"All Courses" with DK Routing

This information is for those running the "All Courses" (i.e. play all 108 holes of the Tournaments from new-game+) without using Metal Mario.  This enables fair play among those using the Japanese cartridge since there is no Metal Mario, while also lending an alternate challenge for NTSC-U players.  DK is often picked for this category due to his power, low shots, and quick animations between holes.  He is my preference, so this guide pertains to his shots alone.  Also, this is for standard right-handed DK, not Lefty (trajectory mirrored).

All information below assumes default club on Normal unless otherwise stated.  Par 3s are not included, and all shots assume calm weather, so adapt accordingly.  I offer alternate paths for some holes; this comes down to preference and weather RNG.

Terminology:

- Low shot - reducing loft and hangtime by holding the control stick upward during the swing.
- Draw - holding rightward on the control stick during the swing to curve the ball leftward (often used here to straighten and lengthen DK's shots).
- Fade - holding leftward on the control stick during the swing to curve the ball rightward.
- Impact Point - the red dot icon represented on the lower-right corner.  Holding the control stick off center will move this dot and curve your shots in the opposite direction.
- Power - Press B to add 10% more distance and trajectory curvature; only six are available at the start of a course and are lost if shot is not double-frame-perfect.
- Traj (Trajectory) Line - The white outline that shows the initial direction the ball travels.  This turns red if aimed at an obstacle.  The ball will curve back toward the ground grid unless there is crosswind or Impact Point is altered.
- 3/4 (5/8, 70%, etc.) Shot - A lesser powered shot using reference marks on the meter to gauge distance.  It is often wiser on some holes to play a quick, short drive to a comfortable region, leaving a longer second shot, e.g. Shy Guy Desert #10.
- Slice - Missing the sweet spot (the gray bar the timing of the shot starts/stops from) to the left/early.  This loses some distance, some loft (in this game - erroneously), and curves the ball further right.  This causes a duff if timed outside the red Impact Zone bar.
- Hook - Missing the sweet spot (the gray bar the timing of the shot starts/stops from) to the right/late.  This loses some distance, gains slight loft (in this game - erroneously), and curves the ball further left.  This causes a duff if timed outside the red Impact Zone bar.

## Toad Highlands

1.  Low draw; conservative shot to front flags; strong shots to back flags
2. Par 3; downhill.  Use less power than yardage/weather indicates.
3. Nudge left; Power low draw
4. Power low draw; club up 1 for second shot
5. Low fade with 1f slice (low PW or 9I to Green unless weather is horrible)
6. Par 3; downhill.  Use less power; try to avoid mounds and center slope.
7. Low with 1f slice (9I to Green)
8. Low w/ Power (for 2nd shot, aim right and add draw or club up/Power and add a 1f slice to compensate for left-Lie)
9. (a) ~70% (2f short of 3/4 mark) low shot, leaving a 3I/4I to cup but pretty flat Lie
(b) Aim right to roughline, low fade (club up to 5I from Rough to Green)
(c) Power low fade (DO NOT use for rain or left-/head-winds)
10. 4w Power; traj line aligned with pin icon; draw and 1 mark short of full power
11. Power low draw (nudge aim left closer to tree if proximity to Green is important to you)
12. (a) Power low fade
(b) Aim to pin icon; low 3/4 shot
13. Par 3; uphill.  Club up 1 or use more power than distance/weather indicates.
14. Aim right so traj line aligns with pin icon; Power low draw
15. Aim left to treeline; low draw
16. (a) Power low fade (needs good weather; probably best overall two-shot); 7I to green
(b) Low fade 1-2 marks past 3/4 power; aim right with draw for second shot to avoid trees
17. Par 3; uphill.  Club up 1 or use more power.  Top-ball not recommended unless headwind.
18. Low shot; add slight draw to taste (especially if you prefer landing in the left side Rough)

## Koopa Park

1. (a) Low fade (70-85 bunker)
(b) Power low shot
(c) ~70% (1-2f short of 3/4 mark) low shot
2. Aim right to distant green shell; low power shot with slight draw
3. (a) Aim right to distant red shell; power low draw
(b) Aim right to distant green shell; power low fade
4. Par 3; uphill.  Club up as necessary.
5. 1-2f short low shot
6. Power low shot
7. Power low shot
8. Par 3; uphill.  Ensure the ball carries sufficiently.
9. (a) Aim right to distant treeline; power low shot (add slight draw if you desire)
(b) Low draw (50-70 bunker with suboptimal angle - risky); 6I for second shot
10. Aim left until traj line aligns with pin icon; Power low draw
11. 3/4 low shot with 1f slice; conservative shot to front flags; strong shots to back flags
12. Aim left between tree and distant mansion; power low draw
13. Par 3; slightly downhill.  Almost neutral power despite being slightly downhill.
14. (a) Low fade
(b) Power low draw
15. (a) 3/4 low fade
(b) Low power shot with slight fade
16. Par 3; downhill.  Beware the mounds; this is a tricky one.
17. Aim right until traj line aligns with pin icon; power 2f short of full
18. Low fade (add 1f slice to taste); usually need to add fade to second shot

## Shy Guy Desert

1 - Nudge aim left; power low draw
3 - Nudge aim right to center of cacti; Power low shot
4 - (a) 3/4 low shot
(b) Power low draw
5 - Aim right to rightmost mountain; power low shot
6 - (a) 3/4 low shot
(b) Aim right to cactus line, power low shot
8 - (a) Low fade
(b) Aim right until traj line aligns with pin icon; power low shot
9 - Power low draw (gently curl thumb left to slightly reduce draw); slight fade to green
10 - (a) Aim right until traj line aligns with pin icon; ~70% low shot
(b) Nudge aim right; power low shot
(c) Low draw (1f hook may be added)
11 - (a) Low draw with 1f slice
(b) Aim right until OB; power low draw
13 - Aim right to cluster of cacti; power low fade
14 - Aim left to pin icon; power low draw (not quite full draw)
16 - Aim right until traj line aligns with pin icon; power low draw
17 - Low shot 2-3f short of full
18 - Low shot with 1f slice

## Yoshi's Island

1 - Power low shot
2 - Aim right toward bunker; low shot
4 - Aim right until traj line aligns with pin icon; power low shot
5 - Aim right to pin icon; low draw
7 - (a) Low fade 1-2f past 3/4 mark
(b) Aim left to pin icon; power low draw
8 - Power low shot
9 - Aim right until traj line aligns with pin icon; power low draw
10 - (a) Aim right to pair of trees; power low shot
(b) Power draw (slightly low; too low tends to make the second shot awkward)
11 - Aim right to the grapes in the background; power low shot
13 - Nudge aim right; power draw
14 - Nudge aim left; low draw
16 - Low fade
17 - Aim right to pin icon; power shot
18 - (a) Aim right until traj line goes through gap in the mountains; draw with 1f hook
(b) Aim right until traj line touches tree; power draw

## Boo Valley

1 - (a) 3/4 low shot with 1f slice
(b) Low shot with 1f slice
(c) Power low shot with 1f slice
2 - Low fade with 1f slice
3 - (a) ~70% (1-2f short of 3/4 mark) low shot
(b) Aim left until traj line aligns with pin icon; 3/4 low draw
5 - (a) 3/4 low shot
(b) Aim left of mushroom cluster (or until not OB), low shot (add slight draw to taste)
6 - Low shot 2-3f short of full power
7 - (a) Low shot 4f short of full power
(b) Aim left until traj line aligns with pin icon; low draw (1f may be taken off for greater distance margin)
9 - (a) 3/4 low shot
(b) Low shot with slight draw
10 - (a) Aim left to leftmost mushroom of triplet; low shot
(b) Aim left to central mushroom of triplet (or until not OB), power low draw
11 - Low fade (use power if desired)
13 - (a) 3/4 low shot (add fade for the second shot)
(b) Aim left until pink-top hill; low draw
14 - (a) Aim left until traj line aligns with pin icon; low shot
(b) 5/8 low fade
16 - (a) Aim right to central green mushroom on right hill; power low shot
(b) 3/4 low shot with 1f slice or slight fade
17 - Aim right to blue-top hill; power low fade
18 - Power low draw

## Mario's Star

1 - Aim left until traj line aligns with pin icon; low draw 2f short of full power
2 - Aim right until traj line aligns with pin icon; power low shot
3 - (a) Low shot with slight draw and 3-4f short of full power
(b) Aim left until traj line aligns with pin icon; low draw 4f short of full power
(c) Aim left to pin icon; power low shot
5 - (a) 3/4 low fade
(b) Aim right to pin icon; low draw 4-5f short of full power (full power for a rough dump)
(c) Aim right to pin icon; power low shot to deep rough (6I to Green)
7 - Aim left until traj line aligns with pin icon; power low draw
8 - Aim left until traj line aligns with pin icon; power low draw
9 - (a) Aim right until traj line aligns with pin icon; low draw
(b) ~70% (1-2f short of 3/4 mark) low shot
(c) Power low draw with 1f hook (bunker dump; awkward shot to Green)
10 - (a) Aim left to pin icon; low draw (hopefully you land in Rough)
(b) Aim left until traj line aligns with pin icon; power low draw
11 - Low draw 1-2f past 3/4 mark
13 - Low shot
14 - Power low draw
15 - Aim left until traj line aligns with pin icon; power low draw
17 - (a) Aim left to bob-omb's foot; power low draw
(b) 5/8 shot
18 - Low shot

All Characters in Summary

Here is the basics on the characters with brief summaries on their drive, how they shoot and how to unlock them. 

Notes: 
Drives, and Shot Trajectory for all characters but Metal Mario, and how to unlock all characters but Maple, Donkey Kong, Bowser, and Metal Mario come for the Mario Golf Instruction Booklet.

"Slight" refers to a fade or draw of 1 bar, "Medium" refers to a fade or draw of 2 bars, and "Sharp" refers to a fade or draw of 3 bars. 

Plum: 
Drive: 208 
Shot trajectory: Low and Straight 
How to Unlock: Playable from the start.
Summary: Plum is the shortest driving character in the whole game, but her low trajectory and short drive  also results in fast turnovers in stroke play.

Charlie:
Drive: 210 
Shot Trajectory: Low with a Slight Fade
How to Unlock: Playable from the Start.
Summary: Charlie drives short with his slight fade being extremely hard to correct through spin. 

Peach:
Drive: 212
Shot Trajectory: High and Straight
How to Unlock: Playable from the Start.
Summary: Peach is the best of the characters playable from the start with a high and straight shot, and fast character animations. She is used for Ring Shot%, Bowser% up until Yoshi, and 100% and All Birdie Badges runs for Courses 1 through 3. 

Baby Mario:
Drive: 215
Shot Trajectory: High with a Slight Draw
How to Unlock: Playable from the Start.
Summary: Baby Mario is probably the worst character in the game with long character animations for all but Par shots, a high and short drive, and a slight draw that is extremely hard to correct through spin. 

Luigi:
Drive: 220
Shot Trajectory: Low with a Medium Fade
How to Unlock: Get Character Mode.
Summary: Luigi is a mediocre also ran with a short drive, and his medium fade is hard to correct through spin.  

Yoshi:
Drive: 230
Shot Trajectory: Standard Straight
How to Unlock: Get Character Mode.
Summary: Yoshi is the most neutral character in the entire game making him extremely easy and consistent to use. Yoshi is also the only character that has a medium shot height, and is smack in the middle of every stat. Yoshi is used for Bowser% from Sonny till Harry.

Sonny:
Drive: 240
Shot Trajectory: High with a Medium Draw
How to Unlock: Get Character Mode.
Summary: Sonny is a pretty mediocre character with a medium draw that is hard to correct through spin.

Wario:
Drive: 250
Shot Trajectory: Extremely Low and Sharp Fade
How to Unlock: Get Character Mode.
Summary: Wario has the lowest shot in the game, and while his sharp fade is easy to correct through spin, his animations are extremely slow. 

Harry: 
Drive: 260
Shot Trajectory: High with a Medium Draw
How to Unlock: Get Character Mode.
Summary: Harry has a medium draw that is hard to correct through spin, but he drives decently far, and is not a bad character. He used in Bowser% for Mario, and sometimes even Bowser.

Mario: 
Drive: 270 
Shot Trajectory: High and Sharp Draw
How to Unlock: Get Character Mode.
Summary: Mario drives high and far, with a sharp draw that can be easily corrected through spin. Mario is used in Bowser% for Bowser often.

Maple:
Drive: 245
Shot Trajectory: High and Straight
How to Unlock: Collect 50 of the 108 Birdie Badges. 
Summary: Maple is the longest driving character with a straight shot, and is used in 100% and All Birdie Badge Runs for courses 4 through 6. 

Donkey Kong
Drive: 275
Shot Trajectory: Low and Sharp Fade
How to Unlock: Clear 30 out of the 36 Ring Shot Holes. 
Summary: Donkey Kong is the farthest driving character with a fade as well as for one that does not draw. He can be unlocked extremely early in the 100% run if you do Ring Shot% first, and is excellent for clearing the last six Ring Shot Holes, collecting all the Birdie Badges, and Get Character Mode when he is third farthest driving character, and the second fastest character overall. On the Japanese NTSC version of the game that does not have Metal Mario in it, it is faster in the 100% JP run to unlock DK as fast as possible. It is also an easier and more reliable route for the 100% Run for the USA NTSC and EU PAL versions. Getting all the birdie badges with just Peach and Maple alone to unlock Metal Mario can get extremely dicey and slow quick. Making DK still an excellent option for the 100% Run when he still out drives all but Bowser and Metal Mario.

Bowser: 
Drive: 280
Shot Trajectory: Extremely High and Sharp Draw
How To Unlock: Get Character Mode
Summary: Bowser is the second farthest driving character in the game after Metal Mario, and the farthest driving character in the Japanese NTSC version that does not have Metal Mario. He shoots the highest, with the sharpest curve of any character in the game. Even his SW does not shoot straight unlike every other character. Despite being the second farthest driving character in the game, he is actually slower overall than Donkey Kong and Mario due to his extremely high and sharp shots. 

Metal Mario:
Drive: 285
Shot Trajectory: High and Sharp Draw
How To Unlock: Collect all 108 Birdie Badges (USA NTSC and EU PAL Versions Only)
Summary: Metal Mario is the longest driving and fastest character by a wide margin. His extreme spin from extremely high to low paired with his driving distance allows him to plow through everything with ease in every category he is usable in. However, you can only unlock him in the USA NTSC and EU PAL versions as he is not in the Japanese NTSC version at all.

Beginner Guide

FOR INDIVIDUAL LEVEL (IL) 
- after watching any top run on the leaderboad you should get a basic gist of what's going on...
-choose metal mario because he is op. see FAQ for reason
- we aim for the rough to reduce the amount the ball rolls. this can save about 3 seconds in game time a hole (for par 4s and 5s). )this differs for all other runs that use Real Time for holding z speeds up ball roll animation)
	- this is especially crucial for holes with large slopes for hitting the fairway could cause the ball to roll for more time
	- bunkers can also be advantageous spots. for example. on Yoshi's Island hole 1, you want to hit the ball in the bunker
	  in which the ball immediately plugs and stops and thus the timer stops (yah in game time).
	-play a lot and you'll get use to things and how to play shots.
TIPS
- The majority of the time, during the swing you want to move the impact point (aka the red dot on the ball in the bottom right of the screen)(people may refer to this as the spin) UP. This will hit the ball lower, thus reducing the amount of time the ball is in the air. Exception to wanting to do this would be for when there is a large elevation change up. e.g. toadhighlands hole 4, and a lot of holes on yoshi's island... etc.
... this also can reduce the distance the ball travels slightly which is okay cause metal mario is jacked anyway.
- Metal Mario hits a natural draw (where the ball flight starts off going to the right and curves back to the left). you will often see us move the impact point up and to the left. by moving it to the left, metal mario tries to hit a fade (where the ball curves to the right)  but due to his natural draw, doing this causes a straighter shot, so you can line up the white aim line with your target.
- wind (indicated by the boo in the top right corner of the screen indicates the wind direction) so reducing or increasing power is important based off if the boo is blowing out or in. obviously if he is blowing to the right you want to aim left, etc. 
-it's also important to note the ball's lie. when in the rough, there are 2 possible lies you can have. an 80-90 lie or 70-85 lie.
this means the ball is gonna be a percentage of the power.... there are many other lies based on location
-careful to note the red line under the accuracy bar. dont know what the technical term for this is, but it's like an error zone. If you miss the accuracy bar(or impact mark) and the cursor moves outside the ride line and you click you will duff (aka shank) your shot.
-missing accuracy bar to left causes the shot to go low right and missing to the right causes a higher shot to left
-rain reduces shot distance and roll time. we like rain.... also slows down putts so increase power
DB explains all of this in the video guides
THOUGHT PROCESS OF EVERY SHOT
-this game is 90% or so reaction
-every shot you need to react to your lie, the wind, if there is rain or not, if you are on flat ground or on a hill, if the hole is uphill or downhill... so you need to adjust your aim, impact point, and club selection based on these elements.
...
if anyone new actually reads this, good luck.

Biggest Hazard Holes for all 6 courses.

While the courses from 1 to 6 go from easiest to hardest, some holes are a bit more treacherous than others. The difficultly tends to come in thirds with massive spikes in difficultly starting at course 3 and onward. For course 3 through 6 almost every hole can be treacherous.  

Course 1: Toad Highlands: 
By far the easiest course in the game by a wide margin, as most holes are not that difficult. Still there are a few holes that are bit more hazardous than others. 

Hazard Holes: 
9: Windspeed and direction can dramatically alter the strategies on this hole with two giant water hazards. 
14: The water hazard in the middle can wreck most characters drives. 
16: The giant dip in the middle is a trap for all but the longest and/or highest driving characters.
17: It is extremely easy to miss the green on this hole, and get stuck off the green.

Course 2: Koopa Park:
A bit bump in difficultly from Course 1. More hazards but with relatively straight courses: 

Hazard Holes: 
3: A giant climb and water hazard. 
8: A near island green where the shortest distance cuts over a giant water hazard. 
9: Creek hazard cuts the fairway into pieces on this this hole.
14: Same as hole 9. 
17: It is extremely easy to accidentally overshoot the green and fall into the water hazard using the longest driving characters in Mario, Donkey Kong, Bowser, and Metal Mario.

Course 3: Shy Guy Desert: 
A giant bump in difficulty from course 2, and is the only one to feature the waste area terrain. The courses tend to have narrow fairways and giant waste areas and/or bunkers. 

Hazard Holes:
7: A narrow green surrounded mostly by a giant bunker that is a sharp dive. 
13: By far the most hazardous track on the course with a giant OB area right next to the grass. 
17: A giant bunker with rock walls that is a giant speedrun trap. Don't expect to drive long. Instead aim to stay on what trace of a fairway this hole has. 

Course 4: Yoshi's Island: 
Another giant bump in difficultly from Course 3, with the most water hazards of any course in the game. 

Hazard Holes: 
3: Island green. Need to say more? 
6: Same as Hole 3
7: Giant water hazard with island fairways and green. 
9: Most of the course is OB, with a lowered island fairway and raised tee ground and green. 
12: Same as holes 3 and 6, but is a complete blindshot from the tee to island green.
15: Narrow doughnut green. 
16: Raised tee ground, green, and middle island where falling of onto the lower portions can destroy your runs. 
18: Extremely narrow fairway and green surrounded by rock, trees, and water. 

Course 5: Boo Valley: 
Another massive increase in difficultly from Course 4 with the most OB areas of any course in the game. Every hole of this track is a hazard hole. 

Biggest Hazard Holes: 
1: Bottle neck fairway
2: Small fairway and green islands surrounded by massive OB region. 
5: Island green where it is easy to accidentally ricochet the ball into the OB. 
9: Narrow and snaking climb. 
10: Same as hole 9
13: Narrow and snaking. 
16: Island fairways and green 

Course 6: Mario's Star: 
All the holes are Mario themed and extremely difficult. 

Biggest Hazard Holes:
6: A blind drop into a tiny green right on the edge of a water hazard. Extremely difficult to par, let alone birdie or hole in one. 
9: Bowser's big mouth is a giant OB area that bifurcates almost every possible long drive on the hole.
12: Extremely easy to overshoot into the drink. Extremely difficult to par, let alone birdie or hole in one. 
14: A giant bunker that punishes you hard if you land in it. 
16: Microscopic green that is extremely difficult to par, never-mind birdie or hole in one. 
17: Island Bob-Ombs.

Deathbasket AMAZING video guides

Mario Golf Shot Power Calculation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LuejX-xx3DQ
lesson 1 shot basics https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_6N2MizjhEvZid_l15bi5RgTKGlsvgZS

lesson 2 spin https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXk2d0qCrEQ&list=PL_6N2MizjhEvZid_l15bi5RgTKGlsvgZS&index=3 

lesson 3 quick switching https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nl0y1YFDiN0&index=2&list=PL_6N2MizjhEvZid_l15bi5RgTKGlsvgZS
(yah this is not easy, i dont do it)

lesson 4 stopping the ball https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Oj6ZOxkdvU&list=PL_6N2MizjhEvZid_l15bi5RgTKGlsvgZS&index=1

playlist https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_6N2MizjhEvZid_l15bi5RgTKGlsvgZS

found this faq that goose made. figure i'd paste it here.

***MARIO GOLF SPEEDRUN FAQ***
 
Q: Can you really speedrun this game?
A: They literally built in a speed golf mode in the game. I'm not sure why this surprises people.
 
Q: Is this a joke speedrun?  A meme game?  It has to be right?
A: No.  This is seriously one of the most skillful and most fast paced speedgames I've ever played.  It's pure reaction to your surroundings and then execution.  Every hole you are given random wind speed, wind direction and weather. In a split second you have to react to it, aim your shot, decide which club to shoot with, and execute the shot. The closer to the hole you get, the faster and the better.  Every frame and pixel of aim movement, spin on the ball and timing the stroke in accordance with the weather adds up.  You are trying to be perfect with six elements (aim, spin, club selection, distance, accuracy, weather) every shot... for over a hundred holes.
 
Q: RANDOM wind speed, direction and weather? Isn't that RNG? Doesn't this make the game like playing the lottery?
A: No. In fact, this INCREASES the skill in the game.  Everyone has to deal with the same thing.  Getting different weather on each hole ensures that only the best players will get the best times, since they know how to react best.  There is no "random luck weather" that will save you 10 minutes on a run.  The RNG element in Mario Golf forces players to be as skillful as possible, and react as quickly as possible to every shot.
 
Q: Why are you playing as Metal Mario?
A: Metal Mario is superior to every other character in every possible way.  He shoots further, which is faster.  His spin is also the most severe which allows you to sculpt his shots with the most versatility.  What this means is, if you aim and start shooting, and then decide your aim was off slightly, you can correct this, while still swinging, with Metal Mario's spin.  Every character can do this to some extent, but Metal Mario does it most effectively.  The combined power and versatility of Metal Mario's shot makes him by far superior to every other character in the game.  In "All Courses" (the main category) you will always be using Metal Mario.
 
Q: Why are you not playing as Metal Mario?
A: If we're not playing as Metal Mario, odds are we're doing a category where you either need to unlock him, or a category that skips him all together.
 
Q: What are the categories for this game?
A:
 
"All Courses" - Complete all 6 courses in any in game mode with any character. The only rule is that you do not "give up" on any hole.
"100%" - From a fresh file, unlock all the characters, get all gold trophies in Tournament mode and get the credits.
"Any% (Courses)" - From a fresh file, go through the courses in tournament mode until you get 1st place in the Boo Valley tournament to unlock the credits.
"Any% (Ring Shot)" - From a fresh file, beat all 36 Ring Shot challenge holes to unlock the credits.
 
Speed Golf (Individual Courses) - This is the built in "Speed Golf" mode where an in game timer tracks your time to complete any one of the six courses in the game.

Getting the longest best drive

The Best Drive is the longest drive you can get on the course, and there are few things that go into making these insanely long drives. 

1. It has to be a tee shot: The longest shots are always the first tee shot.

2. The length of the hole: Your best bet for the longest drive on average is one of the 4 par 5 holes on each course, though some of the longest par 4 holes can also work and sometimes are better than the par 5 holes. 

3. The Wind: You need an extremely strong tailwind (Boo showing most to all of its backside) to drive the longest possible distance.

4. The ball needs to be in full top spin (angled at the bottom of the ball): This will launch the ball the highest. 

5. If the character has a sharp fade (DK), angle the spin to the bottom right. If the character has a sharp draw (Mario, Bowser, Metal Mario) angle the spin to the bottom left: This will result in a straighter, higher, and longer drive than normal using these characters.

6. The course from tee ground to fairway and/or green has to have a downward slope: A downward slope will result in longer drives. 

7. The character has to be Metal Mario: Metal Mario drives significantly farther than even 2nd place Bowser due to being the longest driving character, and his extreme degree of spin can make for an extremely straight and high trajectory to take full advantage of strong tailwinds. 

Best Hole/s for Best Drives for each course if you get lucky with everything.

Toad Highlands: Holes 4 and 9 

Koopa Park: Holes 2, 5, and 15 

Shy Guy Desert: Hole 9 

Yoshi's Island: Holes 8, 16, and 18

Boo Valley: Hole 7

Mario's Star: Hole 3

If all of these get lined up, you will have the best chance at getting the longest drive. However, if you land an extremely strong tailwind on any long Par 4 or Par 5 hole and are not doing a speed golf run, take full advantage of the strong tailwind to drive the longest distance you can. Odds are good you will still make a best drive in that situation.

Rules

Mario Golf Speedruns - Categories & Rules

Universal Rules (Applies to all categories):
-No Virtual Console/NSO/Emulator for full course runs. VC, Nintendo Switch Online (NSO) and Emulators¹ save time on lag since they are done on better hardware than the N64. Therefore, they are banned for RTA but allowed for every IL(s) categories (since they use in-game timer, numbers and mechanics)
¹Playing on Everdrive is allowed, but the runner MUST show the ROM CRC in the everdrive menu which would give a partial verification that the run was indeed played on an unmodified legitimate ROM of the game.
-Timer begins at selection of first course, first ring shot, or the first "Get Character Match" is triggered.

All Courses:
-Any character may be used (though Metal Mario is the best in the game)
-Player must complete all six courses (Toad Highlands, Koopa Park, Shy Guy Desert, Yoshi Championship, Boo Valley, and Mario Open) in sequential order.
-Timer ends when the ball falls into the cup of the 18th hole of Mario Star course.
-No giving up on any hole.

Tournaments%:
-Player must use "Clear Data" function prior to run beginning.
-Any of the initial four characters can be selected (Peach, Plum, Baby Mario, Charlie).
-Timer ends when ball falls into cup of 18th hole of Boo Valley course (or Mario Star Course, though obviously this is un-optimal), run is completed ONLY IF the player wins the Gold Trophy for Boo Valley or Mario Star, triggering the credits.  Means of getting to the credits is up to the player.
-Giving up on holes IS ALLOWED.

Ring Shots%:
-Player must use "Clear Data" function prior to run beginning.
-Timer starts when ring shots are selected (NOT when first ring shot hole is selected).
-Timer ends after ball falls into cup (assuming the ring shot has been completed) of the final ring shot.

100%:
-Player must use the "Clear Data" function prior to run beginning.
-All characters must be unlocked.
-All courses must be unlocked, with all gold trophies earned.
-All Ring Shots must be completed.
-All Birdie Badges must be earned.
-Timer ends when all of the above goals have been reached.

Mini-Golf:
-Any character may be used.
-Player must complete both mini-golf courses (Luigi's Garden and Peach's Castle) in sequential order.
-Any type of greens (Green, Slow and Fast) may be used.
-Timer starts on selecting Luigi's Garden and ends on the ball entering the cup on the 18th hole of Peach's Garden.

Bowser%:
-Player must use the "Clear Data" function prior to run beginning.
-Timer start on selecting Toad Highlands for the match against Luigi.
-Timer ends on the "Final Results" screen where Bowser's icon appears with the caption: "Got'em!".

(OLD RULE: Run used to end on the ball going into the cup/hole which would unlock Bowser. This was changed since the ball going into the hole is not what unlocks Bowser; the soonest Bowser can be unlocked is where the run ends under the current rule set: Bowser's icon and the "Got'em!" caption appearing on the "Final Results" screen.

All Courses w/o Metal Mario:
-Any character may be used EXCEPT, of course, Metal Mario.
-Player must complete all six courses (Toad Highlands, Koopa Park, Shy Guy Desert, Yoshi Championship, Boo Valley, and Mario Open) in sequential order.
-Timer ends when the ball falls into the cup of the 18th hole of Mario Star course.
-No giving up on any hole.

Speed Golf:
-Player may select any character.
-No giving up on any hole.
-Internal timer is the official timer, not a player-operated timer.

unlock most everything (exempt bottom 4 characters)

At start screen use this input
Down, Down, Left, Left, Left, Right, Right, Right (D-Pad for all), C-Down, C-Down, C-Left, C-Left, C-Left, C-Right, C-Right, C-Right

Name	Author
"All Courses" with DK Routing	MetalYoshi 4 years ago
All Characters in Summary	Gamedraco 5 years ago
Beginner Guide	xd_CAKE 7 years ago
Biggest Hazard Holes for all 6 courses.	Gamedraco 5 years ago
Deathbasket AMAZING video guides	xd_CAKE 7 years ago
FAQ	xd_CAKE 7 years ago
Getting the longest best drive	Gamedraco 5 years ago
Rules	xd_CAKE 4 years ago
unlock most everything (exempt bottom 4 characters)	GaryPSN 6 years ago