Game Modes

• Stroke Play
• In this mode, play 9 (in or out) or 18 holes of any unlocked course.
• You also have the option of choosing short or long tees (which is a mirrored version of the course).
• There are six courses in all which must be unlocked by playing through the Challenge mode.
• The game will save your best round and score stats.
• Challenge Mode
• This is the main mode of play, allowing you to unlock equipment and clothes, gradually increase your abilities, and eventually rise in the Hot Shots Golf rankings.
• Though it looks rather short at first, there are over 200 events to play to unlock everything.
• Training
• The training mode allows you to freely roam of any course, hole and tee combination for practice.
• No scores in this mode are saved.
• There are unlimited mulligans.
• Even the wind is adjustable.
• This is a good mode to:
• Practice putting spin on the ball or making advanced shots.
• Practice a specific troubling hole.
• Learn how the wind affects the flight of the ball.
• Putting Challenge
• The putting challenge is a great way to practice putting on any 9-hole course that has been unlocked through the Challenge mode.
• Each course starts with two cups unlocked per hole.
• There is one chance to make a putt.
• There are multiple cups to choose from.
• Sinking a putt will earn points with the longer putts earning more.
• Each round has a target score that when beat, will unlock a new item, and another cup.
• The most cups per hole are six.
• Hole placement is random for each round.
• On occasion a hole might be obstructed by another hole.
• Data
• This is a menu option that keeps all kinds of stats.
• Status
• Shows each character and their loyalty level.
• Item level from unlocking items (Hair, Body, and Accessory).
• This level spans all characters in the game. It’s associated to your profile, not each individual character.
• Hot Shots Golf Ranking.
• Number of tournaments won.
• Best Scores by course including 9-holes (In/Out) and 18-holes for both Short and Long Tees.
• Total Best Scores which gives overall letter grades for things like average drive, average distance from the pin when getting on the green in regulation, all culminating in a total grade.
• Per Course it shows the following for Short and Long tee rounds:
• Best 18-hole score.
• Best 9-hole score. (In/Out)
• Longest Putt.
• Longest Chip in.
• Longest Drive.
• Highest % of Fairway Hits
• Highest % of Par Pace
• Highest % of Perfect Impact,
• Near Pin Average (ft)
• A putting graph showing the distance vs. percent made at that distance.
• There is also a course by course average putt count.
• History shows important milestones, the date they were achieved, and the character they were achieved with.
• A medals page show which of the 12 medals have been won.
• 60+ foot putt.
• First hole-in-one.
• And more.
• Unfortunately nowhere does it say what the requirements for each medal is, making them all a mystery.
• A Video collection shows your most recent 10 amazing shots that the game automatically saves.
• Saved shots can be locked so that they won’t be overwritten.
• Overall, you get the kinds of modes and stat tracking that you would expect from a Hot Shots Golf game. However, handheld or not, I was hoping for more than six courses and only ten usable characters.