The next significant update to the GC, version 4.1, is in the works. Among other things, it will contain some enhancements to the All in One Menu. Currently, the All in One Menu recognizes the type of lie you have and applies any effects for you automatically. But it doesn’t enforce any club or shot restrictions that may be required by Master Game rules.
While you can easily open the Lie Adjustments and Restrictions chart from within the All in One Menu, it doesn’t really do anything with that information at present. You have to know which clubs are permitted in certain situations and what kind of shots are prohibited per Master Game rules (e.g., no aiming when stymied). That’s about to change.
The All in One Menu in GC 4.1 will mostly make the Lie Adjustments and Restrictions chart obsolete. If all works out according to plan, any restrictions will be conveyed to you automatically in the form of pop-up messages, some of which may require user input. Here is a GC 4.1 example of a pop-up message when the player is stymied.
In this case, the player has the option of playing it Safe or Aggressive. He is told that if he chooses Aggressive, the maximum club he can use is a 7-Iron, and he can’t aim as far as the Master Game rules go. (The Game Caddie won’t stop you from aiming, though.) After selecting Aggressive and clicking on Choose, the GC 4.1 All in One Menu will gray out all clubs longer than a 7-Iron so they can’t be selected.
Of course, if you don’t like having such restrictions enforced, you can always close the All in One Menu and play the regular way. The All in One Menu is really for users who are willing to accept the Master Game rules as written (and interpreted by me). If you have homebrew rules you play by, great! But the All in One Menu probably isn’t for you.
The feedback I’ve gotten so far is that the current All in One Menu significantly speeds things up and makes it easier to play the Master Game, because you don’t have to remember so much stuff (e.g., 2nd rolls for wind and lies). Hopefully, the enhancements in GC 4.1 will do even more of that by incorporating the Lie Adjustments and Restrictions chart information into how the All in One Menu works.
If you have suggestions about what you’d like to see in a future GC update, please share them in the Comments below. I’m always looking for ideas.
I don’t have a problem playing by the rules, at least when I understand them. Thanks for making the rules clearer by creating this menu. The Pop Ups and reminders are very helpful.