Walkthroughs

How to shoot some birdies on Everybody’s Golf (Hot Shots Golf) on PS Vita: Hints, tips, and tricks

A good walk(through) spoiled

How to shoot some birdies on Everybody’s Golf (Hot Shots Golf) on PS Vita: Hints, tips, and tricks
|
| Everybody's Golf

The great thing about Pocket Gamer Gold Award-winning Vita launch title Everybody’s Golf (Hot Shots Golf in the US) is that it’s an extremely easy game to pick up, whether you’re a pro golf gamer, veteran of the series, or someone sampling the genre for the first time.

Indeed, a lot of the tricks and techniques used in previous Everybody's Golf titles apply directly to this new edition. So, if you already know your Rising Shots from your Flyers, then you might want to skip down straight to the Crown guide at the end of the article.

If, however, you’re still shooting over par and even Easy mode opponents are hitting your scores for fore, then read on.

Remember, you can check out all the latest Vita news, reviews, previews, and interviews in our dedicated Vita section.

Stats, equipment, and golfer selection

EG-vita-character-select

The thing about picking the right golfer and equipment is that, after a while, it essentially all boils down to three factors - power, shot type, and loyalty.

If you’re having issues with gauging power or striking the ball, then picking someone with both high contact and impact, respectively, will help out. Note, though, that the ‘sweet spot’ required to hit super spins won’t be made easier, no matter whom you pick.

Take note of how the character likes to shoot the ball (the directional arrow just above the strengths).

If your character curls the ball to the left naturally, then you can often get around medium-distance obstacles without applying spin. Likewise, Stuart’s low shot can usually pass under the overhanging rock on the 1st hole of the final course without needing any help.

Loyalty affects a number of factors, including most importantly the power adjustments and super shots. These two attributes are unlocked at loyalty levels 1 and 3, respectively. We’ll talk about those in more detail in the next section of the guide.

Lining up the perfect shot

everybodys-golf-vita-shot

Playing a shot may appear to at first be as simple as hitting the X button at the right time, but there’s a heck of a lot more going on than first meets the eye.

Hitting the ball everybodys-golf-vita-nice-shot

The first key aspect (strangely enough) is knowing how to hit the ball. Timing it so that your power rests on the recommended level is a good start, but if the hole is above / below where you’re shooting from, you’ll need to hit harder / softer to make the distance.

If you know you’ve underhit or overhit a shot, and you’re using a golfer of loyalty 1 or above, then quickly move your thumb over to the Triangle and Circle buttons when you come to strike the ball. Hitting Triangle will add extra power, while Circle will reduce it.

Spin everybodys-golf-vita-spin

Spinning the ball is simply a case of holding down the direction on the D-pad you desire when you hit the ball.

So, applying sidespin to the left (to, say, get around an obstacle, or get the ball to roll onto the green from the correct direction) means holding left down before and during hitting the X button.

Super Spin and ball skipping

everybodys-golf-vita-super-spin

Super Spin is what you really want, though, as it affects the ball a lot more severely then a normal spin shot. It’s also more complicated to pull off, however, and requires a fair bit of practice to perform consistently.

Let’s take that left-spin example again and make it into a Super Spin. Rather than hold down the left button, you’ll need to first hold down the right button when you’re setting the power, and then hold down the left button for when you take the shot.

The only other small requirement is that you have to hit the sweet spot for the Super Spin to kick in (the ball trail will turn blue): otherwise, it’ll just take the form of a normal spin shot. No pressure, then.

It’s well worth mastering, since both Super Topspin and Backspin shots have a special ability that kicks in to lengthen (or rein in) your shots.

Hitting a ball into water with topspin will send it skipping across the surface, whereas landing a ball so that it doesn’t bounce forward with backspin (on a slope, for instance, or from a steep trajectory) will cause it to “kickback” a few feet.

Homing, Rising, and Spiral shots

EG-vita-special-shot

Finally, for the really good golfers, there are the Super Shots, like Homing, Rising, and Spiral. These not only look incredibly cool, but also result in your receiving a silver PSN trophy if you successfully pull them off.

Super Shots are effectively ‘just’ Super Spin shots that hit the pin. Your best chance to perform these almost-guaranteed hole outs is to try one on the fringe - bunkers and rough make determining the requisite power too difficult.

It’s worth noting the slope your ball rests on, by the way, before you attempt to pull one off (see Lie of the ball).

Power shots

everybodys-golf-vita-power

Hitting Square will activate your power shot (the number of remaining shots shown at the bottom of the screen). These add an extra ten yards to your club’s maximum distance, and can be a real help for the par-five holes.

They can also, however, be far too tempting to use off the tee, which - when starting out - is usually not the best thing to do, given the lack of leeway the default club gives you. Until you’re hitting the sweet spot regularly, I’d advise saving your power shots for fairway hits.

Club selection

everybodys-golf-vita-hitting

Everybody’s Golf tends to select the club that will get you to the hole (or as close as you can get) automatically, but this isn’t always the most ideal tool for the job.

Hitting from a poor surface or against a headwind can play havoc with the maximum distance for a club, while using irons will cause the wind to have more of a say in where the shot ends up, thanks to the higher flight of the ball.

If you have a power-hitting character, it may be worth switching to a different wood off the tee to give you more chance of hitting accurately. Distance will suffer, but it’s better to miss out on a few yards than to be forced to pick your ball out of a water hazard after a nasty slice (and you can always ‘top it up’ by using a Power Shot).

Wind speed

everybodys-golf-vita-wind

You’ll have to rely on the speed at which those coloured bands on the arrow are moving, or simply how many leaves are blowing across your screen if you’re playing in Real Golf mode, to determine how much you’ll need to compensate for the wind.

The windspeed and direction won’t change during a shot, but there are a few elements that you’ll need to consider, such as the fact that low shots (top spin / Super Topspin / wood shots) are less vulnerable to the wind than high shots (backspin / Super Backspin / iron shots).

If the hole is below you by any significant amount, the effect of the wind will also be more keenly felt than a straight shot of the same distance.

Lie of the ball

everybodys-golf-vita-ball-lay

Any slight slope to the ground where you play the ball will affect how the ball will travel in the air. This is most obvious when hitting approach shots, as the distance to your desired target is much shorter.

To overcome this, aim towards the slope when lining up the shot: the steeper it is, the more severe you’ll have to aim into the slope. If you’re driving from the fairway / rough, the effects of the slope will be less pronounced over the course of the shot than a short chip, so try not to overcompensate, and always prioritise countering any wind.

Contact chance everybodys-golf-vita-contact

A poor lie like a bunker or rough (or, indeed, playing in rainy / snowy conditions) will affect how accurate the caddie's recommended power for your next shot is. The percentage is shown just below the image of your ball in the bottom-right-hand corner of the screen.

Most of the time this can be ignored, with the safe assumption being that any bunker requires a harder strike than normal.

The exception to this rule is the Flyer Warning, which can sometimes appear when your ball is in the rough. Always underhit when this is displayed. It’s not guaranteed that the shot will be a flyer (in which case, your ball won’t go very far), but if it is, it’ll ensure you don’t go too far off-course.

Mastering putting

everybodys-golf-vita-putting

Putting is, without a doubt, the hardest part of any golf game. Not because of the controls, mind, but because it relies solely on your ability to guesstimate how much the lie of the green will affect the travel of the ball.

Basic laws of physics, therefore, are a bit of a must if you want to sink a 15-footer. For instance, the slower the ball is travelling forwards along a horizontally sloping surface, the more of an effect said slope has on the ball’s path.

A big one to watch out for is the angle your ball is resting on in the first place. This has a massive effect on how it’ll travel, so if it’s sloped down to the left, hit more to the right then you normally would if it started level.

Another big tip is to listen to your caddie. If he / she says something along the lines of “a hook?”, then you know you’re going to have to aim to the right (and the opposite is true for a slice). Also remember that a gentle downhill slope becomes more vicious the longer the distance, with the opposite true for uphill.

Crown / Secrets Guide

everybodys-golf-vita-crown

So, you’re finding getting stars too easy, are you? Then, why not try for crowns, instead. Not only are they incredibly difficult to earn, but they’ll also help unlock new costumes for your golfers, result in a very nice points bonus, and reward you with a gold PSN trophy if you get them all.

The conditions for crowns are hidden until you win the main single-player game (defeat Pandora), but you can earn them at any point before the end if you meet certain criteria.

Rather than thrash about madly trying to work out what the game wants from you, though, have a gander at our list below.

Please note: you have to both win the tournament as well as hit the requirements to earn a crown. Just getting one or the other won’t be enough. I’ve also marked a few as [easy] - these four are the best to shoot for if you’re after easy points and a quick costume unlock.

1-1 = Get over 2000 points [easy]
1-2 = At least one Rising Shot
1-3 = Hit GIR in 1 stroke on a Par 4
1-4 = Keep hitting GIR and win
1-5 = Win with at least 3 bogies [easy]
1-VS = Win with at least 1 Eagle
1-VS2 = Win with at least 1 Eagle

2-1 = Keep a perfect impact rate over 50%
2-2 = Keep a fairway rate of 100%
2-3 = Put spin on every ball [easy]
2-4 = Get over 2000 points
2-5 = No spin shots [easy]
2-VS = Complete Victory in 3 holes
2-VS2 = Complete Victory in 3 holes

3-1 = One putt over 10m
3-2 = One pin shot
3-3 = 3 Birdies in a row
3-4 = Don’t land in the rough
3-5 = 3 Birdies in a row
3-VS = Sink all holes with 1 putt
3-VS2 = Sink all holes with 1 putt

4-1 = Total score -3 or better
4-2 = Fairway rate 80% or better
4-3 = Keep hitting GIR
4-4 = Total score of -4 or better
4-5 = No out of bounds or water hazards
4-VS = Win with consecutive birdies
4-VS2 = Win with consecutive birdies

5-1 = Land within 1m of the pin (GIR or better)
5-2 = No spin shots
5-3 = Keep hitting GIR
5-4 = Get over 1500 points
5-5 = Chip-in (Birdie or better)
5-VS = No bogies
5-VS2 = No bogies

6-1 = Land within 2m of the pin (GIR or better)
6-2 = No out of bounds/water hazards
6-3 = No bunker shots
6-4 = Land within 3m of the pin (GIR or better)
6-5 = Get a birdie on the last hole
6-VS = No power shots [easy]
6-VS2 = No power shots [easy]

7-VS = Win with only the set club number
7-VS2 = Win with only the set club number

Will Wilson
Will Wilson
Will's obsession with gaming started off with sketching Laser Squad levels on pads of paper, but recently grew into violently shouting "Tango Down!" at random strangers on the street. He now directs that positive energy into his writing (due in no small part to a binding court order).