Maybe there was an elevation change you didn't consider. If the landing spot is a bunch of yeards lower than the spot you hit from than the ball will be in the air longer and therefore effected by the wind more strongly.

Anyways, there has to be some rational explanation because I'm not experiencing what you are.

You've been at this one for awhile .

I was able to beat that one by actually going up around the mountain and not over the long stretch of water.

I used Peach (non-star) and I'm on automatic too. First, hit the ball as far as it'll go but make sure it lands on the green fairway part. Next you move your aim so your aiming toward the green fairway spot at the top of the map screen, you might have to adjust by chaning the club or using the R button to decrease the distance. Then for your third shot if you max it out you should be able to shoot it right next to the flagpole. That way you'll be under par.

It is possible to do by going over the water but I found this way worked for me. It should work for Yoshi too. Try it this way, hope it helps .

The tutorial mode says that if you're using manual control you have the option to hook the ball left or right depending on where the cursor stops, and it is also amplified or hindered by wind conditions. Maybe thats happening? The farther you stop the cursor (might be closer, can't exactly remember which) the more it will slice off to one direction. There are other factors too such as impact zone that affect which way and how much the ball will go in one direction or another. Its complex stuff, I usually play on automatic except when I need spin .

You have to beat the character in challenge mode to get the star. I don't know if you get anything extra if you beat them all. The Novice... Expert thing is just to practice

ah duh you get it only when the char has the little envelope and is sending out a challenge to you, I thought I just beat any old player and got them a star, so now its on to getting them all stars. I got 4 courses now and almost beat the 4th but got +3 on last two holes and lost by one shot. Also unlocked a special character for finishing all the shot challenges, the 4th course should be much easier with a longer hitter now

Hole 18 on Course 4 is a doozy.

I was winning the tournament before that monster. I hit the ball too close to a wall and couldn't elevate enough to hit the green... yet I sure kept trying. Long story short... they made me stop when I hit 10+.

Felt so much like Tin Cup, it was crazy.

BTW I believe Course 5 is Peach's Invitational, the first Mario-esque course. Maybe that'll motivate you and Deftones, jdpatri

just got my first hole in one and then on the next hole I got another! it was on the birdie challenge (I got to the 8th hole once, damn that is frustrating!!)

That's the one that I'm pissed about. Stupid ass course.

Same thing happened to me. Turned my comfy 4 shot lead into a narrow 1 stroke victory.

So I was taking a shot and wanted to put a backspin on the shot. I accidentally hit A and in a fit of frustration immediately hit B (AB instead of AA) much to my surprise I got a 'Super Topspin'. I didn't see this in the lessons and it wasn't in the manual.

In a nutshell you can hit AB for Super Topspin and BA for Super Backspin. Has anyone seen this documented in the game or manual? I haven't done all the lessons so maybe it's in there and I missed it. I've never seen the computer do it either.

By the way, be careful with Super Backspin on the green, I shot from one end of the green to the other when I tried it the first time.

I haven't seen it in the manual, but I will have to try this out when I play tonight.

I just won the Peach Invitational. I used Waluigi* and ended up 4 under. What a fantastic course. I've been skeptical of fantasy courses since playing those terrible ones in Tiger Woods 2003. Even the final course in Mario Golf 64 wasn't much fun. Nintendo nailed this one though. Those pipes are a great addition too. They take the classic risk vs. reward element found in golf to a whole new level.

Homer: Thanks for the tip. Worked like a charm.

I got wasted on that one too. I actually read about it on this forum and tried to make sure it didn't happen to me but I accidentally overshot it too close to the wall. That one and that one in sands classic where you have the option of hitting it over the water or going around were really tough for me.

I just got to the Peach Invitational. Nice music .

Yeah I found this accidently this afternoon while playing some character matches.

I'm obsessed with character match. I'm on hole 17 using Yoshi against Mario and I'm 4 mushrooms to his three. It's been HARD! Hopefully Donkey Kong and Bowser are not that hard. I can't imagine them being harder than Mario.

I BEAT HIM!!!!!

After three days I finally beat Mario. Now it's on to Donkey Kong.

I'm eating my words

Finished the character matches today. Hey GatorDeb, try using someone with a long drive and play off the back tees. I was hoping for nice shiny brand new character but got nothing

Who did you use against Donkey Kong and against Bowser?

I think I used Waluigi on DK and Mario against Bowser.

The next one is no cake walk. My first time through I shot a +18, second time +4 (3rd)

Currently leading the Peach Invitational... had to save my match on the 13th hole because... well, I drank a little too much sangria and the wife wanted to watch Sex in the City.

Gonna have to go back at it tonight... when I'm a little more sober and can actually hit my swing marks.

I'm currently using Diddy Kong... I really enjoy monkeys flailing around with golf clubs.... plus he seems to hit the ball much further than my star Koopa (who I was using) even though he's only rated +7 more yards.

Yeah Donkey Kong kicked my butt too.

That guy doesn't miss any putts, had the early lead then blew it..

Digging the character matches, the tournys are good too, stuck on the 4th one, somehow I agree with deftones, at times my ball just acts all crazy on that course..

Like Super Monkey Ball 2, its dangerous to use a Wavebird when playing this game. I nearly threw it out the window on Waluigi, he's hard!

I think I'm done with this game. I'm on the last course. The "elements" are affecting the ball way to much for me to enjoy. When I have a clear shot to the green, and the perfect swing, tell me how it mysteriously blows off the green when there is no wind.