Chapter 79: Baseline Suppression (1)
Anyways, the rounding members were determined. Jang Yoon Shik, who determined the course, as well as Jo pro and Lee pro stepped forward. Including me, there were four people.
Everybody lightly started to warm up. They swung the wedge, long iron, wood, and driver as well.
“Kang pro, practice a bit.”
Honestly, I don’t need practice, since I hit using a skill. I usually just do some light stretching to loosen my muscles and get right to it.
“I will swing things just once each.”
I sent the ball 30 meters with the sand wedge, 140 meters with the 7 iron, and 250 meters with the driver. They pretty much went in the direction and distance that I expected.
“Oh, nice form! You seem to be full of strength!”
“His head doesn’t move, and he has a nice leg kick. You learned properly.”
Of course. Even after the skill was created, I showed my form to the best pros to continue fine tuning it. Thanks to that, it is a textbook form with no issues at all. And the form that is created is saved in the skill, so it never changes.
“I am all prepared.”
“Already? Young people loosen up really quickly.”
“That’s how confident he is. Let’s get started.”
That ‘young people,’ business. If someone else heard it, they’d think I was rounding with 70 year old grandpas.
The boss came over to set the computer.
But the difficulty must be high. The difficulty had 5 stars, which was the highest level, and the green difficulty was 4 stars.
“How should we set the mode?”
“The same as usual. Front tee with pro mode, three mulligans, concede 1 meter, wind ……”
Jang Yoon Shik continued to talk. The majority of the Lions members seemed to play with such a mode.
But isn’t it too close if it is the front tee?
Other than my first two times, I have only rounded at the back tee. When compared to the front tee, it is approximately 40 meters further.
I feel like today’s game is going to be a breeze.
Not that it matters. The conditions are the same.
And if the mode is going to make me fail the entrance exam, I need to throw away any thoughts of making a name for myself through golf.
“How is it Kang pro? These settings are okay right?”
“I do not care about things like that.”
“You really are full of confidence. Your skill can match it right? I don’t like people who are all talk without having any talent, so you have to do well.”
Did he say his name was Jang Yoon Shik? Why is he being so annoying? Can he really not stand me becoming a member of the club that much?
“The rules are the same as usual. 10,000 won per tee, and multipliers approved.”
They really were rich people. If it was 10,000 won per tee, and there is a large difference in skills, you could lose 1 million won in a single rounding.
“Should we empty our newbie’s pockets a bit? I’m not sure how full it is.”
“I expected it and made sure to bring enough with me.”
The rounding started.
The first hole is a 431 meter par 4 hole. But, because we are using the front tee, the actual distance is only 393 meters.
But the course really was difficult. The course is shaped like a crescent moon with a lake to the left, and the fairway is really narrow. Just looking at it makes you feel stuffy.
Jang Yoon Shik, who was the most senior in the club, stepped forward as the owner.
But he grabbed the wood instead of a driver for his tee shot.
“If you get greedy and aim for a two-on in this one, you will fail. The method here is to approach it safely. I will be the guide, so just follow me.”
Does he have some skills? There’s a lot of arrogance in his movement. And the way he is showing off trying to teach the other members as well. Jang Yoon Shik swung the wood.
The ball flew only about 170 meters. But it was where the fairway was the widest. As he had mentioned, it was the safe, but accurate path.
He seems to be at least good when it comes to accuracy. The ball flew in a straight line and landed in the middle of the fairway.
Jo pro and Lee pro followed Jang Yoon Shik and used their wood to hit 170 meter. Almost as if that was normal in this course.
But unlike Jang Yoon Shik, they could not stay on the fairway. Their balls landed in the rough.
Especially Jo pro, whose ball went into the out of bound (OB) area before hitting a tree and bouncing back in.
Even the system had something to say about it.
To break it down, he was about to get screwed, but survived thanks to the tree.
“Wow. Jo pro, you are lucky today.”
“It’s okay. There isn’t much difference between the rough and fairway in screen.”
Jang Yoon Shik also consoled Jo pro.
Next was my turn.
I debated while the other members were hitting their shots.
‘Do I land it in one shot? Or do I follow what they did?’
Honestly, I am still a beginner in golf. I don’t have much experience, and most importantly, my putting is weak. I can control my strength to a decent level, but reading the line is so difficult that I usually never manage to sink the ball with a single putt.
But it was a different story for the driver and iron. If you hit it with the same strength and same form, the ball always goes in the same direction and the same distance.
Thanks to that, I am confident that I am pretty good with at least the driver and iron, even with direction and distance.
Especially when it comes to the driver, I don’t think I would lose even to a real pro.
The course seemed pretty easy too.
The distance is 393 meters, but since it is curved like a crescent moon, a direct line is only about 360 meters. In addition, the wind is moving forward at 4.7 meters per hour, so it will push the ball further ahead, and the downward slope is fairly steep, at 12 meters.
If I think about sending it 310 meters, the wind and slope will affect it enough that I think it will land on the green.
‘Ah, I am lacking 10 meters.’
The maximum distance with my driver is 300m.
There is only a 3% chance of error.
If it hits really well, it can go a little further, but there is also the chance it will go less. Which means, if I am unlucky, it will not go far enough and the ball can land in the lake.
I did not debate for a long time.
‘Whatever, I’ll just take a hazard and continue on.’
Even if that happened, I would only have a single stroke penalty. Plus, seeing the way everyone else was hitting, they were aiming for a 3 swing on-green. There was plenty of chances to recover.
‘I might as well give them some baseline suppression.’
Unlike the other members, I grabbed the driver. And then I cautiously asked.
“Can we use the mulligan?”
A mulligan is something where if you don’t like the shot, you have a chance to say, ‘one more time.’ I verified that they put 3 of them in when they set up the game.
But Jang Yoon Shik cut it down as if there was no chance.
“We don’t use mulligans. The reason we put 3 of them in there was if there was a miss-shot not related to the game that happens.”
Honestly, I didn’t really need the mulligan. I was confident I could recover even with a hazard.
But the reason I asked about the mulligan was to create an effect. I wanted to set the mood that there was a chance I would fail, but I was still attempting it.
“Is that so? If there was a mulligan, I was thinking about trying for a one-swing on-green.”
The gallery’s eyes turned wide at my words.
“What? On-green in one shot?”
“Is that possible in a 393 meter course?”
“He’s saying he’s going to send it past the lake. He must be a distance hitter.”
“Wow. We might be able to see something good for the first time in a while. Should we allow him to use the mulligan once?”
“Let’s let him. Since he’s a new member, let’s give him one mulligan. Let’s see a refreshing shot for the first time in a long time.”
“I approve of the mulligan.”
The atmosphere was created. That was how crazy of a challenge they considered this tee-shot on-green to be.
Jang Yoon Shik happily nodded his head.
“Okay. But there is a fine. OB or hazard, 30,000 won, Bunker, 10,000 won.”
Pssh, you think I’d be afraid of 30,000 won?
“I understand.”
I changed the direction of the screen. Almost as if I was sending the ball to the middle of the lake.
I needed to completely cross the lake to land on the green.
“Wow, he really is planning on getting it there in one shot.”
“Cool!”
Since there were so many gallery members, it was loud. But they did not have bad manners. Once I finished my practice swings and got in position, they became completely quiet.
[Driver 300 skill: Intermediate level 6, 14%]
This is the longest distance I can hit with my driver.
It wasn’t 300 meters from the beginning. The name of the skill was originally just, ‘Driver skill,’ but once I managed to control the distance, it became, ‘Driver 230 skill.’
Which means, when the skill was first completed, the maximum distance was 230 meters.
But as I continued to practice, the skill level went up, and I received help from the experts to fix my swing form, the distance slowly started to increase.
There was no other way. My form was slowly adjusted as I noticed that, ‘If I do it like this, it goes a bit further,’ and the muscles required for the driver continued to develop.
Thanks to that, the maximum distance, which was 230 meters, became 250 meters, and then 270 meters, until it finally reached 300 meters. Each time that happened, the skill name continued to change.
I opened the skill and swung the club as strongly as I could. Even while using the skill, a slight power control is still possible.
Booooooong-
A strong noise of wind. Following that a refreshing noise could be heard.
Bang – Pheeeeeeeeeeeeew!
The moment the club hit the ball, the speaker let out a, ‘Bang!’ noise that sounded like a gun.
It is the charm of screen golf. If the impact is properly delivered, it creates sound effects like this.
A really enjoyable noise.
I waited until I finished my follow swing and then turned my head to look at the screen.
There was only one thing I was looking for.
‘Screen, change!’
Did it feel my desire? As the ball flew straight forward, the screen suddenly changed. Almost like a heli-cam was used to follow the ball from about 10 meters behind it.
This is also a charm of screen golf. If the ball looks like it will land in a safe location and not in an OB or hazard area, the screen changes and shows you a new view.
Which means, the fact that the screen changed means that the ball safely crossed the lake.
The galley was cheering as well.
“Wow! The screen changed!”
“Wow, he crossed that thing?”
“Oh, I think it’s going to get on the green.”
“It’s on the green!”
They’re really loud.
But having them shout on the side makes it feel like I really am playing golf.
As the gallery mentioned, the ball continued to fly forward until it rode the wind and slowly turned to the left.
It was the exact distance and direction I was aiming for.
The ball barely managed to cross the lake and landed in the rough area, before taking a pretty high bounce and rolling on top of the green.
The following situation was broadcasted by the gallery.
“Wow, the distance is the only disappointment. If it rolled a little more, it was an eagle chance!”
“This is an eagle chance as well. A 14 meter putt is doable if you are lucky.”
The ball stopped around 14 meters away from the hole. It was further than I had expected.
But this is still good. I was ready for it to fall in the lake, but it landed on the green so it 100% is a success.
Clapclapclap-
The gallery clapped for me without reservation.
“Wow, nice shot!”
“For a shot like this to come out here!”
“He needed one shot to prove his skills! I feel like I’m going to get a good show today!”
The atmosphere made it feel like I was successfully in.
But I didn’t manage to break the wall of one person.
Jang Yoon Shik.
He seems to have made up his mind to be my anti from beginning to the end.
“The distance really was amazing. However, the important thing is consistency. Do not show off too much from getting lucky once.”
You’ll find out whether it is just luck or not as we continue.
I waited until the other members hit their balls. The rule of golf is that the ones who have the most distance left hits first.
All of them took two more hits to land on the green.
Jang Yoon Shik’s skills were the best, as expected. It was a 30 meter short approach, and he managed to put the ball just 3 meters from the hole.
Jang Yoon Shik was being arrogant again.
“Did you see that? Golf is all about the finish. No matter how well you hit with the driver, it is just one hit. If you make a mistake, you can lose a lot of points after that.”
You won’t know whether it will be one hit or two hits or even three hits until you actually hit it.
Anyways, it was my turn again.
The system clearly described the situation.
“There is some break.”
“Even more important than the break, you need to calculate the distance well. There is a high slope.”
As the gallery mentioned, there was a decent slope. The green tilted a bit to the left and the slope was 50 centimeters.
Which means, I need to send it about 5 meters further than usual to get the same distance.
Honestly, putting is the part I am least confident about. It is because I am lacking real life experience.
I also have the least amount of putting practice. Since it isn’t as refreshing as the driver, I am not motivated to do it.
But my distance is accurate. It is thanks to creating putting skills at the 3 meter, 5 meter, 7 meter, 10 meter etc. for all kinds of distances.
Thanks to that, even if there is a bit of an error, I would be able to get it from 20 meters to 2 meters without a problem.
But I was not satisfied with that much.
It was because of Jang Yoon Shik. The way he is acting is annoying me. I might as well succeed this eagle putt to shove it in his face.
‘Let’s try it. You can do it.’
I just need to pretend that the hole is about half a club’s distance to the right.
I prepared my address, [1] and opened the skill.
[Putting 20 skill: Intermediate level 2, 16%]
______________________________
[1] starting form for golf
PR: So much golf terminology… T.T
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