot will be displayed. The information about the hole and the player who is to play is shown on the status panel on the right. The procedure for playing a shot is as follows:

1. Select Club
   Use the Z and X keys to change the currently selected club and then press RETURN when you have decided. (See the reference card for details of maximum distances attainable from each club). If you wish to change your selection you can do so by pressing ESCAPE. You will then be asked to select another club.
2. Direction
   A cursor will appear on the screen. This indicates the direction in which the ball will be aimed. Move the cursor with the Z and X keys. Pressing the RETURN key will start the shot so please read the section on power below before you press it.
3. Power
   As soon as the direction has been selected by pressing RETURN the bar indicator at the bottom of the screen will start to move from left to the right. Pressing RETURN again will select the power of the shot. The bar indicator will stop moving and the percentage of power obtained will be shown. The shot will then be played.

   If the bar indicator reaches maximum without RETURN being pressed it will then start to go down again. It will go right down to 19% unless RETURN is pressed before this is reached.

When the bar indicator starts moving moving you have the option of searching a hooked or a sliced shot (see playing guidelines). Pressing Z instead of RETURN will result in a hooked shot and pressing X instead of RETURN will result in a sliced shot (this will be reversed if you playing left handed).

If you wish to end a game without completing it you can do so at the end of a hole. Press CTRL and Q whilst the scoreboard is displayed.

The scoreboard will appear on completion of every hole. For strokeplay the scoreboard displays each player's name, his skill level in brackets, his total number of shots and his scre related to par. Below this for each player is a breakdown of his performance on each hole. In matchplay the score related to par is replaced by the number of holes that one player is winning by.

There are 14 clubs available in Holed Out. Each club has differing abilities to help you hit the ball the correct distance and also obtain different heights in order to deal with course obstacles. The club performances described below and the figures given on the reference card refer to shots played on the tee or on the fairway. These performances will vary significantly when playing from the rough or bunkers - see later sections in this manual for details on the effecs of these hazards.

Woods can hit the ball the farthest. Because of the angle that the ball will be hit a relatively large proportion of the overall distance travelled will be along the ground (see the reference card for exact figures).

Example 1 - A ball hit with a 1 Wood at full power will travel approx. 260 yards altogether. About 170 yards of this will be in the air and about 90 yards will be along the ground.

Example 2 - A ball hit with a 1 Wood at 50% power will travel approx. 130 yards altogether. About 85 yards of this will be in the air and about 45 yards will be along the ground.

Woods are excellent for long shots along a clear fairway and at full power can hit a ball high enough to clear the trees.

There are 10 Irons ranging for the lowest - the 1 Iron - to the highest - the Wedge. Low Irons are more powerful than high Irons in that they can hit the ball further.

As with the Woods, low Iron shots will travel a relatively large proportion of the overall distance along the ground. With higher Irons more of the overall distance travelled will be in the air rather than along the ground.

A Wedge is the highest club and hits the ball right up in the air so that when it lands, it doesn't go very far along the ground. Virtually all the distance travelled will be in the air rather than along the ground.

Example 1 - A ball hit with a 9 Iron at full power will travel approx. 100 yards. About 85 yards will be in the air and about 15 yards will be along the ground.

Example 2 - A ball hit with a 2 Iron at 50% power will travel approx. 100 yards. About 75 yards will be in the air and about 25 yards will be along the ground.

On The Fairway
The putter is really designed for use on the green. It is quite rare to use a putter on the fairway as the results are rather unpredictable due to the fact that the ball is travelling along the ground. Undulations or bumps on the ground, tufts of grass and other imperfections in the surface of the fairway can quickly slow down the shot. Usually the best use for a putter on the fairway is to hit a ball underneath a tree's branches if you are too close to hit the ball over it. If you are lucky you can get a shot of more than 100 yards and sometimes a lot further.

On The Green
Please read the section on greens later in the manual.

Wind can be blowing from any direction and the strength of the wind can vary greatly. The effects of the wind are as you would expect. A headwind will reduce the length of your shot. A tail wind will increase it. Wind from left to right will push your ball over to the right, etc, etc.

More often than not the wind will be blowing from an angle and will affect both the length and the direction of your shot. Judging the effects of the wind is a skill that requires practice and experience. The wind indicator on the control panel shows the direction of the wind and the length of the line indicates the strength of the wind (the longer the line, the stronger the wind.

Hook and slice are created by causing the ball to spin when you hit it. When a right-handed player slices a ball it will curve away to the right. When he hooks the ball, it will curve away to the left. The opposite effects for a left-handed player. Hook and slice are commonly used ways of avoiding hazards as they can be used to swerve shots around them - particularly trees. Practice the use of hook and slice on open fairways before trying to use them seriously as you could end up in rather a predicament if you have not mastered them.

Bunkers are basically large hollows in the ground filled with sand. When a ball enters a bunker, it will slow down and probably stay in the bunker but if not there are two possible outcomes:

'PLUGGED' - This means that the ball has sunk into the sand. Plugged balls are quite difficult to hit well and you must choose your club carefully to avoid a disastrous next shot. Generally the best clubs to use are the highest Irons - 9 Iron or Wedge. Even with these clubs, you will be lucky to hit the ball more than 65 yards.

'GOOD LIE' - This means that the ball is sitting on the sand. Some clubs will still be useless but you have a fair chance of hitting the ball over 100 yards if you use the right club. A 7 Iron is about the best but clubs slightly higher or lower than this will still give a reasonable shot. Your choice depends on the amount of height and run on you require.

As you can no doubt see the best advice is to avoid bunkers.

Rough is an area of uncut grass which surrounds most fairways. Obviously uncut grass will make shots harder to play as you cannot get such a clear swing at the ball. When a ball hits rough grass, it immediately gets slowed down. It may carry on for a short while before gradually coming to rest. The position it finally stops in can vary and it may end up in a very unfavourable position. There are two possible outcomes in Holed Out:

'BAD LIE' - This means that the ball has settled amongst long grass and is hard to hit cleanly. It will be necessary to use very high Irons to obtain a reasonable amount of distance from your shot. Generally, you will not be able to hit the ball further than about 50 or 60 yards.

'GOOD LIE' - If you are lucky you will get a good lie. The lie of your ball will still be worse than on the fairway but will be more accessible than a bad lie. This will give you the chance to hit the ball with a more powerful club. A 7 or 8 Iron will probably hit it the farthest. However, if you are amongst tress, a lower Iron may stop the ball flying straight up in the air and hitting the branches.

Trees are major hazards due to their size. You can go over, under or around trees but is is important to know the capabilities of the club you are using in order to avoid a collision. If you are very close to a tree it is probably best to hit the ball under it. To keep the ball down, you can do a gentle shot with a low Iron (or even a Wood porvided you are not in the rough) but to avoid any danger you may well be best to use your putter to reach safety (but not if you are in a bad lie or in the rough).

If you are close but think there is a chance of clearing the trees then a very high Iron will give you the best chance of gaining enough height to do so. Do remember that trees' branches extend out from the back as well so you need to be able to clear it fully to avoid problems.

If you are quite a distance from the trees and on the fairway you can use a Wood or low Iron at full power. This may give you enough height to clear them and provided you have judged it correctly will save you wasting shots going around them.

When judging how to deal with trees it is necessary to remember that the overall distance that the ball travels is not all in the air. The ball is at maximum height for only a short part of its flight and if it starts to come down and hits a branch it will lose its power and fall to the ground.

Water is one of the worst hazards on any golf course because if your ball goes in it, you lose it. Fortunately, balls are free in Holed Out but you are penalised should you go into the water. You lose a stroke and are returned to the position from where you hit the ball into the water. The stroke you played into the water is also counted so you lose two strokes in total.

The Golden Rule - don't go into water.

Paths can often be a help to golfers as your ball will get a firm bounce and thus go further than if it landed on grass. This effect may not always be beneficial if you are trying to play a very accurate shot. However on some holes you may find them helpful and a ball played along a path can go a very long way indeed.

From time to time you will see the message 'AWKWARD LIE'. This means that you have been unlucky and your ball has landed in an awkward spot between rough and fairway, path and fairway or a position similar to this. The effect of this will be that you will not be able to get a very clear swing at the ball and it will not go quite as far.

Once you are on the green, you are only allowed to use a putter. The distance given (i.e. the range) is now in feet. The maximum distance that can be obtained on a flat green is shown on the reference card. A ball hit at 50% of maximum on-green putting power will travel only 50% of the maximum distance etc. Unfortunately most greens are not flat and this makes putting a skill that will need to be acquired by a lot of practice.

The slope indicator on the control panel shows the direction of the slope and the length of the line indicates the steepness of the slope (the longer the line, the steeper the slope). Please note that the effects are obviously different to the wind indicator.

If there is more than one player in a game, the computer will automatically determine who is to play the next shot. At the start of the game, the players play their first shots in the order in which they typed in their names. After this, the player who is the farthest from the hole always plays next. After the first hole, the players play in the order of completion of the last hole. The player who played the least number of strokes plays first, etc, etc.

During the game you may encounter some of the following words. Here is a description of what they mean:

Glen Aiger
Eagle Park