I am brand new to the APBA Golf game and community. I just received my first order from APBA about a week ago. It consisted of the base game, the All-Time Greats set, and twelve golf courses.
My name is Troy a.k.a. Washmeister. I am 58 years old and live in Salt Lake City. I have been playing sports simulation games of some sort or fashion since 1974 when I started playing Strat-O-Matic baseball and basketball with a friend. My gaming journey has expanded greatly from those times of my youth to where I am currently at today. I am retired and have more time on my hands than I know what to do with.
I recently discovered the Game Caddie tool from a video on IDJESTER’s YouTube channel, featuring Scott and IDJESTER explaining how the Game Caddie works and how to use it with the APBA Golf game. Just from watching that one video (which immediately peaked my interest) a whole new world of gaming opened up for me that I had no idea existed. I discovered the APBA Golf game world.
I soon discovered several resources and materials for the APBA golf game that would drastically shorten my learning curve process. I am going to share the learning process for the Game Caddie and the APBA Golf game that worked for me and I hope will help others as well. However, I realize people learn differently so I cannot guarantee it will work for everyone, but I have a feeling it will help most gamers who are new to this game.
I would now like to share my recommended materials and resources to help you get started playing the APBA Golf Master Game using the Game Caddie. I am going to assume you already own the APBA Golf game.
- The very first thing to do is contact Scott by email (smohler9@gmail.com) and have him send you the latest version of the Game Caddie to use with the APBA Golf game.
- The second thing is go to the Downloads page of the Game Caddie website. Then download/print out all of the materials for future reference, as they will come in handy later on when playing the game.
- The third thing is to go to the YouTube channels for the Game Caddie and IDJESTER and watch all of the tutorial videos a few times. Follow along as to what they are trying to demonstrate and explain. It will help tremendously later on.
- The fourth thing is my personal learning method suggestion. I feel it really clarifies and solidifies the flow and mechanics of the APBA Golf game. I believe it will help with understanding and playing the game effortlessly.
I recommend playing with the cards and dice–first keeping score on paper. Play 18 holes with only one golfer using NO wind conditions, NO course conditions, NO lie restrictions, and NO dogleg calculations. Just play a very basic game to get the hang of the flow and mechanics of APBA Golf. However, play with sand traps and trees so you understand how they affect the shots you take.
Then play another 18-hole round of cards and dice using two golfers this time. Use the same criteria you did with only one golfer. Keep in mind it will be slow and time consuming at first because you are still learning the game. It took me three to four hours to complete an 18-hole round, but I learned a lot along the way.
What the cards and dice method did for me was to get me into the flow and groove of how the game works. I also learned the mechanics of the game at the core level which helped a lot. Then adding to that the wonderful tutorial videos and BAM! I could use the Game Caddie with little or no problems at all. Occasionally, there is something obscure that pops up like “absolute 0 LR5” which will take a little research to figure out, but that’s a pretty rare occurrence.
- The fifth, and I feel very important step, is to print out the Game Caddie user guide and read it. It will become a valuable reference source if any difficulties arise using the Game Caddie.
To summarize, all I did to prepare myself for my first round using the Game Caddie was:
- learned the flow and mechanics of the game
- read the user guide and rules
- watched the tutorial videos
- played two 18-hole rounds using the cards and dice
Then I went and played my first 18-hole round using the Game Caddie, playing with Fred Couples at the Metro DC course. I was very surprised at how fun and easy it was for me to get into the flow of the game using the Game Caddie. I was actually able to plan my shots and use strategy on each hole. I really felt like I was playing golf.
The Game Caddie gives you very good and useful information that you can use to your advantage. I was able to effectively plan, pinpoint, and execute my shots based on the Game Caddie information. This was unlike any other golf game experience I’ve ever had and I was loving it.
So, my round with Fred Couples went well. I shot -3 on the front nine and -3 on the back nine for a total of -6 for the round. I did have one surprise on the 17th hole. I chipped it in from about 20 yards from the pin. I didn’t even realize it until I went to calculate my distance from the pin and it read IN. I was absolutely shocked to say the least. Beginner’s luck! This round took me about an hour to play.
The complete scorecard is shown in the PDF viewer below.
The next day, I played a second round consisting of 9 holes at Metro DC with Tom Watson, Gary Player, Lee Trevino, and Johnny Miller. I won’t go into the details except to say they didn’t play as well as Fred Couples played the day before. It took about a total of two hours for the round. I did manage to find the water and some bunkers and traps, so it took a little longer to work through those hazards. Not too difficult though.
Here’s the basic Game Caddie scorecard for those 9 holes.
I have to say I can’t ever remember having so much fun playing a game as I have had playing APBA Golf using the Game Caddie. Maybe it’s an age-related thing. LOL. Not really, it’s just that APBA Golf using the Game Caddie is that good.
In fact, it’s so much fun that today as I am writing this, I decided to purchase more courses and card sets from APBA. I have been known to go “all in” when I find something I really like and I do like this. I purchased another 24 courses, and 16 season card sets. I rest my case!
My future plans with APBA Golf and the Game Caddie are to play some elimination tournaments and maybe some “as played” tournaments, starting with the original field of golfers. I have been thinking about how to create some kind of points/earnings system, too, so if anyone has done this already I would love to try it.
My advice for other new APBA Golf/Game Caddie players is to maybe give my system a try and see if it works for you as well. You really have nothing to lose except maybe a little time and sleep. I know it worked well for me and thought I’d share it with others in hopes they experience the same sort of fun I’ve had with APBA Golf and the Game Caddie.
I’ve learned so much already about the nuances of golf and how to play each hole one shot at a time based on the info that is available with the Game Caddie. It is truly amazing what the Game Caddie can do for a person’s GOLF I.Q. in such a short amount of time. I highly recommend the Game Caddie to anyone who is remotely or highly interested in the APBA Golf game.
The Game Caddie will forever change your perspective of the game of golf from the minute you use it. Not guaranteed to shave ten strokes off of your game, but I guarantee it will be the most fun you’ve had playing a golf game.
My only suggestion is concerning the scorecard, specifically, the “IN”, ”OUT”, and ”TOTAL” columns where it shows the +/- strokes at the bottom for the round. When a player is shooting even par I feel that if the word “EVEN” instead of being left blank was displayed there, it would make it easier to locate my current score and how I am doing at that moment. I know this is trivial but I really have to look closely when I am even par. It seems hard to zero in on my score.
In closing I feel the Game Caddie is one of the most awesome game tools I have found in a long time. Scott is very willing to help anyone who is having difficulties with the Game Caddie or the actual game. The best part is it’s FREE! The Game Caddie is truly a labor of love. Thank you so much Scott for sharing this wonderful tool with the APBA Golf community. My hats off to you sir.
Thank you all for reading this I really do appreciate it so much. May your wind be calm and your aim spot on. Take care my friends.
[Ed. note: Troy can be contacted at washmeister@hotmail.com.]