Spinning the Ball
Your right analog stick will put spin on the ball if you move it before you swing. Let's say you have a 114 yard shot to the pin, but you have a lob wedge that says it will go 94 yards. Rather than switching clubs and having to ease up on a pitching wedge you can gently push up on the right analog, making sure the ball icon is spinning forward and straight and the shot will go up to 124 yards, with minimal wind and green elevation. This will also cause a ball to go lower and through the wind better as well as get some roll on the green.
If you want to put backspin on the ball just pull the right analog back and fire away, this will shorten your shot by making it go higher but it will land and stop quicker, even spin backwards with short irons. I recommend getting used to the game before applying spin to your shots but you will need to master this to be competitive. I always put topspin on my drives to get the ball to go farther, this will become second nature to you eventually.
Chipping 101
OK, so you missed the green and it's time to chip, what to do? Here are some sure fire ways to chip and get your distances half way right at least. When it's time to chip you will automatically have a pitching wedge set to chip at 48 yards, this is not what I recommend for all instances. A lob wedge is a great club for chipping, it will say 48 yards also but it is lying to you. A full lob wedge on chip will go around 30 yards depending on whether you're chipping uphill, downhill, from the fairway or the rough, so from 30 yards and in this is your club. The sand wedge can also be used to chip with but if you have a 48 to 50 yard chip, the pitching wedge is your club, don't forget about elevation and rough though, it always applies and will make the shot vary.
I will only say one thing about the flop shot, because you need to be skilled to use it and the distances are always lying to you with a flop. Let's say you have a 70 yard shot on pretty flat ground from the fairway, a lob wedge is a tough one to get close with a regular shot. Press and hold the B button and change your shot to a flop, then click your triggers until you have pitching wedge. Line your shot up, gently put forward spin on the ball and hit a full shot, this should put you inside 10 feet for an easy putt.
Drive for Show, Putt for Dough
You can hit every fairway and green on the course but you have to putt or you won't score, it's that simple. The putting on this game is fairly simple, at least on the intermediate and beginner levels. You will have a blue directional line that shows the 'break of the green' (or what we might call elevation changes). You may also want to click your left analog stick, doing so will bring up a grid. Hit the X button and it will trace the line at eye level, this is a very good way to read the green.
Aside from practicing there are a couple of tips I can give you on putting. A downhill putt will break more than an uphill putt. Speed is everything so on intermediate watch your meter closley. The first two lines will be 10 and 20 feet respectfully, adjusting for up and downhill of course. Now, that third line will lie to you everytime; take it to the 3rd line and think 30 feet and you're in for a 40 foot surprise. The best thing you can do with a 30 footer is line it up as closely as you can and stop short of the third line, I like to call it 28 feet and it's hard to explain without a visual. Just remember that after the 3rd line putts go farther then you think, the best thing to do is practice. The skill challenges in the career mode will help you out more then anything with putting.
