Remember Hot Shots Golf? Well, it’s no longer, or at least in name. Hot Shots Golf is now known as Everybody’s Golf in the west, a name that it’s had in other parts of the world for more than a decade.
While the name change isn’t of particular significance, this is a monumental release for the franchise. Everybody’s Golf has remained relatively the same since its inception, providing consistent albeit derivative entertainment for gamers. This time around it’s taking risk by changing the focus of the title from single player tournaments to open-world online play. Although you can do both, its advancements in the latter are significant enough to demand the attention of any Hot Shots Golf fan.
With this change, confusion has been invited. This is a game that doesn’t explain things well despite its drastic alterations, and you’re likely going to end up confused on more than one occasion. To assist you, we’ve put together a guide that’ll overview everything you need to know.
1. The TLDR on Progression
Long gone are the days of unlocking new characters and equipment with better stats. This time around, all progression is focused on your clubs. When you begin, you won’t be able to hit the golf ball very far, or control it very well. However, through time and effort you will improve your stats and reach your full potential.
This is accomplished by using individual clubs in ways related to one of the four main stats, which are as follows:
- Power – Level this up by achieving full power shots.
- Control – Level this up by achieving accurate shots.
- Backspin – Level this up by using spin on the ball.
- Backdoor – Level this up by achieving amazing shots (i.e. chip-ins, long distance putts, etc.)
Each club will level up individually, meaning that while you might have a very powerful driver, your putter might have low power but high control. This encourages the use of many club types, and at times makes progression quite cumbersome.
Nonetheless, it’s recommended that you play as normal, trying to hit perfect shots as often as possible while incorporating spin into your shots when applicable. Doing this, you will level up naturally and find yourself becoming more competent both in skill and in-game progression.
2. Online-Focused Game Structure
Everybody’s Golf is much different than previous releases in the franchise. The first thing to understand is there is a much greater emphasis of online play. At Home (the open area where you start) you can enter either an Online Open Course multiplayer lobby, or compete in Turf War. These will both require an online connection, and can be found at the green, purple, and orange gates near the Shop.
Online Open Course is the main highlight of this new release. In this area you can run around with other players, and initiate rounds by heading to a tee ground and pressing X. The main point of interest here is to battle for daily leaderboard placings, which are calculated and rewarded in the early morning. Note that you can choose to either do one hole at a time, or do a nine round game by pressing X at hole 1 or 10.
On that note, courses in Everybody’s Golf are no longer considered “18 holes”. Instead, they are called 9 (IN) and 9 (OUT). It’s really the same thing, but just halves a course so you can complete them faster.
There’s also a single player component. When you’re looking to play on your own, simply select the Solo Stroke Play computer near the Shop or head to the Tournament Desk to queue up for a tournament. Tournament is recommended for single-player progression, as it has great rewards. This style of play is most similar to past Hot Shots Golf games, placing you against increasingly skilled A.I. with versus characters appearing to challenge you every few rounds.
If you’re more of a local multiplayer guy, just head to the main menu and select Multiplayer. There are a lot of options for tuning games, and when you have friends over who aren’t familiar with the game, using the Tornado or Mega cup are great options.
3. Mini Games Are Fun
As advertised, there is more to do in Everybody’s Golf than just golf.
A few hours into your adventure you’ll be able to face an examiner, and when beaten you’ll obtain your own kart. You can then use this to get around quickly, and even race your friends in Online Open Course.
You’ll also find some locations to fish. These are exclusive to particular locales in the game, so don’t expect to be able to do this right away. But, just like karting, it’s something you can do in a social setting for fun to break away from the monotony of golf.
Other fun things to do include collecting coins (more on that in the next point), taking Professor Koenji’s quiz, socializing with other players using emotes on the d-pad, shopping, and exploring open environments.
4. How to Earn Coins to Buy Clothes
There are only a couple ways to earn coins, which are the currency used to purchase vanity items and some equipment at the Shop.
The first way to do so is to compete in a single player tournament. This is achieved by stopping by the Tournament Desk at Home. You can see how many coins you’ll receive for winning before entering a match.
Another way to earn coins is to earn birdies in Online Open Course. There are a few “Hole Bonuses” available that will reward you for getting one under par. If you’re in the need of coins fast, you may want to head here and spam an easy 3 par hole to rack up coins quickly.
The final and most interesting way to earn coins is to pick them in Online Open Course. These are sprinkled all over the map, usually near bushes. Simply walk into them to pick them up.
5. A Quick Lesson on Everybody’s Golf
With all the Everybody’s Golf PS4 specifics out of the way, let’s talk about the major elements of gameplay in this series. I’m going to run through this in list format to get through as much information as possible in a concise manner.
- Get a good look at your shot trajectory before swinging by holding triangle to zoom. This will give you a much better look at the surface of the course so you can line-up a well-directed shot.
- Always read the wind and lie before you swing. Wind can be seen on the top right, denoted by a direction and a speed. Lie is located on the bottom right, and effectively tells you how the golf ball is sitting on the ground. If the ball is on a hill that is leaning left, the ball will have a tendency to hit leftward. Take this into consideration before swing attempts.
- Press square during a drive to increase the power of the shot by a few yards. Note that this may affect the impact area size (how easy or hard it is to get a nice shot).
- When swinging from the rough or sand, you will have reduced power potential. You can read this on the lie interface, which is on the bottom right (it’ll say something like 50 – 60%). You will need to hit harder on these types of surfaces to make up for energy lost on swing.
- Spin is very important. Use backspin to get over obstacles and be less affected by the shape of the ground’s surface. Use forward spin to have your ball spend less time in the air (less affected by wind) or even skip over water like a flat stone. Use side spin to navigate obstacles such as trees, and approach your target from a preferred angle. You can also use diagonal spin to utilize backspin or forward spin along with sidespin.
- When putting, or trying to chip-in, always hit the ball slightly harder than you think you need to. A golf ball hit too hard can still go in, while one that is hit too soft will never reach the hole.
- Stay away from sand and deep rough at all costs. It’s better to hit slightly short of your destination than to take a chance at landing in a forested area or bunker. These areas have horrible lie and usually bad elevation that will promote bogeys.
That’s it for our quick guide to Everybody’s Golf on PS4. We’ll see you on the green.
