MetalYoshi ProGamer's Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour Any% Speedrun FAQ/Guide i.e. "How to Pwn MGTT": The Hardcore Version WARNING: Lots of technical and hardcore information.

1. What is this game? An arcade game golf for the Nintendo GameCube developed by Camelot Software Planning in 2003. It heavily expands on the foundation from Mario Golf (64). Using a swing-system that is both accommodating to beginners and rewarding for veteran players, it plays quite differently from other Mario Golf games. There are many surprisingly deep technical factors in the game engine that make the game very interesting to speed run. This will all be further explained in perhaps too great of technical detail, so be warned. This should become more instinctual as you practice more (that, and I'm giving definitions to things that just are. Kind of like an academic professor).

EDIT 1: After lots of discussion, neither Dolphin nor Wii console seem to run the game faster than GameCube. Dolphin IS permissible, but submissions may be subject to greater scrutiny (and you'll need a strong computer to stream it consistently). The latest beta release is recommended as this minimizes the graphics bugs and improves the Netplay so much via Golf Mode.

EDIT 2: The Japanese version of the game, Family Tour, has much faster transitions between holes, faster lateral aiming, faster CPU shotmaking (especially in bad situations), and a hybrid of imperial and metric distances. It takes getting used to, but saves about an average of 2.5 minutes over the US version of the game.

2. What is the goal for an Any% speedrun? Starting from a New-Game file, beat the six Tournaments to trigger the End Credits.

3. Does the run allow for the Memory Card? Please see this Guide for detailed information: http://www.speedrun.com/mgtt/guide/h4dq2 It turns out skipping the Award Ceremonies using soft resets saves time. It can also be used as a cushion for newer runners if they end up in a bind and need to redo a hole to win a Tournament. I think this was the best option overall, since it also emulates the way Mario Golf for the Nintendo 64 is run and opens up the possibility for other categories.

4. How do you time your splits? The timer starts when you exit the Title Screen. Dusty1029 & I have agreed that it we should make the splits at the last input (mashing the A button) before each Award Ceremony. This makes sense from a consistency and a gameplay standard. If there is any objection to this, please bring it to my attention. The reason Power-on might be inconsistent is because there is an extra screen for people that would be recording with higher-quality cables and thus playing in progressive-scan mode.

5. So, what's the route/plan? Play as well and as quickly as possible in order to make the cutoff to win each Tournament and thus unlock the next one. It is very important to rack up as many Birdies as possible, not only for good scores, but also to accumulate 50 Best Badges (Birdie or better on holes) to unlock Boo. Boo comes with a highly-buffed Star form (+21% distance for a decrease in Impact stat) that is very useful for Peach's Castle Grounds and Bowser Badlands. The cutoffs are pretty generous, so you can save quite a bit of time by Giving Up on time-consuming holes - albeit with a triple-par penalty. Being able to use Give-Ups to your advantage (duff your Tee shot, then choose Give Up in the pause menu) is part of the risk/reward structure that makes running this game so satisfying. Luigi, Birdo, and Waluigi have the fastest swinging animations, so their use inherently saves dozens of seconds over the run. Luigi hits low but can be a tad weak on harder courses. Bowser can be used for greater power that enables multiple opportunities to a consistent hitter (having chances to Eagle the shortest Par 5s, for instance and a slightly easier time handling averse RNG on longer Par 4s). Shifting Sands has a bias toward obstacles on the right side, so a fade hitter such as Birdo is recommended.

6. There are 54 holes among the first three courses. Couldn't I try to unlock Star Boo before Blooper Open? If you are feeling extremely confident and good at golf, you COULD unlock Boo with 50 Best Badges out of the first 54 holes. However, that only allows you 4 holes to either fail to Birdie or to Give-Up on. This is EXTREMELY risky. The only payout is using Star Boo on Blooper Bay to allow for easier Eagles (And it makes the longest Par 4s much easier), thus opening up the possibility of skipping two holes (2 and/or 18 for Par 5s, 14 or 16 for Par 4s) instead of just one with an un-Star character. You would have to be EXTREMELY good to pull this off. ¤EDIT¤ I am starting to realize that this 50/54 route is not the best course of action for a perfect route. It is better to attempt to play a good enough round at Blooper Bay with Waluigi/Birdo/Bowser to be able to skip a second hole. If you can manage Birdie golf (good luck), then you can skip 16 & 18. If you miss up to two, then 17 & 18 can be skipped. In general, 18 is very nasty and should always be skipped when possible (unless you need it for a 50th Best Badge, but a run at this stage is already in perilous shape).

7. Could you explain Give-Up strats further? Of course. After all, something that can save 10-30 seconds with each use & 8-10 potential uses for a run ranging from 60-80 minutes is HUGE. These time savings come with significant risk in that you incur huge stroke penalties. To be precise, you get +6 on a Par 3, +8 on a Par 4, and +10 on a Par 5 (OUCH!). You'll want to learn which holes are the most time-consuming and difficult for you, so that you can skip them. Depending on how well you are playing, you can skip up to three holes of the course (this is very exceptional. Strive for two skips on early courses and one skip on later courses). You would like them to be Par 5s, but you could use Par 4s or even a Par 3 (such as Bowser 18). I'll elaborate on which holes are probably the most worth skipping in Question 14.

8. What are the cutoffs, so that I don't screw myself over with Give-Up strats? Lakitu - +6 Cheep - +4 Sands - +3 Blooper - +2 Peach - +1 Badlands - +/-0

9. What is this RNG everyone refers to? It stands for Random Number Generation. It governs the weather, pin location, Lie, and distance variation. It is the latter two that gets Dusty1029 and myself in a tizzy. Depending on your Lie, there is a number on the lower-right corner (let's call it X for reference). Once you hit your distance mark, then the game will generate a value between -X% and +X%. As you can see, being in hazards can make precise shots harder due to the increased volatility. You have less than one second to decide how to adjust the Spin and Impact Point to try to fix your intended shot. I have my own lingo when I'm talking about this game, so if I say I got a "hot" ball, then I got a positive value, which will fly and roll further than intended. Likewise, a "cold" ball is a weaker shot as a result of a negative value. If you get anything worse than about +/-7%, then you might miss an entire Green unless you are able to make an intelligent and dramatic change quickly.

The best ways to correct a "hot" ball are as follows: 1) move your Impact Point up for already-low shots, but down otherwise; 2) Consider using Backspin or Super Backspin; 3) Intentionally mishit your accuracy mark to lose some distance; combine this with an Impact Point change to compensate; 4) If it is only +1 or +2, and you feel it might be helpful, then let it go. To best correct a "cold" ball: 1) Use Topspin or Super Topspin; 2) Raise the Impact Point unless your shot is already low; then lower the Impact Point; 3) If it might actually be beneficial to you, then let it go.

10. What does the Rain do? This is a silent killer if you are not prepared. It will ruin strategies that require precise loft control, such as Peach's 8, Badlands 8 & 13, and others. Rain will make your shot go lower (since water is beating down the ball from above), reduce the amount that Draws and Fades curve back, and it seems to lessen the strength of both Topspin and Backspin by a small factor. It will also reduce the amount your ball carries to the Landing Point in most cases (EDIT: I'm discovering that for very high shots such as Star Petey Piranha's short irons, the ball actually carries FURTHER). Be very careful if you need to go uphill when it is raining, and play the strongest but highest shot you can, even if it looks like you have plenty of room to clear a cliff/rock/etc. (Power is highly recommended). Here are two images I made to illustrate the effects of Rain: Distance/Loft: Draw/Fade:

Rain also affects the putting meter. On Normal Greens without rain, the meter is divided into 3 parts; in rain, the meter is expanded to 4. On Tournament Greens, the meter is in only 2 parts; in rain, the meter is expanded to 3.

11). What does the Wind do? This seems like an obvious question (it moves the ball, duh!), but there's more to it than that. Wind isn't going to be significant on the first two courses on any%; the later courses have strong enough wind that it will greatly influence your strategies. Here is two quick images I made to illustrate these: Distance/Loft: Draw/Fade:

A "headwind" is when the wind is blowing at you, causing the ball to be "pushed back" a bit. This lessens carry, roll, weakens Topspin, strengthens Backspin, causes artificial Draws to pull left versus having no Wind, artificial Fades get pushed right versus having no Wind, and allows for easier steep climbs because of the wind pushing the ball back, since from a side-view, the ball appears to be at the same elevation for a lesser distance, or a higher elevation for the same distance.

A "tailwind" is when the wind is blowing from behind you, causing the ball to be pushed forward. This increases carry, roll, weakens Backspin, strengthens Topspin, causes artificial Draws to hang right for the same yardage, artificial Fades to hang left for the same yardage, and makes climbing steep slopes harder unless you intelligently club down using the highest Powered shot you can muster and letting the wind push the ball the rest of the way. You need more clearing room, which makes playing Peach's 8, Badlands 8 & Badlands 13 more difficult.

On most holes where I don't need to carry a hazard using the vast majority of my drive, I prefer to face a Headwind over a Tailwind.

12. Please define all of those other words you are using! I'm not so familiar with golf! Sure thing! (WARNING: LONG ANSWER)

Impact (Point) - The red dot that is on the ball in the lower-right corner of the screen. This can be manipulated to move the simulated trajectory line to curve or go higher/lower before your swing, which in turn adjusts the Landing Point. You can use the Control Pad to see these changes, while also generating a red circle on the ball. In order to actually carry out that change, you need to hold the Control Stick so that the Impact Point is covering the red outline. Most of the time, you will use Impact Points at the center or very edge of the ball. However, to make subtle changes to combat a cross-wind or distance RNG, you can slightly nudge the Impact Point.

Landing Point - Indicated by a star, this is where the ball will first land according to the simulation line (Remember, this doesn't factor the weather!). This is most important to check if you are shooting up a cliff-face for a tight strat, or when shooting toward the Green. If the Landing Point is on the Green, expect the ball to roll several to over a dozen yards without Spin. If it is on the Fairway or a hazard, the ball will roll less. Oftentimes, knowing whether the Landing Point is on or off the Green will heavily influence how much the ball will roll. If the Landing Point is downhill (the grid arrows point forward), then the ball will roll more and Backspin is delayed; I sometimes refer to this as a "downslope". If the Landing Point is uphill, the ball will roll less; I refer to this as an "upslope". If I can see the difference between the Landing Point and the hole, then I use that to decide how much Power and Spin I want.

Delta - A word I just made up. It is the difference between where you think the ball is going to land (roughly based on the Landing Point), and the actual distance to the cup. If you needed a single word for this, then here you go. Based on what "delta" is, the wind, and whether I'm hitting an upslope or downslope, I decide what Impact Point and Spin is necessary. I'll explain in Question 12 what general deltas and Spin combos mesh together.

Spin - Hopefully, you are using the Manual Swing (don't speedrun this game until you have it figured out). Anyway, when you use the Manual swing, which is similar to how the controls work for Mario Golf 64, NES Golf, and NES Open Tournament, you can press a two-button combo at the second (or accuracy) timing. AA is Topspin, AB is Super Topspin, BB is Backspin, and BA is Super Backspin. You will very likely use all four of these in a run of the game (though Topspin may be the least likely outside of Approaches). (Super) Topspin increases the rolling of your ball, which is great for adding precious yards for certain holes, especially to correct for negative RNG and for rolling beyond Roughs to tight Greens. Backspin is wonderful for minimizing the roll on most any club longer than a 9-iron, which is over 3/4 of your bag.

Upslope/Downslope - I use this to refer to the slope of either your Lie or your Landing Point. If your Lie is sloping downward in front of you, then you'll have less loft, which may reduce the distance you can hit. If it slopes uphill, then you'll have more loft. For a downslope Landing Point, the ball will kick forward, which can be combined well with Backspin. An upslope Landing Point stops the ball more quickly, which may reduce the need for Backspin.

Front-to-Back/Back-to-Front Greens - When the Green slopes away from you (predominately downslopes), then I call it Front-to-Back. The opposite applies for Back-to-Front Greens.

Lie - The current orientation of your ball. If you are in a hazard, that's a bad Lie, with reduced hitting power, increased distance variation, and a tighter Impact Zone (the red line above the accuracy bar).

Impact Zone - The red line above the accuracy bar. Its width varies by character (especially Star vs non-Star), Lie, and club. Hitting your second mark outside of this Impact Zone will severely destroy the distance and accuracy of your shot. If it is only a small dot above the accuracy bar, then you'll need to hit it dead on.

Fast Fairway - A unique, bluish-green grass that is, as far as I know, outside the realms of real life. When landed on, the ball will bounce MUCH farther and roll much farther. This can serve as either a gateway to further drives, or a trap that leads to hazards and OBs. They are found in Blooper Bay, Peach's Castle Grounds, and Bowser Badlands. They are to be avoided unless you need their buff to reach a Green or an advantageous point on the Fairway. A similar effect holds true for Tournament Greens, but those are not encountered in an Any% run. ¤EDIT: I've also noticed that Draws will bounce right from Fast Fairway and Fades will bounce left. I suspect it's because their bounce accelerates the side-spin on the ball.

Pin/Flag/Cup/Hole - The end goal of every hole. I use them interchangeably.

Approach - a shot you can select within 60 yards of the hole that is lower and easier to control than your wedges. They will roll much more than Normal shots with wedges. Dusty1029 and I have different philosophies: He prefers to carry less and use Topspin to roll the ball in. I prefer to make the strats easier with the following: I aim about three marks short and use Backspin. My method is more wind-dependent, but not by much; Dusty's is more slope-dependent. RNG isn't too much of a factor at all. But if you want to increase the power, move the Impact Point up. To reduce the power, move the Impact Point down.

Punch - A lower and harder shot created by hitting with much less than full power on the meter. This is useful for getting underneath obstacles if you're in trouble. It can also be used for some lag strats off the tee (e.g. Badlands 10, play a low straight 75-80% punch with Star Boo to leave yourself with a relatively unimpeded 210 yard 2nd shot). This will drastically weaken Backspin, so beware.

Rough Rolling - The process of using the Rough in front of the Green to greatly reduce the roll of a long shot. This is very useful for holes like Badlands 14, where you could get the pin on the left, which has very little Green to land the ball on considering the length of the shot you must make (190 yards+).

Ace/Eagle Strat - Any strategy that allows for an Ace to be obtained in windless conditions without adjusting your aim. Specific clubs and timings have to be correct, and usually, RNG must be at +/- 0%.
Various other Guides detail exact strategies to semi-consistently achieve holes-in-one in Lakitu Valley. This can be expanded to the Par 4s, where two specific shots are played depending on the Pin location to obtain a chip-in Eagle. This is much harder since you're effectively playing an optimal drive followed by an "Ace strat".

13. What combinations of club/spin work best? How do I know to use Backspin/Super Backspin, or not to use it?

Generally, here is what works well for most characters (assuming no weather):

8-9 iron Backspin -> about equal forward/backward roll. 4-6 iron Super Backspin -> about equal forward/backward roll, depending on upslope/downslope. Backspin reduces net roll by about 6-8 yards; Super Backspin by 10-12 yards.

For every "tick" up on the Impact Point, you would need to go one club down to achieve about the same "net loss" of roll. Example, full-top Impact (4 ticks up) with a SW produces a similar net roll of nearly 0, full-bottom Impact (4 ticks down) with a 4/5I produces a similar net roll of nearly 0. Feel free to experiment. These mostly serve as rules of thumb that I find myself making more technical than necessary.

If Delta ~ 0, and you're using something longer than an 8-iron, then you need to go a couple marks below full Power with Backspin or use Super Backspin. If Delta ~ 5, and you have a wedge, let it go. For a short iron, hit a mark less and let it go. For a mid-iron, use Backspin. For a long iron, use either Super Backspin; or cut distance and use Backspin. For woods, cut the distance and use Super Backspin. If Delta ~ 10, and you have a wedge, move the Impact up about halfway. Let a 6-9 iron go. Consider giving a 3-5 iron Backspin, or lose a couple of distance marks and let it go. Use either Backspin or Super Backspin for woods. If Delta ~ -5, for a wedge, lose a few marks and let it go, though you could use Backspin on a PW without much harm unless you land on an upslope. Either lose a few marks and use Backspin, or use Super Backspin for 6-8 irons. You'll need to reduce power and use Backspin or Super Backspin for anything longer. If Delta ~ -10, the game is playing a cruel joke on you (or you're at Cheep Cheep 3), so either play a punch-like shot, or club down to change Delta.

14. How do I improve my putting? Having a background in Mario Golf 64 has helped me a lot. There wasn't a mark on the meter to show me what distance I'm hitting to. If you want to speedrun in MGTT, you'll want to be able to putt without using it. This is actually a little trickier than in MG64, since the meter isn't notched, but rather is filled in solid. Nonetheless, here are some tips: a) Try to hit aggressive putts. It not only is a bit faster, but the power reduces the amount that slope curves the ball's path. You can generally overhit by up to 6 feet; moreso if you putting from outside the Green and the pin is still in the cup. Unless the putt is long or the slope is exceptional steep, you probably don't need to aim more a cup's width from the edge of the cup. b) Every foot going uphill requires an extra 2-3 feet of extra power; perhaps more still for very steep slopes (like Badlands 4, where an 8-foot putt can easily require over 15 feet of power). c) Go up to Middle for anything longer than 30 feet. The first third-mark (33.3 ft) is a good reference for putts 28-32 feet (hence the 1/3 Middle meme. It's magic). d) If a putt looks very awkward & difficult, simply make an educated guess quickly. If you are the world's best putter and you absolutely CAN make it within about 3 seconds worth of adjustment, then go for it. e) Remember to add about 50% more power for putts up to 30 feet or so when it is Raining. This ratio steadily drops for longer putts (you could go as low as 30-35% more for various Middle putts). f) If you really need to, you can let the cursor go past your intended mark and then come back to time it better. This will cost a small amount of time. And don't wait too long! Underputting is the #1 sin on the Green. g) The parts of the putt where the slope has the greatest emphasis is right at the start (if you're on sideslope, that moves your line immediately), and right by the cup. If you don't putt aggressively enough, you'll often find that the putt will veer off much more than earlier in the putt. Get a feeling for this at even a basic level, and your putts will improve. h) Practice, practice, practice. The Side Games and Training are good for this.

15. Which holes are the most worth skipping? A lot of this will depend on how your run is progressing (WARNING: VERY LONG ANSWER).

a) For a typical run, Lakitu 13 & 17 are the longest and most difficult Par 5s, so those are usually skipped. You would need -14 for the other 16 holes, which is not terribly difficult to achieve. #5 plays pretty quickly, and #9 is Eagle-able with a 240-245 yard drive and not too much downslope. If you are able to skip a Par 4, but not a Par 5, then skip the 14th, 15th, or 18th (but try to be able to skip 13 & 17).

b) Cheep Cheep is a tough call. Hole 4 is very long, so it is probably worth skipping. The Green isn't too bad if you decide to play it, but you'll need 3 relatively long shots to make it. Hole 9 isn't bad and is worth playing. Hole 13 is a pain, especially if the cup is on the right side (488y location) where the Green is heavily sloped, but it's not too long. Hole 17 is short, but uphill and complicated, so it can prove to be time-consuming. You can skip two Par 5s if you're playing perfect Birdie golf. If you can't achieve this (The Par 3s and Holes 5 & 14 make this difficult), then the best Par 4 to skip is 18.

c) Shifting Sands...the great debate. Hole 2 is definitely worth skipping. It is quite long and has a somewhat tricky Green. Hole 7 should be played because of that nice shortcut to the left that provides an Eagle opportunity; it plays very long otherwise. Hole 14 has a tall rocky canyon preventing most first/second shot shortcuts (Back Tees is another story!). It is actually Eagle-able with anyone Birdo/Waluigi or stronger with perfect position. It really depends on how the round is going (and whether you already skipped Hole 2). The Green is pretty friendly. I'd say that if you had to choose between skipping 14 and 18, skip 18. The 18th is not very long, but the ruins can get in the way of your second shot (or punish a too-far-left first shot). The Green is kind of inverse-saddle-shaped with a few weird slopes. This one is worth skipping if you haven't skipped Hole 2, especially if you are at -7 or better through 17. You would need a better-than-Birdie round to skip two Par 5s, so you might opt to skip a Par 4 in conjunction to a Par 5. Your best option for a Par 4 to skip is #16, since you need good distance control on every shot, and the Green has a sharp right-to-left slope. If you can't skip both a Par 4 and a 5, then you could skip 17 & 2 or 18 (17 is a blind downhill Par 3 but not that difficult), or 15 & 16. I'd have to see if skipping two 4s is faster than skipping a 5 & a 3.

d) Ugh, Blooper Bay. The most obvious choice is Hole 18. It is like Cheep Cheep 17, but longer, more uphill, and instead of trees, you have rockfaces, Bunkers and water hazards. You would need Star Boo to Eagle this one (it's too hard to get the perfect Tee shot with Bowser, and you still can't quite make it from there). Only play this one if you need a 50th Best Badge to unlock Star Boo. Hole 2 is the next-best choice for a hole to skip, as it is long, lots of bunker & water, and has an annoying elevated Green. Hole 9 is the easiest of the Par 5s, especially if you can play a high Draw (Bowser is #1 for this if you don't already have Star Boo), so it should be played. Hole 13 plays long if you're not Star Boo. Bowser needs an absolutely perfect Tee Shot to make it onto the whale safely (tailwind is strongly recommended). Again, the 18th is so bad that the 13th should just be played by default. If you are able to skip a Par 4 & a Par 5 (-16 for the other 16), then the 16th is your best Par 4 to skip, with a pretty difficult Green to tackle. The best Par 3 to skip is the 11th, which isn't worth it anyway at that point.

If you somehow succeed at the 50/54 strat and have Star Boo, then you could play super-risky and skip 2 & 18, leaving the other 14 Par 3s and 4s to be Birdied and the Par 5s to be Eagled. In fact, skipping #2 is probably the best idea, since it allows for the possibility of skipping 18 if you're playing perfectly, but if not, then you could skip 16 and snag an Eagle on the 18th via a good Lie from the planet-shaped area. Overall, the 2nd is the hardest of the 4 to Eagle; then 18, 13, and 9 (a high, soft 3w Power is great for getting on the whale on #13).

e) Peach's Castle, double ugh. The 4th, while long, is reachable in two with Star Boo via the Fast Fairway on the top-right (thanks Dusty1029 for suggesting that over the green pipe). The left pin is much easier than the right (for the latter, hit a few yards short with Super Backspin; for the former, hit several yards short and let it go since the ball will land in Rough). It is actually possible - albeit insanely hard - to Eagle this hole with every character if you go through the Green Pipe, then play a 'Big Bounce' shot off the Fast Fairway at the end to the island. The 8th is pretty much always worth playing, though a Rain + tailwind combo will ruin the shortcut and force you to play out and back up (since the 2nd shot acts as a headwind, so you can probably go with a 4w Power or something similar). Otherwise, play a high and straightened 4-iron Power or 4-wood to the left as a shortcut. The 12th, while long and hazardous, is still Eagle-able and mostly straightforward. You'll want about a 290-300 yard drive so that you can play a long second shot that misses the Chomps. If you're not comfortable with this hole, you could skip it, since the 18th is Eagle-able. The final hole is long, serpentine, uphill, with giant trees blocking most second-shot attempts. If you can manage the yellow pipe to the left, then you have a great Eagle chance. But otherwise, this hole is the most worth skipping. (EDIT: Play just short and right of the big Fast Fairway patch about 260 yards out, and you can get the Green on the following shot). I don't foresee anyone being able to skip both a Par 5 & a Par 4 (you'd need better than Birdie golf), but your best Par 4s are 13, 15, & 16 (the 13th is difficult without landing in the yellow pipe; the 15th is long with lots of Fast Fairway and a front-to-back Green; the 16th has a giant mushroom with Fast Fairway underneath it, forcing a good drive that makes it far but not too far). If you are -15 through the first 16, then you can skip 17 & 18, which isn't a bad idea (since the 17th is a way-downhill Par 3 with a ridiculous Green).

f) The Badlands is the symbolic hell of the Mushroom Kingdom. 3 out of the 4 Par 5s are Eagle-able. The 3rd hole is usually worth playing unless you fail twice. Hitting the wall, either immediately on the bounce or low on the fly, will put you modestly safely on the bluff. From there, a shot ranging from a 4I Power to a 4W (Power for rain?) that avoids the rocks will give you an Eagle chance. The 8th is intimidating, but not the worst. A straightened 4W or 3I Power can get you to an elevated fairway patch 190 yards away, leaving 270 and downhill to attack the Green with a 3W or 1W. The 13th is absolutely worth skipping if the weather is bad. The drive isn't bad, but the second shot has to go through grates. This requires precise aiming and shooting that is made far more difficult if it is raining or with a severe cross-wind. The 16th is very, very long, with Whomps and Piranha Plants conspiring to impede your progress and is a very good candidate for a hole to skip. This is especially true since Star Boo can only get within Approach distance after 2 full-powered shots. However, this one isn't as weather-sensitive as the 13th is. This really depends on how the run is going. If you are playing Birdie+ golf, then you can skip 13/16 and the 18th (just get it over with. It's blind, downhill, with OB and those damn teeth). If you're ALMOST playing Birdie golf, then you COULD argue that it is more efficient to skip a Par 4 & a Par 3. In which case, I'd most recommend either 14 & 18, or 17 & 18 (the 14th is extremely long for a Par 4, with a tough 2nd shot that will most likely have to be hit low with either Backspin or a Rough-clip).

16. Assuming that Dolphin can run this game competently (It depends on your computer. Use 5.0-1709 or later), and a good tool-assisted speedrunner with lots of free time decides to tear the game apart, what might be a good route?

Edit: Here's Bluekandy's TAS of "any%". It is WILD!

Fun question. With save-states, re-records, frame-advancement, memory addresses, LUA scripts, and other tools, the run would RADICALLY change. That, and there might be ways to manipulate the game to produce the optimum wind/distance/Lie RNG so that even DK/Bowser can snag some Albatrosses (if it's too long or if RNG manip is required, then use a Give-Up). Every Par 3 is Ace-able, every Par 4 is Eagle-able, and (with Star Boo) almost every Par 5 is Albatross-able. There's no incentive to start with Mario, but rather with Bowser since he is the strongest. Also, it might be advantageous to dump the ball in hazards on shorter Par 4s so that the power meter shrinks, taking less time to hit (not 100% sure about that, considering the swing animation, so this would need to be tested). Another factor is that now, so many holes can be given up, that it's faster to just continue using Bowser into Blooper Bay because of the lost Birdie Badges. One other potential time-saver/entertainment factor is something I call the "warp cup glitch", which allows for a shot directly beneath the hole on a suspended Green (such as Bowser 9, 11, 17, or half of Congo Canopy) that is warped up to the cup and counts as in, but it requires extreme precision even for a straight shot, so TAS would be needed for Star Boo's draw (inb4 hundreds of re-records).

Here's how I think the route would be done, but feel free to discuss this with me (especially on which Par 4s/5s should be skipped). Symbols: B - Birdie; E - Eagle; H - Hole-In-One; A - Albatross; G - Give-Up

Lakitu Valley (w/Bowser): E, E, H, E, A, G, H, E, A, E, E, H, G, G, E, H, G, E. 14 Best Badges. Score: +6

Cheep Cheep Falls (w/Bowser): G, E, H, G, G, E, H, E, A, G, H, E, A, E, H, E, A, E. 28 Best Badges. Score: +3

Shifting Sands (w/L-Bowser): G, G, E, H, E, H, A, E, E, G, G, E, H, A, E, E, H, A. 42 Best Badges. Score: +3

Blooper Bay (w/Bowser): E, G, H, E, E, H, E, E, A, E, H, E, G, E, E, E, H, G. 57 Best Badges. Score: -1

Peach's Castle Grounds (w/Star Boo): E, E, H, G, E, H, E, A, E, E, H, G, E, E, E, E, H, G. Score: -3 NOTE: If you think skipping three of the Par 4s (Good candidates might be 10, 13, 14 & 15) might be faster than skipping two Par 5s (The fastest ones might be 4 & 12, but 18 is another option to play. These are all albatross-able, but they take time), let me know. This changes the score to +1, which still makes the cutoff for the win.

Bowser Badlands (w/Star Boo): E, E, A, H, E, E, H, G, E (w/Warp Cup Glitch), E, H (w/ Warp Cup Glitch), E, G, E, E, G, E (w/ Warp Cup Glitch), H. Score: -1 NOTE: I can't pull off a Green-in-1 strat mishit strat with Lefty Star Boo from Front Tees (though it IS possible to get to the top close to the Green using a perfectly-aimed high-slice 4w Power). I think the wind maxes out at 13mph (6m/s) for Bowser Tournament, which might prevent the strat from working to its full potential. An Albatross would save 5-10 seconds.

17. Holy shit, what did I just read? Calm down. I hope I didn't scare you. This is a game that is very easy to get into, but very difficult to master. I have intended this for players that are familiar with the game, but want to take it to the next level. The last few were mostly the hardcore stuff. I don't expect anyone to be able to make an MGTT TAS in 2015, but it's there. There might be ideas that surface that I couldn't think of due to the tedium and limitations of testing a myriad of circumstances. You can safely ignore the last two questions if you're not among the absolute most hardcore players on Earth.

A lot of these things, you can confirm for yourself by experimenting in Training Mode and Tournament Mode (in Training Mode, the Landing Point is changed to the Stopping Point, just for your information, so watch the arrows carefully). And that's really what it's about. Playing the game for yourself (perhaps while a cohort is watching you play). You can read the books, and hit the driving range, but where it really all counts is out on the course.

18. Might Speed Golf from the Front Tees be an alternate way to practice? Sure, if you don't mind the rocking music, lack of Birdie Badges to think about, and higher winds on the easier courses. Being able to adapt to stronger wind might actually be a good thing, except for Lakitu Valley, since there is no Wind in the real Tournament. Also, the in-game timer is a frame counter. In Speed Golf, it is more punishing to have the ball continually roll on sloped Greens than in other modes; in RTA, holding A to speed up the roll is good, while in Speed Golf, the timer speeds up, too. Another thing: you must play 18 holes in Speed Golf; no Give-Ups. Otherwise, sure? Why not? If you can play through a course in under 8 in-game minutes without a Star character (9 minutes for one of the last three), I'd be very impressed. That, and it doesn't hurt to have a back-up plan to be able to play the Par 5s you'd normally skip.