INTRODUCTION It's time for one of the most challenging rounds of golf you'll ever play! Featuring a training mode, up to 4-players, 3 levels of difficulty and 9 or 18-hole matches, Golf Master is the real thing; Fore!! The purpose of golf is to play the golf ball into a hole placed 100-550 metres away using as few shots as possible. A golf course usually consists of 18 holes. The fiarway is the cut area between the tee and the hole. The long grass bordering the fairway is known as the rough, where it is difficult to play the ball. The smooth stretch of grass at the end of a fairway containing the hole is called the green. It is specially prepared for putting. In addition to the natural obstacles (trees, bushes) there are also artificial obstacles (ponds, bunkers) on the course. Par is the amount of shots it should take to get the ball down the hole. The value of the par varies from three to five depending on the length of the hole. The player can use up to 14 different clubs and one of them must be a putter for playing on the green. Woods and irons are used for long shots. The player starts playing every hole from the teeing ground and after the first shot the ball must be played from where it has fallen. If the ball gets lost it must be replayed from the spot where the original ball was played. In this instance one penalty stroke is added to the player's score. The course (18 holes) is meant to be played with a minimim of shots and the player with the smallest number of shots is the winner. STARTING PLAY The menu screen offers you a choice of five options. Use joystick to move the cursor to your choice, then press the fire button. Option 1: Start Game If you have chosen the training mode (see Option 4) you can start playing immediately. If you have chosen the competition made you will be asked to enter your name. You can move the cursor by moving the joystick left and right. Pick the letter by pressing fire. Choose RUB to delete a letter and after entering your name move the cursor to END and press fire. Option 2: The Number Of Players In the training mode there can only be one player but in the competition mode there can be up to four players. Option 3: The Level Of Difficulty Levels - Novice: no wind Amateur: wind doesn't change while the ball is flying. Professional: wind can change during the flight of the ball and its effect on the ball is stronger than in amateur mode. When you hit the ball from the rough or a bunker the direction of the shot can differ slightly from the direction you have chosen. The level of difficulty contributes to this difference. Option 4: Training or Competition In training you can choose a new hole whenever you want. In competition mode the holes must be played in correct numerical order. Option 5: Choosing The Holes In training mode you can choose any of the 18 holes. In competition mode you can only choose to play all 18 holes or the first or last nine holes. PLAYING THE GAME The screen is divided into two parts. In the upper part (control panel) there are eight small icons. You play the game by moving the cursor on the icons and pressing fire. In the lower part of the screen is the display of the hole you are playing. ICONS Choosing The Clubs (two icons in the upper left corner) There are 14 clubs to choose: 4 woods (wood 1 is a driver), 9 irons (iron 10 is wedge) and a putter. The flight of the ball is longest and lowest when you hit the ball with the driver. The flight becomes shorter and higher when you move forward through the selection of clubs. The length of the shot with the wedge is about half that of a shot with the driver. The putter is only used for shots on the green. Choosing The Direction Of The Shot (two icons in the upper right corner) On the left side of the control panel there is an aiming square with a crosslike cursor. By moving the cursor you can choose the direction of the shot. Choosing The Force Of The Shot (two icons in the lower left corner) A graphical scale shows the force of the shot. The length of the shot also depends on the club you have chosen (look at Choosing The Clubs). If you hit too strongly with the putter on the green the ball may jump over the hole. The Shot (the second item from the right in the lower corner) An animated figure of the golfer will appear on the icon screen. After the shot the icon screen informs the player where the ball is (green, rough, bunker, etc.). In order to go on playing press fire. Choosing The Hole (the icon in the lower right corner) This only works in training mode. The game keeps count of the scores automatically and shows them on the right side of the control panel. When all the players have completed the hole the program shows the results in a special screen. When all the holes have been played the program shows the final results. You can go back to the fire button after the fanfare for the winner has ended. THINGS TO NOTE WHEN MAKING A SHOT Thw ind, whose direction and strength you can see on the right side of the control panel, affects the flight of the ball but when you are putting it has no effect. If you hit the ball from the rough or a bunker it doesn't fly as far and its direction may be wrong. The ball rolls on the best on the green. If the ball is in the rough or a bunker you can not get it out of there with a putter. SPECIAL KEYS With the SPACE BAR you can scroll the map of the hole you are playing. By pressing the RESTORE key you can go back to the menu. You can turn the music on/off by pressing the RUN/STOP key when you are in icon control.