I’ll certainly be hosting more tournaments in the near future, so keep an eye out here and on the EA Forums for announcements. For those of you who aren’t fans of these extreme settings and conditions, rest assured knowing that my tournaments won’t always have extreme settings, and I plan on hosting some amateur tournaments as well. I’ll continue offering real prizes when I can, but if nothing else, I’ll be sure to keep the prize purses nice and fat so you can at least get paid well for your efforts and help your leaderboard status, whatever that might be. Thanks again to all those who participated, and I look forward to doing it again very soon!

P.S. BlairWeezy, I have to apologize for doubting your abilities. I didn’t see any way that Skinnie’s score could be beat. You did a great job and the TPX king has officially been de-throned! Congrats!

Tired of finding the game too easy? Ready to really test your skills? Welcome to the NCD Extreme Challenge! Get ready for 24 hours of grueling competition in the most difficult online tournament offered since the launch of Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11.

For my first extreme challenge, I am sending you to Bay Hill. That’s all you need to know for now. But! I am going to make it worth your efforts. First, I have increased the prize pool to $50 Million, instead of the usual $32 Million. So the top spots will earn a handsome chunk of change to help you advance on the leaderboards. In addition to this, I am offering a free copy of Madden 2011 for the Wii to the winner, furnished by our good friends at EA Sports!

Think you have what it takes? The NCD Extreme Challenge awaits you! You’ll find it in-game as a Daily Pro selection within the Live Tournaments section online. The tournament will open on Labor Day, September 6th, and will run for 24 hours. Good luck, and I’ll see you out there!

When I first tried out the Chicken Stick in Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11 for the Wii, it obviously took me a few swings to get the hang of it. The first major difference is that it provides a considerable amount of extra weight in your hands as opposed to holding the Wii remote by itself. It also lets you feel like you’re actually swinging something on a stick, and not just swinging your arms around while holding onto a piece of plastic. My issue with this, however, is that I didn’t like having that feeling on longer shots like drives and long-iron approaches. I felt like I had lost a lot of control over the angle of my virtual club head, and I found it difficult to adjust accordingly. Most of my shots using the TourPro swing mode had closed club faces of about 10-12 degrees, which is pretty bad. I’m sure with some practice I could dial it in a little better, but I honestly like having the remote itself in my hands because of the precise control I have over its subtle movement.

I found the Chicken Stick really enhanced my short game, however. Putts feel amazing with the Chicken Stick. The extra weight allowed me to keep my swing path on line quite easily, and the extra length added on made me feel like I was really putting. Chip and pitch shots were similar. When taking shorter strokes with shorter clubs, the Chicken Stick really made my shots feel comfortable and natural.

Let’s talk about the design for a moment. This thing is quite sturdy and well-made. I had no doubt that the casing would hold on to my remote and MotionPlus quite well. The remote casing is also screwed into a real steel shaft, and so there were no worries of anything snapping off mid-swing. There was no way to wear my safety strap, however. I felt a little weird not having that on (since I always play with it), and there was also nowhere to store it or secure it. This meant that if I didn’t want it flapping around while using the Chicken Stick, I’d have to remove it, which could become quite bothersome if I was switching back and forth between my naked remote and using the Chicken Stick.

Another feature that bothered me as a hardcore player was the ring that you pull to activate your B button. When I play with the Wii remote by itself, I pull the B button with my left hand. But when I hold the Chicken Stick, I use a real golf grip, which means my right hand is lower on the shaft, and the only one with a finger available to pull the ring. This just felt weird as well, and it also put more tension in my right hand since I was having to hold the ring in, and this caused me to swing more with my right arm than with my left. This not only went against the way I was used to swinging, but also against general golf swing techniques as well.

Finally, I think have to mention the price, which is listed at badchicken.com as $39.93. Honestly, I could never see myself paying that much for this product. I thought it was fun to try and that it legitimately added realism to some parts of my game, but not enough to make me fork over almost as much as the game itself. I appreciate the attempt at making a quality product with name-brand grips and shafts, but I don’t really see the need for True Temper shafts when the shaft really plays no role in the function of the product the way it does when swinging a real club. I feel like they could have sawed off a few inches of a steel pipe and gotten the same result. The grip is definitely nice, but I’d rather have a generic grip on there if it mean we could knock a few bucks off this thing. If the Chicken Stick were listed at $19.99, I would maybe start thinking about it.

All in all, the Chicken Stick is a good product. If you have the extra cash and are looking to add realism to your game, I think it would be a good buy. If you are a hardcore player and play competitively in clubs on a regular basis, I would stick to your game with the Wii remote by itself. You’ll sacrifice too much feel and control by taking the remote out of your hands, and that’s definitely not what you want when standing on the first tee of a TourPro Expert Settings match. Feel free to ask more questions below and I’ll be glad to answer them.

Before I begin, I need to let you know of my little disclaimer: I’m constantly experimenting with my club selection and tuning, and so this isn’t necessarily my permanent setup. But, I should also tell you that this setup is the one I’ve kept the longest so far in TW11, and I’ll most likely stick with this for a good while longer. In other words, it’s working pretty well for me!

Let’s first begin with my club selection. I use a typical “6 Wedge” setup, which consists of all 6 wedge options, a Driver, and some combination of irons and woods. Here are my current clubs and distances. The yardages listed on the left are the natural distances for each club, and the yardages on the right are what I get when I focus power during a match.

Now let me explain some of my choices here:

• The Driver – The 8.5 degree driver is an easy choice because it’s the driver that can get you the maximum distance, and that’s all I care about. The higher lofted drivers get less distance because they are more lofted, and the 8 degree driver gets less distance because its loft is too low to the ground. So the 8.5 degree is the clear choice here.

• The 3 Wood – I include a 3 wood for two main scenarios. The first scenario is that rare shot where I’m on a long par 5 and somehow managed to leave myself 300 yards from the green. This hardly ever happens, but when it does, it’s nice to have a chance to get it there and still make eagle. The second scenario is when I simply need less distance and more control than my driver. I’ll use my 3 wood when I need to lay up off the tee, either to avoid a hazard or to play a safety. The 3 wood also comes in handy when I’m trying to reach a drivable par 4 green in one shot and need more control. I don’t often use my 3 wood, but when I do, it’s usually in a critical situation where I’m either giving myself a chance to score against my opponent, or I’m desperate to dig myself out of a jam after an errant tee shot.

• The Mid Irons – I only carry 5 irons (remember, the PW is actually classified as an iron) so that I can allow 6 wedges in my bag. The goal here is to just cover the gaps from your 3 wood to your AW. The way I do that is to spread them evenly. The 1 iron is there for long approaches, either on a long par 3 playing into the wind, or for a long par 5 that is either uphill or into the wind. A lot of players choose a 7 wood here, but I like the control of an iron and the ability to stick it on the green with added loft and spin. Some players argue that the 7 wood can do the same thing, but I’ve just always used the 1 iron and it works well for me, so you can try both and see which one you like better.  The 3, 5, and 7 irons just cover all the mid-range distances.

• The PW – The PW is a club I’ve been struggling with. You’ll see that my AW actually goes further than my PW. Because of this, I thought I could use a 9 iron instead, which would give me good coverage on those awkward par 3 distances where a 7 iron is too much, but a wedge won’t make it. This was working great for a while, until I realized that I no longer had a long, 60 yard pitch shot. What started happening was that I kept finding myself 60 yards from the hole, with no shot other than a 55% HLW. It was really hurting my short game, because I always had to pull off some weird, lofted/partial shot to make it to the cup. I was making too many mistakes this way, and I decided that I had to have my 60-yard pitch shot back. So pretty much the only reason my PW is in there is for that pitch shot. It also covers the half-way point between my AW and GW if I need it to.

• The Wedges – This is the most important part of my setup. Most of your scoring opportunities are going to come from approaches within 160 yards. It makes sense, then, to stack yourself with as many options as possible within this range. Since I play a loft game, I want to have as many 100% shots available to me as possible. Another important part of my wedge setup is the pitch shot. When I’m within 60 yards, I’m giving myself 7 (if you include the PW) different options for pitching. I find it difficult to dial in partial percentages on pitch shots, so I’d much rather just have the ability to add a few points of loft to a 100% shot. Another crucial part of my game, especially when playing TourPro with Expert Settings (so no putt preview or aiming circle) is the flop shot. Check out that HLW flop shot: only 10 yards!! This is great when I just miss the green and need to stick a short little shot right next to the pin. When I have no aiming circle or putt preview, I need to give myself the best possible chance to get up and down from off the green. The flop shot is my most valuable tool to get that done. I’ve thought about ditching the HLW many times, but because of these scenarios, I find those super short pitch and flop shots to be too valuable!

So that’s my club setup. It’s good to have very specific goals in mind when choosing clubs. Also, you need to pay attention to what types of shots you play most during a match, and adjust your club setup accordingly.

OK, let’s move on to club tuning. There’s nothing magical about the way I tune my clubs, but I do have specific reasons for some of my choices. Below you’ll find pictures of the in-game tuning page for each of my club sets, with explanations of my choices beneath each one.

First off, here is my driver tuning:

Power goes to maximum for obvious reasons. My workability gets tuned to minimum to help with my miss hits. When you decrease workability it increases accuracy, so the blue and yellow lines in the picture move closer to the center green line. This means that when I open or close my club face, the ball will draw/fade less. But watch out, because max power still makes your club super sensitive to miss hits. If you are having trouble hitting straight, tune power down to a manageable level. You don’t want to sacrifice consistency for extra distance. Find a good balance between power and accuracy for your own game. Also keep in mind that lower workability restricts your ability to purposefully add draw and fade to your shot.

The Draw and Fade category gets left at default, because I don’t have any draw/fade effects in my shot that are consistent enough to correct through tuning. You can see the Loft category is increased ever so slightly. Basically this is because you can add a few points of loft without losing distance. More loft is always better because it helps your shots land softer, so if I can get some “free” loft here without losing distance, I’ll take it. I’ve got my spin tuned to the maximum here because it adds backspin to my shot. Since it’s a driver, you don’t really get the full effect of backspin like the shorter clubs, but it does add a bunch of loft to my shot without sacrificing distance. That’s the important part. Again, any “free” loft we can get, we should take!

OK, time for the woods category:

Since you already know about power and workability, let’s skip right to loft. I have my 3 wood tuned to just about maximum loft. Remember that I’m mostly using my 3 wood to lay up and to hit drivable par 4 greens in one shot, so I’ll need to do all I can to make the landing softer. Loft is a great way to do that. By tuning my loft to maximum (or nearly maximum), I’m losing 10 yards off my default distance, but I’m gaining stability and control. Remember, my driver is listed at 340, so if I really need to make a shot around 330 or 320, I can always loft that up manually in the game. I’d much rather have the ability to somewhat “stick” my 3 wood (as much as you can do that with a 3 wood) when I need it to for those crucial, “must hit the green” shots. When I’m using my 3 wood, it’s always about control. I’m either laying up to a specific spot on the fairway, or I’m trying to hit a green, so I really want to try and land as softly as possible. Spin is tuned to maximum for the same reason as the driver. I get “free” loft at no loss of distance, and this will also help my 3 wood shots bite more when they hit the green.

Next up, it’s the irons category:

There’s not much to say here, because you know the drill by now. Power gives me distance, low workability gives me control. The full loft/spin combo is again used to help my shots stick to the green. My mid irons are mostly used for longer par 3 tee shots, so I’m going to want those to stick as much as possible. Now that we’re into the irons, you’re going to see the max spin produce more of an effect. With the spin at maximum, my irons will usually land, take about two hops, then bite hard. If you are playing with the in-game spin turned on, you can apply backspin to your shot to amplify this effect even further if you need to.

Lastly, the wedges:

This is where things get a little screwy. First of all, power and workability get the same treatment. But now look at loft. I’ve got it tuned to the minimum! Why would you ever want to de-loft a wedge!? The answer: DISTANCE! I’m able to add about 10 extra yards to my wedges by de-lofting them, but I still get the effects and benefits of a short, lofted club. The result is lots of control, and greater range. This is why my AW hits further than my PW. I can now cover any distance within 160 yards with a wedge. That is huge for my approach game! The trade-off is that they feel a little different out on the course and you kind of have to get used to them. They tend to react a little differently with the wind as well, so you have to be careful with that too. This is still an experimental part of my game, but so far I’m loving it. My wedge shots still land pretty much the same, but don’t tend to get that unexpected backspin any longer. So my shots now seem more consistent and predictable. Lastly, I notched the spin up a few points to again get my “free” loft without sacrificing any of my distance.

And that’s it! I know it was a long one, but this is pretty much everything I know about club setup and tuning. I hope it helps you with your own. Remember that you really have to pay attention to your own game and set up something that works for you, but hopefully this will give you a good place to start. If you have questions or comments, please leave them below as I love to get feedback from you all!

***Keep in mind that when Yardage Markers are turned ON, this turns the aiming circle OFF by default. So turning on Yardage Markers actually INCREASES game difficulty.

The first thing you need to know about the TourPro swing mode, is that it involves placing a “virtual ball” on the ground before you even start your swing. As soon as you point your remote to the ground and hold the B button, the game places the virtual ball at the spot at which you are pointing. This will determine how well-coordinated your swing path is with the actual location of the ball. You may have noticed already that if they aren’t matched up, you can actually miss the ball completely.

So the first thing you want to notice about your swing, is where it is you are contacting the ball. When you hit your shot, some part of the ball graphic on the screen will light up orange and flash to show you where you made contact. You obviously want to hit the ball square in the middle, and if you are not doing that, you need to evaluate how your ball position relates to your swing. With my natural swing path, I tend to want to bring the club on the outside of the ball, furthest from my body. This puts a nasty counter-clockwise spin on my ball and it hook-shanks to the left. So the way I fix this is by placing the virtual ball further from my body before I take my swing. By doing this, I can take my normal swing, but I’m essentially moving the ball a little further out so that it makes contact with the sweet spot of my club. This allows me to hit the ball square while not changing my swing. If you are hitting the inside of the ball, you would want to do the opposite and place the ball closer to your body in order to move it closer to the sweet spot of your natural swing.

The important thing to notice is that while you are placing the ball in a different location, you’ll want to swing on your normal swing path. So if you place the ball further from your body, don’t alter your swing so that you have to swing further from your body as well. The point is to keep your natural swing while altering the ball position.

The last part of your swing is your wrist action. This is what produces the open/closed factor of your club head. You’ll notice when you swing that the on-screen graphics report whether you were open or closed. That is the angle at which your club head struck the ball. This is what produces the curve at the end of your shot. If you leave the club head open, your shot will fade right, and if you close it, your shot will draw left. As long as you keep your club angle at less than 10 degrees, you’ll usually be all right and will get a fairly straight shot. Keep in mind that a little curve at the end won’t hurt you. My natural TourPro swing is inside to out, with a little draw on the end. So my shot initially heads off to the right, but then draws back in at the end to give me a straight shot. The more curve you have on your shot, the more distance you will lose, so if you do have a natural draw or fade, make sure it isn’t costing you valuable distance on your drives.

Those are the basics of the TourPro swing. You really have to mess with it to find your own swing. I’m sure the method I described above won’t work for everybody, but hopefully those tips will help you correct some problems in your swing. Most players I’ve talked to report an inside to out swing with a little draw at the end. So if that’s what you are experiencing, you’re on your way to a successful swing. But like I mentioned above, make sure that the distance you are getting on your shots somewhat lines up with the distance listed on your club, and that will give you an idea of where you stand. As always, feel free to leave questions or comments below, and I’ll be glad to help/clarify where I can. Hit ‘em straight!

These videos were shot at the brand new Whistling Straits course, and I have most of the help features like spin, putt preview, and the putt meter turned off for a more realistic experience. Enjoy!

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